Blogs from Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Asia - page 3

On the train to Tashkent midday October 28, 2014 As we speed towards the capital of Uzbekistan, the scene has changed dramatically not in form, there is still plenty of flat steppe, but in colour. There is snow on the ground and all the vegetation is white with frost. Where are we going? Samarkand was our second Uzbek city and a pattern is emerging, most extreme in Samarkard, where you can see how they have or are sanitising the tourist centres. A lot of the medressas, mausoleums and mosques have been heavily restored and one can see the point of that. What the authorities have also done is remove any remains of normal life away from these areas and in the case of Samarkand try and keep it at bay behind walls. So whilst the Islamic ... read more

Geo: 39.6576, 66.9476Samarkand - in the footsteps of TimurWhere do you start with Samarkand. Taken in 329BC by AlexanderThe Great who married Roxana, daughter of a local chieftain. A key city on the Silk Road, then sacked by Ghengis Kahn in 1220. In 1370 Timur decided to make it his capital and poured a vast fortune into creating buildings worthy of him. After his death his grandson Ulugbek ruled until 1449. Ulugbek was also a prominent scientist - he built a huge observatory.In the 16th Century the capital was moved to Bokhara and Samarkand went into decline. Over the years the great buildings decayed until the Soviets embarked on a huge programme of restoraton to promote the tourist industry. (see later)My arrival in Samarkand was not on a golden road but on the AfroSiaob bullet train ... read more

Be warned: lots of pictures of domes, minarets, blue mosaic and tiles. THIS is Samarkand! It had snowed the previous day in Tashkent and I was worried it would be another cold day on the road but as I woke up early to hit the road towards Samarkand, the sky was very blue and the November sun felt warm: lovely! I put on my shorts and here I was, cycling to Samarkand. I can’t say the road or the scenery from Tashkent to Samarkand is pretty. It felt pretty dusty, grey and bumpy. It took me 3 days to get to Samarkand. On day 1, I rode to Gulistan and set up camp outside the city a minute before a big nasty storm hit me. It rained all night long and I had to fold a ... read more

Vandaag gaan we met de trein naar Samarkand, dus we ontbijten vroeg in de binnentuin. De zeer vriendelijke dienstdoende receptionist brengt ons naar de taxi die hij heeft gebeld, wat een bekende van hem blijkt te zijn met een Lada. Hebben we daar ook nog eens in gezeten. De rit naar het treinstation duurt ongeveer 20 minuten. De bagage gaat daar door een scanner en onze paspoorten worden weer zeer geïnteresseerd bekeken. Waar komt u vandaan, Niederlandia? Ja, ja, een brede glimlach verschijnt op hun gezichten. De trein staat al gereed op het perron en we blijken in de eerste wagon te zitten, we konden de treinkaartjes in het Russisch niet goed ontcijferen. We zitten tweede klas aangezien de eerste er op internet niet veel anders uitzag. Je hebt veel beenruimte en een voetensteun, dus prima ... read more

On a trip in the footsteps of Marco Polo and other ancient explorers. Following the ancient Silk Road, we visiting amazing Uzbekistan. A country with smiling, curious and friendly people. Awesome. A great experience.... read more