samarkand

Samarkand Known for its Mosques and Mausoleum

samarkand

We are off again on a high-speed train jaunt. This time to Samarkand. The train station in Tashkent was organized and well kempt and the train was on time.  The Spanish have supplied Uzbekistan with their Ave trains.  High speed with more luggage room than the TGV in France.  More speed and efficiency than the sluggish English trains and delightful services onboard.

Our arrival in Samarkand coming from Bukhara gave a sense of a much bigger city but much less modern than Tashkent.

sweeping

We had arranged for a visit and sightseeing the following day but we still got to peak at some of the wonders that would great us as we entered ancient Samarkand. In many ways, everything here centers around Registan square. It’s three incredible mosques provide a picture postcard scene.

When we were there and it was Samarkand day, schoolchildren were dancing and singing in the square and we even hooked on to a few marriage ceremonies as we wandered around.  Entering the square, and then the ancient cloisters, the marketplaces revealed themselves.

At night the square was lit, and there was a laser show on that evening.  Under an incredible and beautiful full moon the setting was like a night at the theatre.  We tried to do everything in Samarkand.  We climbed the steps to the mausoleum, which gave us a view across the city and the mosques and minarets that was extraordinary.  I’ll always remember the old woman with her broom sweeping the steps for the steady flow of visitors and worshipers who climbed the not inconsiderable and daunting stairway to offer their prayers or take pictures.

The marketplace was within easy distance of Registan Square, an old covered market, selling fruits and dried vegetables and souvenirs.  And just like everywhere else in Uzbekistan, no pressure, a couple of girls came up to me in the square and asked me where I was from and asked me if I would wish their brother happy birthday as he was far away.

Samarkand

People wanted to talk, wanted to exchange ideas.  People wanted to be connected and you definitely got the feeling this country was desperate to open up and be part of our world.  This place is simply amazing. We got to see the observatory of Ulugh with its medieval beginnings.  At the end of the day, as the sun was setting the observatory seemed to be the right place to be.

Tomorrow we will rise early to visit Tajikistan.

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