In an unusual, but rather practical custom, police officers in Uzbekistan wear a little cloth badge on their uniform over their heart embroidered with their blood type.
Today was our day to explore the highlights of Samarkand. Back in the day, Samarkand was one of the most important stops on the Silk Road between China and Europe, and it was the place where a number of the various routes from all four directions all intersected. So everybody came through here. The great Emir Temur made his capital here, and for good reason. It was also the capital of Uzbekistan, until the Soviets decided otherwise. Today it’s a busy, modern city, with a large number of universities that had their roots in the 15th century when Ulugh Beg founded a madrasa which would not only teach Islamic and Koranic culture, but also teach mathematics, astronomy, philosophy and other sciences.
Sciences and astronomy continue to be a focus of the city and the country, and there are various features on Mercury, Venus and the moons of Saturn that are named after famous Uzbek people.
We started at Gur-Emir, the mausoleum of Emir Temur, his son, his grandson, and his teacher.
Then we moved to Registan Square which our guide called ”The centre of Samarkand, the centre of Uzbekistan, and the centre of everywhere”. After visiting the original 15th century Ulugh Beg (science focussed) madrasa, and the two later Tilla-Kori and Sher-Dor madrasas which form three sides of the square, and dodging every bride in the city each with their huge hooped white dresses (sloshing through the rain and mud), we walked down the road (mainly to appease the aggressive feminist in the group), past the bazaar to the Bibi-Khanym mosque and mausoleum where Emir Temur’s first legal wife and sister are buried.
I could wax on about the beauty and the splendour of the buildings, but it’s probably easier to let the pictures show it for themselves.
Dinner at a traditional restaurant for more Pilaf – the national dish. Didn’t dare tell them that we’d had our national dish for lunch – burger, fries and coke. Then we came home via Registan Square to see it all lit up.
