Holiday in Central Asia (25): Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan
September 26th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
It was our penultimate day (Day 24) in Central Asia and, leaving behind Khiva after three nights, it was back to travelling, back to bumpy roads, back to the endless desert. However, the temperature had suddenly fallen from around 35C to about 25C which was more comfortable.
Over the last few weeks, we have spent a lot of time in different parts of Uzbekistan, working roughly from east to west, starting in the north-east at the Fergana Valley and finishing now in the north-west in a region called Khorezm which is the delta of the Amu-Darya River. Historically, what the Nile is to Egypt, the Amu-Darya has been to Central Asia.
For this morning, we reunited with local guide Ana to travel to a part of the Khorezm region called Elliq-Qala (Fifty Fortresses). We visited two of these fortresses quite close to the town of Buston, but otherwise in the middle of the empty desert.
First was Ayala-Qala which was at its height in the 6th & 7th centuries. It was quite a tough climb to the top and only three members of the group – I was one – bothered to do it. The second was Toprak-Qala which dates from the 3rd & 4th centuries. A new set of stone steps made access relatively easy. Before leaving the area, sitting in our coach we had a packed lunch.
After lunch, we drove a further 150 km (over 90 miles) to a place called Nukus which “The Lonely Planet” calls “one of Uzbekistan’s least appealing cities”. This is the capital of a semi-autonomous part of Uzbekistan which is styled the Republic of Karakalpakstan (the name means ‘black hat’). It has an area of 166,590 sq km – a bit bigger than England & Wales and over one third the total area of Uzbekistan – but a population of only two million. It has a right to leave Uzbekistan at any time, but it is so poor that this would not make any sense.
Nukus’s only real tourist attraction is the Savitsky Museum, an impressive art gallery founded by the Russian Igor Savitsky (1915-1984) who somehow managed to curate the world’s second largest collection of Soviet avant-garde art (the largest is in St Petersburg). The museum opened in 1968 and the new building was completed in 2017. We spent about an hour and a half here with a museum guide called Muhabbat who knew the collection extremely well but had never heard of Frida Kahlo.
Dinner was just around the corner of our hotel at a Turkish restaurant called “Sofram” – it was good to ring the changes with two types of pide.
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Holiday in Central Asia (24): around Khiva in Uzbekistan
September 25th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Day 23 found us still staying in Khiva and it was a light day with simply a morning trip to two nearby locations with a local guide called Enessa.
On the outskirts of Khiva is the Palace of Nurullabay which was built between 1906 and 1912. Like the Summer Palace outside Bukhara, this is a mixture of Eastern and Western or Uzbek and Russian styles. The rooms are largely empty, so one admires the ceramic chimneys, large mirrors and gold-embroidered ceilings. There is a collection of early photographs of the various khans and some of their subjects.
Further out of town – north-west towards Urgench – is a place called Ulli Hovli (Great Court) Fortress. Some three centuries ago, this became home to around 100 Turkmen families who were unhappy living in Turkmenistan and allowed to move to Uzbekistan. In 2014, it was turned into a Turkmen Cultural Centre. Given that our group had been refused entry to Turkmenistan, this was the the best way on this trip to learn something of the Turkmen way of life and the complex includes the breeding of Bactrian camels and Ahalteke horses and access to yurts and crafts. We had lunch here.
After free time in the afternoon, we returned to the walled city for dinner at a restaurant called ”Odilbek”. This evening, we were treated to a display of traditional music and dance called ‘lazgi’. There were five men performing string, drum and pipe instruments and three dancers – two brightly dressed women and a young boy – presenting narratives dances. I was prevailed upon to represent the British by joining in one of these dances.
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Holiday in Central Asia (23): Khiva in Uzbekistan
September 24th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
We are now in Khiva (Day 22). Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand were all caravan cities on the legendary Silk Road, the ancient trading route that led from China through the Middle East and into Europe, and Khiva is the most intact and the most remote of these Silk Road cities.
