Samarkand was made famous around the time of our visit because the city hosted the September 15-16, 2022 SCO summit. The city had street decorations and lightings, remainders of the summit when we arrived. Samarkand was our last destination before heading back to Tashkent to wrap up our Uzbekistan trip.
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| Main square of Samarkand city center |
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| View from an evening walk, a few blocks from our hotel |
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| Monument plaza near Registan Complex |
Samarkand is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. It was a popular city and prospering from its location on the Silk Road. Today, Samarkand is the capital of Samarqand Region and the second largest city of Uzbekistan after Tashkent. Samarkand's Registan Square was the city's ancient center and the top tourist attraction. The square has been carefully preserved the traditions of ancient crafts. In 2001, UNESCO added the city to its World Heritage list.
We enjoyed a beautiful evening walk from the hotel to Registan Square our first day in Samarkand.
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| Registan Square in the evening |
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| A modern Russian style architecture building |
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A monument near Timur's Mausoleum
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Itinerary for Samarkand
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Timur's monument
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| Timur's Mausoleum entrance |
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| Timur's ebony Coffin |
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| Walls inside the mausoleum, beautiful Timurid architecture. |
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Timur's mausoleum - Side view
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Timur's mausoleum - The courtyard
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| Monument of Ulugh Beg, a Timurid sultan as well as an astronomer and mathematician. |
He built the Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand in the 15th century. It was considered one of the finest observatories in the Islamic world at the time, and the largest in Central Asia. He also built the Ulugh Beg Madrasah in Samarkand and Bukhara.
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| The trench with the lower section of the meridian arc used in Ulugh Beg Observatory |
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| Ulugh Beg Observatory |
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| Located on the high hill of Afrosiab, off the coast of the Siab River. Muslims call him the prophet Khodja Daniyar. The Jews and Christians call him prophet Daniel |
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| St. Daniel's Tomb - Legend said that the body of the saint still continues to grow and has reached the gigantic size. Others believe the tombstone was intended to protect the remains of the saint from being scolded. |
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| The Spring at St. Daniel's Tomb - Spring water was found when St. Daniel's body was put in the tomb. |
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| Afrosiab Museum of Samarkand located at the historical site of Afrosiab, one of the largest archaeological sites in the world and the ancient city that was destroyed by the Mongols in the early 13th century. |
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| Uniquelly preserved Afrosiab murals of Samarkand palace from the 7th century, exhibited in the museum with many artifacts in the ancient city. |
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Afrosiab mural exhibit in the museum
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Afrosiab archeological site
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| Afrosiab archeological site |
The Shahi-Zinda (Living - King) Ensemble was another popular tourist attraction in Samarkand. It's a necropolis in the north-eastern part of Samarkand. The huge complex includes mausoleums and other ritual buildings dated back to the 11th century. The buildings were built in different eras. Today, there are more than twenty buildings that rise along a narrow medieval street. Tombs and mausoleums here are beautiful and magnificent in every way.
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| Beautiful ceramic, tilework - Door to one of the ancient mausoleums. |
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| View of the "Avenue of Mausolea" from the bridge |
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| Simple and elegant tombs |
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| Timurid style of architecture |
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| Rows of refine sparkling colors of mausoleums and tombs |
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| Simple brick entrance to a tomb |
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The chartak - connected by arches, surmounted by domes.
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Some mausoleums on the top of the complex
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| View of the Shahi-Zinda complex from cemetery ground on top of the hill. |
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The Shahi-Zinda complex ground
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We finished the busy day with the wine tasting tour in Bagizagan winery. Only six of us took the tour. It's a pleasant ride as we relaxed and enjoyed the countryside outskirt of Samarkand.
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| Winery tour |
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| Bagizagan's wine tasting room |
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| Wine tasting - Nice way to wrap up a beautiful day in Samarkand |
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