The unpolished side of Samarkand
September 18 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Hooray, another agenda free day!
We take it easy this morning, a little lie-in, a late breakfast with plenty of time to come up with a plan for today.
Samarkand is certainly one of the most touristy places along the Silk Roads but away from the tourist hotspots, it's a big normal working city. So we decide to go and find some local life.
We stroll along University Boulevard, a 'new' public promenade created in 1872 to mark the boundary between the old and new parts of the city.
The new parts are also known as the 'european' part, built during the Russian empire with architecture mainly from late 19th- and early 20th century.
At the entrance to the boulevard, we find the monument to Amir Timur depicting him with a European crown, which is historically incorrect as pointed out by our guide yesterday.
From there we wander through the central park, stopping at a small but uninspiring mall and watching people getting on with life - workers in the park, pupils between lessons and office workers rushing to or from their jobs.
After a rest to avoid the midday heat, we set off to wander around the old Jewish quarter following a suggestion from the Lonely Planet.
We certainly saw a very different side of Samarkand, impoverished living conditions, partly unpaved roads & open water gullies in the road, and life generally hidden behind walls and great gates.
There were a couple of mosques but nothing special. A small synagogue hidden away behind high walls (and hard to find) was the only thing remotely Jewish.
Halfway along the walk we ended up in the dusty building site of the newly expanded memorial complex surrounding the Mausoleum of Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi in preparation for his 1,155th anniversary. The Maturidi school became the primary theological framework for the Hanafi school of Islamic law.
Cutting through the construction site with some help of the workers, it's not far to the end of the walk - the statue of Islom Karimov, the first president of independent Uzbekistan who ruled the country with an iron fist for over a quarter-century from 1989 until his death in 2016.
By then, we were in rather desperate need for some refreshments. Planning ahead, we had already identified a craft beer place 🍻🍻Read more