The place has existed since pre-Biblical times and it was at its most powerful in the 16th & 17th centuries, although the oldest remaining buildings are only 19th century. Since 1967, Khiva’s status as a museum city has ensured that it remains the most homogeneous collection of architecture in the Islamic world. Today it is a city of 80,000, some 3,000 of them located in the legendary inner walled city. Holiday in Central Asia (23): Khiva in Uzbekistan known as Ichan Kala. The walls are 26 feet (8 metres) high and run for over a mile (2.2 km).
In the morning and early afternoon, we had an excellent tour of some of the many sights of the Inchan Kala with a tiny local guide called Ana. It was another really hot day.
Entering by the South Gate, we started at the Islam Hodja Madrassah (1908) and the Islam Hodja Minaret (1910) named after the Grand Vizier of the time and constructed by a poor architect who was subsequently buried alive. The minaret stands 146 feet (44.8 metres) high, only a little shorter than the Kalon in Bukhara.
Next stop was the Pakhlavan Mahmoud Mausoleum, named after a character who lived from 1247-1325 and – unlikely as it sounds – managed to combine being a wrestler, a poet, and a furrier. This mausoleum was created between 1810-1835 but, during the Soviet era, it was transformed into the Khorezm Museum of Revolutionary History.
We called into workshops for carpet and wood carving before admiring the imposing Kalta Minor Minaret (Short Minaret) which was commissioned by the khan in 1852 to stand at 230 feet (over 70 metres) as the biggest in the Islamic world, but abandoned in the wake of his death while standing at only 85 feet (26 metres). It is still a beautiful sight with bands of different coloured tiles glistening in the sunshine. There was music and action as an outdoor puppet performance entertained the tourists.
Now we visited the complex known as the Kuhna Ark (Old Fortress). The foundations of the Ark date from the 5th century but most of the structure was added to piecemeal in the 19th century. At the heart of the complex is the Summer Mosque which is also known as the Ak-Sheikh Bobo Mosque. Black elm pillars support a structure of majolica tiles housing the usual mihrab (a niche facing Mecca) and minbar (a pulpit). The other impressive feature of the complex is the Kurinsh Khana (Throne Room) which was built in 1804-1806. Here the khan would grant public audiences. Indeed, as luck would have it, we witnessed a guy dressed up as the khan pontificating to a group of subjects also wearing period costume.
Next we came to the Sayid Allauddin Mausoleum. This tomb dates from 1310 when Khiva was under the Golden Horde of the Mongol Empire and is known as the earliest standing building in Khiva. It was restored in 1825 and is decorated with gorgeous majolica tiles.
Then we were on to the Juma Mosque of 1788. What makes this particular mosque memorable is the forest of black elm pillars which makes it reminiscent of La Mezquita in Spain’s Cordoba. In total, there are 213 pillars, each 10 feet (3.15 metres) apart, but they are of very varying ages (the four oldest being 10th century). A scene from the movie “Orlando” was filmed here in 1992. Beside the Juma Mosque is the 154 feet (47 metre) Juma Minaret.
The final visit of the tour was a highlight: the Tosh-Hovli (Stone House) Palace built between 1830-1838 on the orders of Allah Kuli Khan. It is a complex of 163 rooms and three courtyards, consisting of a harem for the four wives and 37 concubines, a reception court (Ishrat Hauli), and a court of law (Arz Hauli). The complex’s first architect was executed for failing to complete the task in two years.
We had free time in the afternoon. In a part of that, I returned to the Islam Hodja Madrassah to look around the Museum of Applied Arts. Then dinner was a buffet affair at the hotel. It was a rather mediocre affair, but then we have been spoiled by lots of excellent dinners in splendid restaurants.
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Holiday in Central Asia (22): the road to Khiva in Uzbekistan
September 23rd, 2022 by Roger Darlington
If our trip had gone according to plan, we would have driven into Khiva from the border crossing between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan a short distance away, having spent three nights in Turkmenistan. Instead on Day 21, we had to travel to Khiva by road from Bukhara, a distance of some 450 km (over 300 miles) and the longest road journey of our holiday.
