Blogs from Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Asia - page 4

Hacía mucho tiempo que estaba con ganas de visitar la República de Uzbekistán; desde que descubriera imágenes a través de un libro de la Plaza del Registán en Samarcanda, mítica ciudad en la antigua ruta de la seda. Hace unos años había más retricciones para la concesión del visado y en vista de que ahora lo han puesto más fácil, decidí hacer este ansiado viaje a pesar de que era invierno y de que haría mucho frío. Compré el billete con Aeroflot, compañía aérea rusa y ya que hacía una parada en Moscú, por qué no aprovechar y de paso hacer la escala más larga y visitar la capital rusa por un par de días que se convirtieron en tres. Junto conmigo viajaba Anna, una amiga. Llegamos a Moscú en medio de una nevada. Pasamos frío, ... read more

Samarkand hat bereits einen magisch klingenden Namen, Tausendundeinenacht steht einem unaufgefordert vor den Augen. Und tatsächlich, die Gebäude in dieser Stadt sind eine Klasse für sich. Der alte Hauptplatz, der Registan, hat nicht (wie das in Europa der Fall wäre) auf einer Seite das religiöse Hauptgebäude, daneben das Rathaus und auf einer dritten Seite vielleicht den Markt. Der Registan hat auf drei Seiten eine Medrese, (im Mittelalter waren dies Universitäten). Die Medresen wenden sich alle dem Platz mit einem Iwan zu, einem grossen überdimensionalen „Eingangstor“ das eine Art Halb- oder Teilkuppel ist. Auch die Nekropole Schohisinda mit seinen 11 Mausoleen ist prachtvoll und wie aus einem Märchen aus Tausenduneinernacht. Neben den unzähligen schön restaurierten Mausoleen und Medresen wirkt die Stadt Samarkand seltsam leblos. Alles ist auf Tourismus ausgerichtet, jeder Eintritt ... read more

What do you talk about with your travelling companion when you are both waiting for various visa's and stuck in Tashkent? Well in my case our conversation somehow led to something I had heard once from some backpacker on another trip of mine. He told me that there was this theory that everybody in the world was seperated from Kevin Bacon within six degrees. Ricky actually had heard of this theory and so the ball started rolling. Now in my case I have concluded that I am seperated from Kevin in four degrees. How so? My mother used to work as a stewardess for Scandinavian Airlines System, one of her colleagues was called Christina who ended up marrying Roger Moore and I am guessing that at one point in time Roger would surely have met Kevin, ... read more

T'is said that the road to Samarkand is paved in gold, but that is not so, at least my road wasn't. My road consisted of dilapitated train tracks and mud caked highways. But there was gold along the way, only not on the road. The gold was stacked in rows upon rows, within the mouths of the people of this region. Perhaps a road could be paved with all this gold, certainly the combined amount of gold that is hidden in the jaws of the Central Asians is equal to the gold reserves of a small country. It is more prevalent in the older generation than in the younger one, with some of the older folks sporting a full set of golden teeth. When they smile you need to put on sunglasses, just to soften the ... read more

Uzbekistan has many firsts and largests. Muimubarack Madras in Tashkent has the first Qur'an, created by Calif Osman in 648 AD. Bibi Khanym mosque in Samarkand is the biggest mosque in the east, constructed by Timur in 1403. Uzbekistan has the most diverse rulers over the millennium, with Persians, Alexander the Great, Arabs (replaced Zoroastrianism), Genghis, Timur, Czars, and Soviets taking turns ruling the land. We've been in Tashkent and Samarkand so far. First thing that jumps out is the incredibly clean streets. There is no trash anywhere, even in dark corners of the old city (Melody should relocate here). Second thing that jumps out is the people's features. The genes are so well mixed over. With its complex and colorful history, every notable place here had multiple names, each one signifying the fall and rise ... read more