The historic city of Samarkand is a crossroad and a melting pot of cultures. Samarkand is situated in the valley of the river Zerafshan. It is the second largest city of Uzbekistan and is of the same age as the city of Babylon or Rome.
The history of Samarkand is about 2,750 years old and has witnessed many upheavals during the times of Alexander the Great, the Arabic Conquest, the Genghis-Khan Conquest and lastly Tamerlane's. Hence, the culture of Samarkand was developed and mixed together with the Iranian, Indian, Mongolian, and a bit of the Western and Eastern cultures - a true melting pot of cultures!! Poets and historians called it the "Rome of the East", and, the "pearl of the Eastern Muslim World". It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List due to the abundance of heritage and its abundant universal value.

Started the day with a visit to Gur Emir Mausoleum which contains the tombs of Amir Temur and his descendants. Although Amir Timur had already prepared a mausoleum for himself in his native Shakhrisabz, it was Gur Emir that became his tomb and the burial place of his descendants. The complex is a fine example of medieval architectural craftsmanship. The exterior decoration of the mausoleum consists of blue, turquoise, and white tiles organized into geometrical and epigraphic ornaments against a background of terracotta bricks. The inner dome drips of intricate gilded gold coating around high lattice windows. Amir Temur's headstone is a huge single piece of dark green jade. The ribbed dome and vault walls are completely covered with a mosaic of light and dark blue glazed bricks, gilding, and painting. The male fashion police did not like to see our feminine knees so we had to wear delightful wraparound skirts!!

The next stop was Registan Square where you see the picture postcard view of Samarkand. Translated from Uzbek, "registan" means a sand place. In ancient times, this central square was covered by sand. All the main roads of Samarkand lead to Registan as it was the heart of the Timurid dynasty. It was used as a public square for royal proclamations, celebrations, and public executions. From 3 sides the square is covered with grand madrasahs which are all unique. The word "madrassah" stems from Arabic and literally means "teaching and learning place".

Sher-dor madrasah was built in the 17th century. The name comes from the images on the entrance: two big golden tigers carrying a sun on their backs and heading after white fallow-deer adorn the entrance. Sher means tiger (lion) and the name is translated as "adorned with tigers".

Tillya-Kori Madrasah was also built in the 17th century and took more than 14 years to build. The name "Tilla Kori" was given thanks to its décor. Artists had used the painting method of "kundal" for decoration that contained mostly gilt. Among all three madrassahs, this building has highly decorated walls that leave everyone impressed with the abundance of golden colors. Tilla Kori means "gilded".

Ulugbek Madrasah was built in the 15th century to honour the well-known astronomer by the same name. Special attention should be given to an exquisite interior of the building. Glazed bricks create beautiful ornaments on the yellowish laying of the walls. The madrassah portal is adorned with patterns of ten-pointed stars symbolizing the sky, and astronomy. There is also a small museum here which contains some historical artifacts.

We were also treated to an interesting introduction to Uzbek musical instruments including the dutor, tamboor, tor and nye.

Dinner tonight was at the National House of Shakhnoza. There are no specially created interiors or decorations - everything is exactly as it was and is in the houses of ordinary Samarkand inhabitants. Authentic Uzbek cuisine and for someone allergic to eggs the rather frightening inclusion of quail eggs - which I was assured were for "decoration".

After dinner it was back to Registan Square for a spectacular light show over the Madrassahs. What a way to finish our day in Samarkand!! Cant wait to see what tomorrow brings.