Now, in 2006, I did this road journey in the opposite direction from Khiva to Bukhara. It was a grim experience. Last time, it took six and a half hours with two very brief stops to relieve ourselves in the open; this time, it took eight and a half hours but with stops at locations with toilets and with an hour or so for lunch.
What was exactly the same, of course, was the terrain. Most of the journey is through a kind of desert known as Kizil-Kum which translates as ‘red sand’. In fact, in dry conditions, the sand is more brown-coloured and, every few feet, there is a type of tiny tree which looks more like a thin bush.
Otherwise, nothing: no towns, no villages, no houses, no hills, no rocks, no animals (although lizards and snakes are hiding in the sand) – just a road stretching straight ahead all the way to the horizon and very few other vehicles. This only changed when we crossed the Amu-Darya River (historically known as the Oxus) when suddenly the land becomes greener and people and animals can be seen.
Everything else was different: a much better coach, improved roads (until the river), no checkpoints, and even occasional service stations. Indeed, we were astonished when, about half way to Khiva and literally in the middle of nowhere, we stopped at a service station which had a restaurant called “Zahratun” where we had a very decent lunch.
Our hotel in Khiva – Asia Khiva – is actually the one where I stayed in 2006. After some time to rest, Timur took us into the Inchan Kala (the walled city) through the Tosh Darvoza (South Gate) just opposite our hotel and up to a viewing platform at the Kuhna Ark to see the sun set – a magical experience. Then we had dinner at a restaurant called “Tapas”, sitting outdoors on a terrace overlooking the Kalta Minor Minaret – more magic.
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Holiday in Central Asia (21): still Bukhara in Uzbekistan
September 22nd, 2022 by Roger Darlington
As yesterday, it was a slow day (Day 20) in Bukhara instead of an intensive day in Turkmenistan.
We started by visiting the workshop of a world renown artist of miniatures. Davlat Toshev has exhibited in the Louvre and hopes to have an exhibition in London sometime soon. His work ranges in price from $50 to £20,000. Next we strolled around the former Jewish Quarter of the Old City. Since independence, almost all of Bukhara’s Jews have emigrated to Israel or the United States, so the remaining synagogue is rarely open but we were fortunate.
We then drove the short distance to a park on the western side of the city to view the Ismail Samani Mausoleum. This place was discovered in 1934 by the Russian archaeologist Shishkin who found it buried in accumulated sand and earth which had ensured its survival during the Mongol destruction. It was completed in 905, making it over 1,000 years old. Indeed it is arguably the oldest intact structure in Central Asia. It is a 35 foot (10.8 metre) cube made of baked bricks laid out so that the ornamentation is never the same when the light shines on it.
It was time for another bazaar and a large one was walking distance from the mausoleum with an array of colours and odours to enjoy. Next stop was the Chashma Ayub Mausoleum. The name translates as Job’s Well and legend has it that the prophet struck his staff in the ground and found water here. However, there is no evidence that Job ever visited Bukhara and, since he lived in pre-Biblical times and the original construction dates from the the 12th century, this is clearly just a legend. Today the building houses a small museum about water management in Bukhara.
Lunch was in an amazing place called Akbar House The building was 270 years old and started out as the home of a 19th century Jewish merchant. Today it is a protected structure so that the design and contents have to stay the same. After lunch of traditional but local plov, the hostess displayed suzanis to us.
Since we were supposed to be in Turkmenistan today, our extended programme in Bukhara had run out of steam and we were given the afternoon at leisure. I had no appetite for more mosques and mausoleums, so I remained at out hotel where I wrote and read.
Diner was at another splendid location: a trendy restaurant called “Andara” where we had pike perch fish on the rooftop terrace.
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Holiday in Central Asia (20): around Bukhara in Uzbekistan
September 21st, 2022 by Roger Darlington
At this stage (Day 19), the whole pace of our intensive holiday changed. Instead of crossing into Turkmenistan, we remained in Bukhara for a leisurely day In the area.
