After driving for a few hours east from Bukhara towards Tashkent, we arrive in Samarkand, one of the most important centres of commerce on the ancient Silk Road, after a few hours of crazy Uzbek highway driving. The Sogdians, a merchant people who never had their own state but operated within the territories of other rulers such as the Achaemenids and the Seleucids, once lived here. Sogdia later became part of the Western Turkic Khaganate, but the people’s commercial significance was destroyed by the Muslim conquest of Central Asia. Nevertheless, Samarkand’s status as an important regional centre has endured to this day.
The Russian Quarter
On the first day, we walk through the “Russian Quarter” in the south-east of the city centre, with its wide avenues, lush parks and many Orthodox Christian and Roman Catholic churches, such as the Church of St. Alexius Metropolitan of Moscow or the Parish of St. John the Baptist.
Silk Road Par Excellence
We dedicate the next two days to exploring the remains from the ancient Silk Road era. We visit the Registan Ensemble, a vast spiritual complex comprising three imposing madrasahs and mosques, which were built during the Uzbek Janid and Timurid dynasties. Here, we see the Ulugh Beg Madrasah (Ulugh Beg was the grandson of the great conqueror and king Timur), the Sher-Dor Madrasah (which features an unusual tiger motif on its façade) and the Tilya-Kori (“the gilded”, for obvious reasons) Madrasah.
The next day, we visit the Bibi-Khanym Mosque and the beautifully restored Mausoleum of Islam Karimov. Afterwards, we escape the busy city buzz for a while and wander through an old Muslim cemetery. From there, we enjoy a fantastic view of the Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis, a complex of over eight lavishly built mausoleums dating back to the 11th to 15th centuries. Another highlight of our stay in Samarkand is the Mirza Ulughbek Observatory, more notably for its scientific significance rather than its photographic potential.
Samarkand was intense. Unlike Bukhara, it’s not a museum city in the middle of the desert, but a modern city and an important centre of Uzbekistan. The historic sites are embedded in the modern city landscape, which makes visiting with a van quite complicated. This is made even more difficult when travelling with a dog because few hotels or hostels will welcome us. After three wonderful days of sightseeing, we — and especially Apollo — were happy to leave the city again, but we keep the beauty of the ancient Silk Road city in our hearts.