Exploring Samarkand

We had a guided walking tour of Samarkand this morning. Samarkand means rich city and it lives up to its name. It was a key stop along the Silk Road for about 1,500 years. You can read more about it here:

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resour…

One of the most famous/infamous figures in the region was Amir Timur who ruled for 35 years and created a huge empire, his possessions stretching from the Volga to the Caucasus, from Central Asia to India. He died of an illness in 1405 during a campaign to China. While historians report his cruelties, they also applaud his contributions to architecture and city planning.

One of the most famous buildings in this part of the world is the mausoleum that holds Timur’s tomb, Gur-e Amir. Interestingly, he had the mausoleum built for his beloved grandson who had died unexpectedly at the age of 29. He himself had wanted to be buried where he was born, but that mausoleum was not completed when he died. It was decided to inter him in the grandson‘s mausoleum in Samarkand.

Timur had hired a Persian designer for the mausoleum. The beloved grandson he had it built for was named Muhammad. Hence, the patterns within the mausoleum are actually the name. Muhammad repeated 3,000 times in the tiles. Fascinating.

Next we visited Registan Square, built around 1420, with three Madrasas (schools). Each madrasa had 55 classrooms, one to three students per class. Students stayed here up to 15 years. Admission was through an exam and was age neutral.

From there we visited Bibi-Khanym Mosque, built between 1399 and 1404. Legend has it that Bibi-Khanym, Timur’s Chinese wife who was a descendant of Genghis Khan, ordered the mosque built as a surprise while he was away. The architect fell madly in love with her and refused to finish the job unless he could give her a kiss. The smooch left a mark and Timur, on seeing it, executed the architect and decreed that women should henceforth wear veils so as not to tempt other men. True? Who knows.

The final stop on the tour was Siyob Bazaar where we left the group and poked around on our own before having lunch at a cafe.

We decided to get back to the hotel for a rest before dinner and a light show tonight. . Czytaj więcej