First, we drove the short distance out of the city to a place called Sitorai Mohi Hosa. This is popularly known as the Mir’s Summer Palace since it was built by the Russians in 1911 for the last Emir Alim Khan to persuade him to leave the Ark Fortress. There are three main courtyards and these days the buildings are mainly occupied by local art & craft museums. The style of the architecture and furnishings is an odd mix of Russian and Central Asian.
Next we drove further north to the little town of Giyduvon to visit a place called “Farzona” which is a centre for ceramic and weaving crafts set in a large family home that is also a guest house. After the traditional greeting of tea, the owner – 8th generation master Alisher Abdullaev – showed us how the clay is fashioned and the threads are weaved before we had lunch out in the courtyard.
Back in Bukhara, we were given the opportunity of a hour of free time back in the Old City. I chose to find my way to somewhere I had seen on my 2006 trip which had not been covered this time round: the Bolo-Hauz Mosque of 1718, the emir’s official place of worship.
The 39-foot (12 metre) high diwan still stands as one of the highest, most graceful, and most beautifully decorated in Central Asia. A distinguishing feature of the mosque is its 20 pillars. In fact, the building is often referred to as the 40 pillar mosque because of the reflecting pool in front of it, but sadly the water is so low and turgid these days that the effect has to be imagined.
Dinner was in the Old City. Again it was in a restaurant with a wonderful ambience and good food. It was called “Anor” which means pomegranate. Afterwards we had a walk to see the Kalon Minaret beautifully illuminated. At the foot of the minaret, a rock band was just finishing an open-air concert.
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Holiday in Central Asia (19): Bukhara in Uzbekistan
September 20th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Now in Bukhara (Day 18), we had a splendid day on a tour of some of the many sights of the Old City. It was 35C and there was not a cloud in the sky.
The name Bukhara means ‘monastery’ in Sanskrit. They say that the 20th century has not yet arrived in Bukhara, yet alone the 21st century. Although the city’s origins are lost in time, the local authorities arbitrarily chose 1997 to celebrate Bukhara’s 2,500th anniversary. Bukhara is a centre of the great Tajik culture and the vast majority of the city’s population is still Tajik-speaking.
Much of the Old City’s appearance dates to the 16th century when Bukhara was capital of the Bukhara khanate and the city boasted dozens of caravansaries (merchants’ inns) and bazaars, 100 madrassahs (Islamic colleges), and 300 mosques. There are almost 1,000 places of historic interest and over 140 buildings are protected architectural sites. The dominant colour is brown or mustard and overzealous restoration has been kept at bay here.
We started our city tour at the Nadir Divanbegi Madrassah This particular madrassah – dating from the 1630s – has a tympanum decorated with two flying phoenixes with white does clamped in their talons (a rare type of design since humans and animals do not normally feature in Islamic art). Opposite this building is a statue of Hoja Nasruddin astride a donkey. He is a semi-mythical ‘wise fool’ who appears in Sufi teaching takes. Further along is the Lyabi-Hauz, a plaza built around a pool in 1620 (the name is Tajik for ‘around the pool’).
At the height of its commercial power, Bukhara had five main vaulted and domed bazaars or trading domes or toks. They straddled convergent trade arteries and and were accessed by entrance arches tall enough for a laden pack camel. Today three of these bazaars survive. The northern-most and largest of the three is the Tok-i-Zagaron (jewellers) of 1570. The other two are the Tok-i-Sarrafon (money changers) and the Tok-i-Telpak Furushon (cap makers). It was a joy to wander through them.
Next we admired a pair of madrassahs standing directly opposite one another – such a pair is called kosh madrassahs. On the north side is the Uleg Beg Madrassah of 1417. This was named after the grandson of Tamerlane and star motifs reflect his fascination with astronomy. On the south side is the Abdel Aziz Madrassah of 1652. Today it is – like so many former madrassahs – full of stalls selling to tourists.
Registan Square is the heart of the old town (or shakhristan) and the scene of many historic events ranging from the execution of the British ‘Great Game’ adventurers Charles Stoddart & Arthur Conolly in 1842 [for further information click here] to the overthrowing of the emirate and the raising of the Red Flag in 1920.
