ON THE TRAIN FROM TASHKENT AND A FIRST DAY IN SAMARKAND
To
the station for our train - regrettably, I didn't get our plans in order
in time to book us onto the super-nippy, Spanish-built Afrosiyob which
goes from the main station and so we're due to travel on the
slightly-slower, slightly-cheaper Sharq. Trouble is - it departs from
the southern staton: Yuzhnyy,
and
our taxi-driver makes for Tashkent Afrosiyob and won't be told, despite
our complaints. Eventually, he stops near the
Cathedral (a definite clue we're going the wrong way, even to those
who've only been in town 18 hours!) to phone reception and we get back
on track.
Even when we get there though, it's not obvious as the alternative label in Roman characters is ‘Toshkent - Janubiy’!
Anyway, safely to our cosy carriage and on board
The countryside is, I'm afraid, unexciting. Big spaces, pretty flat, not much in the way of greenery or settlements
And on to 'samar' (stone) 'qand' (fort or town).
Along with our next stop, Bukhara, Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in central Asia (since at least 8th-7th centuries BC) as well as one of the most greatest and prosperous from its Silk Road location between China and the Med. It was recognised by UNESCO in 2001 as a world heritage site
Bit more history... Under Alexander the Great who took the walled capital of the Sogdian empire in 329BC, it became Marakanda (Μαράκανδα in Greek) and, after being ruled by a succession of Iranian and Turkic rulers, Genghis Khan conquered the city in 1220. The next conqueror, who is now celerated all over the region, made it the capital of his empire in the 14th century, and is buried here: Timur (whom we call Tamerlane - 1336-1405).
This was a quick glimpse of him from the cab - we will revisit...
Happily, our little family-run hotel
is right in the centre (turn left, pass two shops, cross road and there is the Registan - first glimpse below but it will require a full day to explore inside)
Instead, this afternoon, we're getting our bearings. The Siob chorsu, or market,
leads us to the Bibi-Khanym, an enormous congregational mosque, financed from the spoils of Timur's 1399 invasion of India). The pishtak (entrance portal or gateway) is 38m tall and partially collapsed in an 1897 earthquake, before being rebuilt in the 1970s.
The cupola is 41m high and apparently wasn't a wholly successful design, crumbling before it was completed!
As well as amazing in its scale, the detail is beautiful
It's been a long day but luckily there's a restaurant right outside our door (we spotted it from our bedroom window!)
Even when we get there though, it's not obvious as the alternative label in Roman characters is ‘Toshkent - Janubiy’!
Anyway, safely to our cosy carriage and on board
The countryside is, I'm afraid, unexciting. Big spaces, pretty flat, not much in the way of greenery or settlements
And on to 'samar' (stone) 'qand' (fort or town).
Along with our next stop, Bukhara, Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in central Asia (since at least 8th-7th centuries BC) as well as one of the most greatest and prosperous from its Silk Road location between China and the Med. It was recognised by UNESCO in 2001 as a world heritage site
Bit more history... Under Alexander the Great who took the walled capital of the Sogdian empire in 329BC, it became Marakanda (Μαράκανδα in Greek) and, after being ruled by a succession of Iranian and Turkic rulers, Genghis Khan conquered the city in 1220. The next conqueror, who is now celerated all over the region, made it the capital of his empire in the 14th century, and is buried here: Timur (whom we call Tamerlane - 1336-1405).
This was a quick glimpse of him from the cab - we will revisit...
Happily, our little family-run hotel
is right in the centre (turn left, pass two shops, cross road and there is the Registan - first glimpse below but it will require a full day to explore inside)
Instead, this afternoon, we're getting our bearings. The Siob chorsu, or market,
leads us to the Bibi-Khanym, an enormous congregational mosque, financed from the spoils of Timur's 1399 invasion of India). The pishtak (entrance portal or gateway) is 38m tall and partially collapsed in an 1897 earthquake, before being rebuilt in the 1970s.
The cupola is 41m high and apparently wasn't a wholly successful design, crumbling before it was completed!
As well as amazing in its scale, the detail is beautiful
That level of intricacy continues inside
It's been a long day but luckily there's a restaurant right outside our door (we spotted it from our bedroom window!)
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