Having spend the best part of the morning at the Registan I now needed to find something to eat. We drove to a restaurant frequented by locals.I didnt want to eat the same meals I can get the Korean Uzbek restaurants so decided to try goulash. Normally for us goulash is a boiled stew but this was a dry version with mashed potatoes and meat piecesI also thought goulash was a Russian dish but they said it was Uzbek as well. We also ordered some manti which similar ...

Images of the Silk Road are forever depicted by caravan traders making their way across sandy dunes to the fabled oasis of Samarkand. The city was home to untold treasures criss crossing their way across deserts from China to Europe. Samarkands Registan is the most famous sight of the Silk Road and conjures up images of an Arabian bazaar town.The Registan (sandy place) is made of a square comprising of three buildings facing each other on each side. It has receiv...

Walking a short distance north from the Tomb of Timur we came to another mausoleum. I dont recall who this was for as we were seeing rather too many mausoleums and tombs over the course of the trip and only the more prominent persons such as Timur stick to mind.Outside were parked Lada's and some monument in Russian to some more recent local person. Again I'm not familiar with who this was.After going thru the entrance archway there was a large open area housing ...

Today was my first full day exploring the famous Silk Road city of Samarkand. This is probably one of the most fabled cities and conjures up images of dusty bazaars and passing caravan merchants.Unfortunately for me I could only come in February and even worse the weather was scheduled to continue to be cold today before turning milder only on the next two days. The start to the day also wasnt in character as the restaurant was playing the tune to 'Top Gun' durin...

Leaving my camera batteries charging I wanted to go and look for some food and see if I could find the Russian Orthodox Church we had driven past. I always feel like an animal coming out of its hole whenever I'm on these trips and go searching for food.I was quite impressed by the architecture and European feel to this modern district. This wasn't built in Soviet times but is more recent and modern.I saw signs outside two museums so was going to ask my guide abou...