On the square is the main entrance to the Ark Fortress with its high sloping walls and bulbous towers that swell out at the bottom. Home to the rulers of Bukhara for a millennium, the Ark is as old as Bukhara itself. The first fortress to be documented as built here dates from the 7th century, but the present form of the fortress dates from the 16th century. The Ark was 80% destroyed in September 1920 by a fire started by Bolshevik bombardment.
Entrance to the impressive Ark is through a western gateway built in 1742 and up a stone ramp. At the top of the walkway, one reaches the 18th century Court Mosque with its deeply-carved mushroom-topped stalactite pillars. This is now a small museum. Then there is the 17th century Throne Room (or Kurinesh Khana) which has witnessed a series of coronations of new emirs. This was largely destroyed by the fire of 1920 and has been the subject of much restoration.
Entrance to the impressive Ark is through a western gateway built in 1742 and up a stone ramp. At the top of the walkway, one reaches the 18th century Court Mosque with its deeply-carved mushroom-topped stalactite pillars. This is now a small museum. Then there is the 17th century Throne Room (or Kurinesh Khana) which has witnessed a series of coronations of new emirs. This was largely destroyed by the fire of 1920 and has been the subject of much restoration.
Hidden behind the Ark is the Zindan, the old water tower that served for centuries as the city jail. There were three appalling cells, the most infamous known as the Bug Pit because, when a prisoner was judged to be too ill to be fed, he was given over to the spiders. Access to this pit was only down a six metre long rope. The pit housed the British adventurers Charles Stoddart & Arthur Conolly before they were beheaded.
Travelling east along the road known as Khodja Nurobod, we came to perhaps the jewel of Bukhara’s old town: the magnificent square called Poi Kalon (literally the ‘Pedestal of the Great One’). At the south end, it contains the famed giant brick Kalon Minaret, spared by Genghis Khan, and standing 155 feet (48 metres) high. A minaret has stood here since 919 and the present one was started in 1127.
On opposite sides of this graceful square are the Mir-I-Arab Madrassah and the Kalon Mosque. The Mir-I-Arab Madrassah is now the largest Muslim school in Uzbekistan. The name means ‘Prince of Arabs’ and refers to Sheikh Addullah of Yemen, the spiritual adviser to the Shaybani Ubaydullah Khan who had the madrassah built in the 16th century. Today it houses around 140 students who study a four-year course of Arabic, theology and the Koran.
The Kalon Mosque forms a 415 by 255 feet (127 by 78 metre) open rectangle with four iwans on its axis and seven entrance gates. The name means ‘Great’ and, not only is it one of the most ancient mosques in Central Asia, it is also the second biggest, capable of accommodating some 10,000 worshipers. A mosque of one kind or another has stood here since 795 and the present structure was completed in 1514.
Dinner was something special. We went to the home cum workshop of a guy called Rahmon where, as well as having dinner, we had music from two men, dances from two women, and displays of beautiful suzanis. At an invitation from one of the dancers, I joined in for a while in the interests of British-Uzbek relations.
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Holiday in Central Asia (18): Shakhrisabz in Uzbekistan
September 19th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Today (Day 17) was technically a day at leisure but, although I had been there in 2006, I had previously signed up for an optional excursion to Shakhrisabz for an extra £50. In fact, but one of the group decided to make the trip (the odd one out had been before) and we made the two-hour journey in three cars. All the drivers were pretty manic, driving constantly at about 100 km per hour (around 70 mph) which seemed faster on roads which, while decent by the standards of Central Asia, were far from the standard of a British motorway.
Shakhrisabz is famous as the birthplace of Tamerlane who gave it its present name which in Tajik stands for ‘Green Town’.
Timur bin Taraghay Barlas (1336–1405) was a 14th century warlord of Turco-Mongol descent, conqueror of much of Western and central Asia, and founder of the Timurid Empire (1370–1405) in Central Asia and of the Timurid dynasty which survived in some form until 1857. He is also known as Timur-e Lang which translates to Timur the Lame or Tamerlane, as he was lame after sustaining an injury to the leg as a child.
