Uzbekistan Trip. Day 5: Samarkand

January 28, 2020

I'm kind of an early morning person but I had to stay in because the weather seemed harsh to me! Samarkand was even cooler than Bukhara and we had experienced snowfalls yesterday.

I have taken more than 80 pictures for this entry about the first day in Samarkand. Today in Samarkand, we barely had a full day, and we will be going to Chimgan early tomorrow morning. Even though today's trip started at 10 in the morning, we had visited most of the main attractions and then finished the day shopping at Siyob Bazaar.

After the breakfast, we went outside, as we saw several others were playing on the ground. Snow starts to fall again; yes, we were so excited since it was our first. Mr. Ilham said that this weather condition is the best, as the snow is not heavy. It was at the peak of the winter season in mid-January.

Picture on left: Nu'man at Amir Timur Mausoleum

The first stop was the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum, the conqueror of Asia, also known as Tamerlane. Apart from Tamerlane's tomb, his sons Shah Rukh and Miran Shah, as well as his grandsons Ulugh Beg and Muhammad Sultan, are also buried here. The complex, built in the early 14^th century, also comprises a madrasa and a khanaka, the gathering place for the Sufis. Enough said! Let the pictures do the talking

Is Nu'man still alive?

Gur-e-Amir from the distant

Nu'man's roommate in Uzbekistan

Mixed of Persian-style architecture

The spectacular view of the mausoleum frontage

This is the earliest part of the complex build by Muhammad Sultan

Ceramic tiles embedded into the wall

The dark-green jade in the center is the Temur's stone

Part of the crypt turned to souvenir shops

The shops were rather small

I've made a snowball!!

An architectural complex with its azure dome from far

Four kilometers from the mausoleum, we stopped at Shah-i-Zinda beside a Muslim cemetery. This necropolis complex was formed from the 14^th century until the 19^th and the legend says that Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) cousin, Kusam bin Abbas, is buried here. The complex consists of lower, middle, and upper sections connected with a chartak.

Shah-i-Zinda means "The Tomb of Living King."

The portal of late Amir Temur's mother was decorated with glazed terracotta.

Prophet Muhammad said, "Kusam Abbas is more like me than any other person by character and appearance."

The Kusam mausoleum courtyard.

A mosque is situated beside the Kusam's mausoleum

The three pictures above are sister and nieces of Timur tombs, said to be the most beautiful

In the middle section of Shah-i-Zinda

Backed to the lower section

Even though it looks more like a normal cafeteria, the plov would never fail us at Samarqand Osh Markazi. Full of local people having lunch of the tasty seasoned plov, but a bit oily for me.

Perfectly cooked and juicy and meaty, and not to forget the tasty yellow carrots

Chilling with the elders at Plov Center.

While in the morning we visited the Temur's mausoleum, after lunch we went to the Registan square. I must say the view from afar was majestic. While most of the architectural buildings we visited were spectacular, this is the most spectacular complex, with huge squares and huge portals. It comprises three madrasahs built at different times: Ulugh Begh Madrasah (1420), Sher-Dor Madrasah (1636), and Tilya-Kori Madrasah (1660).

This Ulugh Begh Madrassa was designed by architect Kavomiddin Sherozi

The inner courtyard of a 14th-century building

The Tilya-Kori Madrass built in 16th century

I wished to have more time to spend here

A simpler Sher-Dor Madrassa courtyard

Tilya-Kori Madrassa

Sher-Dor Madrassa has higher minaret

Meeting point with the rest of the group

Late afternoon, we walked around 800 meters to the Siyob Bazar, passing through the Chorsu Trading Dome and a long walking path with dozens of small shops on both sides. Then we stopped at Bibi-Khanum Mosque for pictures. The mosque was exposed to several problems with structural integrity and has been under restoration even until now.