Samarkand

  Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Saturday, July 15, 2006

Again we placed our lives in the hands of our somewhat erratic driver in order to get from Bukhara to Samarkand. We've learnt it's common here just to buy a driving licence - after all who wants to go through the hassle of passing a test???!!! To say he nearly killed us would not be over-dramatising things, it was close and we paid him $60 for the privilege! Not too bad considering we discovered the average monthly wage here is $50.

Annoyingly, we arrived in Samarkand just after sun-set so all sight-seeing was postponed until the morning. We did however get to meet some really interesting people in our hostel - it's always so gutting though when you chat to people who make your travels sound really common-place and tame. Tonight was once such occasion - there was a Dutch couple and a Swiss guy who've cycled all the way to Uzbekistan from Italy and Switzerland respectively.

Bazaar by the Bibi Khanym Mosque

When we do get to go sight-seeing all we can say is "Wow!" This city is amazing. We decided to postpone our trip the the main attraction - the Registan - until later in the day when it's a bit cooler so we started with the Bibi Khanym Mosque - Tamerlane built it in the 14th century for his Chinese wife - it was huge - the main gate alone is 35 metres high, but it mostly collapsed in an earthquake in 1897 and has been partially rebuilt.

So there we were minding our own business when Jim was approached by one of the souvenir sellers who asked if we wanted to climb one of the minarets (we'd read this could happen for a small fee,

Inside the Tilla-Kari or Gold Medressa

although not normally at this particular mosque) we agreed a nominal fee and set off in search of some great photo ops - what we got was a near death experience! For a start the entrance to the tower was at least 3 metres off the ground and when we had scrambled inside it was pitch black - this wouldn't have been so bad if there had been actual stairs to climb, but the original treads had long gone and it was basically a smooth, impossible to-get-a-foothold helter-skelter. Things were made worse when our guide left us half way up to go and buy some candles to light our way back down - Jim was convinced it was a scam and we'd find a policeman at the bottom demanding a huge bribe. We did make it to the top and Jim shot a couple of photos (the guide had told us not to stand-up too straight as otherwise we'd be spotted by the police!!) - it turns out we were too doubting though as our man returned with the candles and lit our way down - the biggest hazard in the light turned out to be the hot wax spilt on Jim's foot.

Detail of the Sher Dor or Lion Medressa

After all that the Registan could have been a disappointment, but it really wasn't - the square consists of three highly decorated buildings filling in three sides of the square. Uleg Beg - who was Tamerlane's grandson - built the oldest medressa in 1420 and then the other two - the Sher Dor or Lion Medressa and the Tilla-Kari or Gold Medressa were built bewtween the 1630s and 1660s. The effect of the three buildings is breathtaking and well worth the visit to Uzbekistan alone.

Gur-Emir Mausoleum (Tamerlane's burial place)

One tip - should you wish to follow the Silk Route through this gorgeous country I advise travelling from West to East as we've done - that way the cities build on each other and you travel back in time. Whichever way you do it however, I challenge you not to be blown away!