In the 14th century the city of Samarkand was the capital of the great sultanate of Timur. Thanks to it's cemtral location along the Silk Route, it is a melting pot of different cultures and traditions whose influences are still very much apparent today. Samarkand is perhaps the most romantic and evocative of the Silk Road cities, and crowned by the decorative domes and minarets of the many beautiful buildings here it certainly looks the part. Today our must-see's included Registan Square, which feels like the centre-point of the city, home to a group of impressively decorated Madressas, Guri Amir and the Shah-i-Zinda mausoleum.
We toured for hours. Ihlkum was impressively knowledgeable of the sites and we learned a lot. The tiles are unbelievable! We started off early, enjoyed a break during the heat of the day and picked up again late afternoon and onto the evening.
For lunch we ate at a local tea house in the market and then people watched for a couple of hours. Life is grand...and as Auntie Mame used to say, "life's a banquet and most poor bastards seldom get to the table." Sure glad I found the restaurant!
No comments:
Post a Comment