Today was the opportunity to see the sights of Samarkand that were outside the centre of the city, but first it was a rare opportunity to grab a morning walk before breakfast. Down the lovely walking paths to the Emir Temur statue (there’s one around every corner).
After breakfast it was off to the paper factory that uses bark from the Mulberry tree to make the paper pulp, and logs powered by a water wheel to provide the mushing. The last stage of the process was to polish the paper with a smooth granite rock to make it smooth.
The resulting paper supposedly lasts 500 years, which is why it was in demand for travelers on the Silk Road. Just not the process you want to rely on to supply the weekend newspapers.
Mirzo Ulugh Beg was the grandson of Emir Temur, and he was less interested in war, but obsessed with what he could see in the sky, so he built an observatory and astronomy centre on a hill in Samarkand, and gathered some apprentices to help him with his charts. He made lots of calculations and tables used by sailors and travelers, including calculating the yearly orbit of the earth to within a minute, which was pretty amazing for the time. We spent a little while at the observatory site looking at an exhibition about his work.
Finally we went to a complex of mausoleums built near the ancient ruins of the old city destroyed by Genghis Khan called the Shohi-Zinda Necropolis. The complex contains the bones of the cousin of the prophet Mohammad, and is a spiritual site for those from surrounding countries who can’t afford to travel to Mecca. Hundreds of people are buried there in vaults of varying splendour.
So that was it for Samarkand, and goodbye to Emir Temur. Being a ruthless conqueror had its upsides as well as downsides. After being razed by both Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan, the good citizens of Samarkand were hanging out for a home grown hero, and along came Emir Temur. He is referred to in the country as a ‘national hero’ and there are statues and museums of him everywhere.
Unfortunately, scholars estimate that his military campaigns caused the deaths of 17 million people, amounting to about 5% of the world population at the time, so he was extremely brutal, but he did leave behind a couple of wonderful cities.
So finally it was off to the capital – Tashkent (Tosh-kent). The last stop on our tour. Five hours on the bus, but you couldn’t ask for a more comfortable ride.
Tashkent was settled around the second century BC, so it’s an ancient city. However, in 1966 during the Soviet era, it was hit by a large earthquake which razed the city.
70% of the houses were destroyed, so the Soviets swung in to action and quickly built every family a soviet flat. The style of architecture in the city was changed forever. Now they are tearing all of them down, and replacing them with modern, white marble buildings. So it’s a lovely, modern city – just not much that’s old or historical.
Dinner at a local restaurant.
City Palace Hotel, Tashkent
The Necropolis is much more ornate than ours!