Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Samarkand is a short trip across the border from Dushambe. There were some issues at the border with Tajik custom officers out for extra money in their pockets, but after suggesting that the issues might have to be dealt with at a higher level (embassy level) and lots of discussion we finally entered Uzbekistan with no less money in our pockets.
The Silk Road "Jewels" of Uzbekistan are the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva.
Samarkand is most noted for its central position on the Silk Road between China and the West, and for being an Islamic center for scholarly study. In the 14Th century, it became the capital of the empire of Tamerlane, and is the site of his mausoleum. The photo above is of the Registan Ensemble, the ancient center of the city.
The three madrasahs of the Registan are: Ulugh Beg Madrasah (1417–1420), the (1619–1636) and the Tilya-Kori Madrasah (1646–1660). Madrasah is an Arabic term meaning a Muslim clergy academy. The photo is of the Sher-Dor Madrasah.
To the left, the Ulugbek Madrasah, and on the right the Tilya-Kori Madrasah.
The Registan is the centerpiece of the city. With its tilting madrasahs, near overload of majolica, azure mosaics and vast well proportioned spaces, it is one of the most awesome sites in Central Asia.
The entrance portal of the Sher Dor (Lion) Madrasah is decorated with roaring felines that look like tigers, but are meant to be lions, contrary to the Islamic prohibition against the depiction of live animals.
The Ulugh Beg Madrasah courtyard. The rooms consist of student dormitory cells, lecture halls, and at the rear a large mosque. About 100 students lived here.
Many of the Madrasahs` former dormitory rooms are now art and souvenir shops.

Beautiful calligraphy and mosaics.

The highlight of the Tilya-Kori Madrasah is its mosque, intricately decorated with gold to symbolize Samarkand`s wealth at the time it was built.
The mosque`s delicate ceiling, oozing with gold leaf, is flat but its tapered design makes it look domed from the inside.
Samarkand ladies out for a stroll. Very colourful dresses.
Mother and son.
Family outing. As on all our trip, the people were friendly and kind. The only problems we occasionally encountered were with people in uniform, and even that was minimal.
Visiting Uzbek tourists getting their picture taken with a visiting Canadian. We noticed a dramatic increase in the number of tourists here, both local and foreign.
The square in front of the Registan. This construction is relatively new, and tastefully done, with shops around the perimeter.
Modern Samarkand sprawls across acres of Soviet buildings, parks and broad avenues surrounding the gem like islands of old Samarkand.
Photo opportunities are endless.
Symmetry, colour and space.
The Guri Amir Mausoleum, the tomb of Tamerlane (Timur) a fourteenth-century conqueror of Western, South and Central Asia, founder of the Timurid Empire and Timurid dynasty (1370-1405) in Central Asia. He made Samarkand his capital, and for 35 years it was Central Asia`s economic and cultural epicenter.
The fluted azure Dome, Tamerlane`s tomb. The mausoleum is also the final resting place of his two sons and two of his grandsons.
The market, Samarkand. Very modern, clean and by western standards, cheap.
The interior courtyard of our guesthouse, a stone`s throw from the Registan.
Upraised eating area in the courtyard. Very Central Asian!
A hundred dollars in Uzbek currency. The black market exchange rate was 2200 Uzbek to 1 U.S. dollar, so we were usually carrying a stack of money on us.
Getting ready to leave.
All packed and going to Bukhara, a short days drive to the west. The Registan Ensemble is in the background. Of the original five of us who started out in May from Tokyo, only us three were together in Samarkand, but Cain and Casey were there in spirit.