Samarqand

 Even if you have never been to Uzbekistan you have likely heard of Samarkand. Samarkand is just one of those ancient places that once held such great importance in the world. From a vital stop on the silk road to the grand buildings of the TImurid rule it has captivated hearts and imaginations for centuries. Flecker expressed this historical longing for a city gone in his poem "For lust of knowing what should not be known...We make the Golden journey to Samarkand." Even Alexander the Great supposedly said "Everything I heard about Samarkand is true, except it's even more beautiful than imagined." The Soviets on taking over Uzbekistan had an equal fascination and enchantment of the city and country. Generally, The Soviets were not into bringing out nationalism of their conquered countries, however, in the case of Uzbekistan they veered from that policy. Ancient madrasahs and mosques were deemed so old and grand that they were disconnected from religion and would inspire citizens to allegiance and greatness and serve as a mecca of visitors once again. For decades the Soviets researched and excavated and renovated. Samarkand went from grand crumbling to grand. Some say the Soviets took too much liberty and enthusiasm in their revival of Samarkands historic buildings -  I disagree. The Soviets were masters of the art of mosaic making them ideal reconstructers of the great mosaic mausoleums. They have truly brought back to life a small sliver of what that most noble and grand city would have been like when Alexander set eyes on it. 

Samarkand has grown over the years and is now a large bustling spread out city. It has not grown in the same way as Tashkent - it retains its small town rural feeling over a large expanse. We stayed right close by Registan which meant that our evenings could be spent in the glow of Registan. We all really enjoyed sitting on the Registan steps watching locals and tourists take wedding pictures and selfies in front of the awe inspiring setting. We saw the oldest observatory and learned all about how astronomy was conducted accurately pre-telescopes. We wandered an ancient largely unexcavated village bursting with shards of ancient pottery. We visited so many mind boggling buildings. We tried local dishes and wandered around buildings until children started to protest. Samarkand is beautiful and I am impressed with the power it has had over people throughout time. The Soviets may have made a few blunders in their rule, but, bringing Samarkand back to life was an unimaginable and impressive feat. Now I am curious to see what the pyramids of Giza would look like if they were similarly restored. 

Such a nice place to sit in the evenings

Bibi Khanym mosque before and after restoration

The children loved the guest house breakfasts

The Soviets were more into buildings and mosaics than archeology based on this ancient town under mounds of dirt. This was Tova and Zadie's favourite place

The cutest part of the ornamentation

Photo taken by Zadie

This carpet seller has four sons and asked for a photo with my four daughters

Masters of geometry

The blues in the city!

Extravagant from ground up

Almost as busy as during its heyday

Children preparing for Samarkand cultural day

I can see why so many couples come to these buildings for wedding photos

Mausoleums at sunset

Nice that locals also make use of the buildings

Registan by day