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Published: August 28th 2023
Registan Ensemble
Registan Ensemble After Tashkent, I took a train to reach the second largest city of Uzbekistan, Samarkand (means Stone City, same meaning as Tashkent).
Trains are a great way to travel in this country and the local people are super friendly, always trying to feed you and enquiring where you from.
Samarkand, a city ruled by Alexander, Genghis Khan, Timur and traveled to by Marco Polo and Ibn Batuta, remains one of those mythical places on the Silk Route.
The most famous spot in Samarkand is the Registan Ensemble. Framed by 3 large Madrasas (Islamic Schools), the square was the pinnacle of Timurid period.
Ulug Beg Madrasa is the oldest, but fastest built (only 3 years), Sher Dor Madrasa was built in early 17th century (it's rare to see Leopards on top of an Islamic architecture) and the Tilya Kori Madrasa is all about opulence and gold (also this is a mosque and Madrasa both). During the evening's (in tourist season), there is a light and music show (basic lighting starts after sunset but the actual show when I was there started at 9PM and lasted 30 minutes).
I also visited Gur-i-Amir (Timur's Mausoleum). Completed by Ulugh Beg
Ornate Architecture at Registan
Ornate Architecture at Registan (Timur's grand son), Timur's body rested here till early 1940s when it was exhumed and reburied at Stalingrad. The inscription inside the Jade stone tomb reads "Whosoever Disturbs My Tomb Will Unleash an Invader More Terrible than I" and the fact that a team from Soviet Union was doing this excavation just before 1941 invasion of Germany into Soviet Union gives credence to this folklore.
Shah-i-Zinda (means the living king) is effectively a necropolis. This collection of mausoleums is famed for the mausoleum of Qutham Ibn Abbas, a relative of Prophet Muhammad. The mausoleums have intricate art work and show the skills of the people of the time.
I also visited Bibi Khanym Mosque and Mausoleum. Bibi Khanym was the favourite wife of Amir Temur and he built this mosque after his conquest of India.
Uzbekistan in general and Samarkand in particular is a country full of legends and I learnt a lot of those as I saw the places and read/talked to people.
Legends aside, one thing is clear. The architecture of Samarkand is stunning and the amount of investment it would have taken to build this city is immense. It was also a city
Ornate Architecture at Registan
Ornate Architecture at Registan where Amir Temur gathered scholars, scientists, poets and other people of deep knowledge with a vision of building his capital into a knowledge center. And it became clear to me that man is never black or white, he is always grey. He may be a brutal conqueror in one part and a patron of knowledge and architecture in another.
Samarkand is a beautiful place to explore, even if you are not into history, it's a fascinating place to learn if you enjoy history.
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