He was born in Shakhrisabz in 1346 and later ruled over an empire that extended in modern nations from south eastern Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, through central Asia encompassing part of Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, India, even approaching Kashgar in China.
Tamerlane’s legacy is a mixed one, for while Central Asia blossomed, some say even peaked, under his reign, other places such as Baghdad, Damascus and other Arab, Persian and Turkic cities were sacked and destroyed and many thousands of people were slaughtered. He is therefore one of history’s greatest and cruelest conquerors responsible for an estimated 17 million deaths as a result of his 14 military campaigns.
However, under the post-independence Karimov regime and subsequently, Tamerlane is revered as the founder of the Uzbek nation, even though he was not an Uzbek, he did not speak Uzbek, and he massacred large numbers of Uzbeks.
The main sight in Shakhrisabz is the Ak-Seray or White Palace. The palace is named as the colour denoting noble descent, not as the visual impression, since blue, green and gold patterned the vast mosaics. When Tamerlane had it constructed at the beginning of the 15th century, two towers of 215 feet (65 metres) flanked a portal arch of 130 feet (40 metres) high and 70 feet (22 metres) wide, but the central arch collapsed a couple of centuries ago and the two remaining towers are in a sorry state of repair.
Nevertheless it remains awesome and underlines Tamerlane’s boast “Let he who doubts our power and munificence look upon our buildings”. The open park behind Ak-Seray used to have a statue of Lenin but, since 1996, it has displayed a huge statue of local hero Tamerlane.
Since my visit in 2006, much of central Shakhrisabz has been destroyed and replaced by open areas which seemingly are popular with the locals but angered the administrators of the UN World Heritage Site scheme.
Besides the Ak Serai, the other main place to be visited in Shakhrisabz is a pair of ensembles called Dor-us-Siadat (Seat of Power and Might) and Dor-ut-Tilavat (Seat of Respect and Consideration). In 2006, we saw both but, on this visit, we only went to the first because our guide insisted that the second had been reconstructed used in a very poor style.
Dor-us-Siadat is a crumbling mausoleum that was built to honour Jehangir, the eldest and favourite son of Tamerlane who was killed in 1375 aged only 22 when he fell from a horse. Behind the mausoleum is a crypt discovered in 1943 when a child playing football fell through the ground. This is still called Tamerlane’s crypt although he was never buried here and the simple musty room seems far too plain for such a conqueror.
We were back in Samarkand in time for a late lunch in a grand restaurant named after the city. Before we left the restaurant, Timur broke the news that, two days before we were due to enter the fifth and final country of our tour, Turkmenistan had decided not to admit us. This is in spite of all the reassurances from VJV before our departure that we could purchase a visa for $100 at the Turkmenistan border. At this stage, we have no idea what the revised arrangements will be.
After a leisurely dinner at one more city restaurant, the “Istiqlol”, we continued with our planned itinerary by taking an evening train from Samarkand to Bukhara. This is a journey of 276 km (170 miles) which took an hour and a half in comfortable style.
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Holiday in Central Asia (17): Samarkand in Uzbekistan
September 18th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
We spent the whole of Day 16 in Samarkand and it was the best day yet and arguably it will be the highlight of the entire tour.
Samarkand – ‘samar’ means land and ‘kand’ means sweet – is situated in the valley of the river Zarafshan. The first settlement here was constructed in the 6th century BC and was first conquered by Alexander the Great some 200 years later. He spent two years here and married Roxanne. For some 2,000 years, it was one of the most important stops on the Silk Road.
The city fell to Islam when Qutaiba ibn Muslim invaded it in 712. Tamerlane made it his capital of the relatively small region of Transoxiana in 1370 and then proceeded to expand his empire. It is a centre of the great Tajik culture and the vast majority of the people there is still Tajik-speaking. It is the second city of Uzbekistan with a population of 500,000 and it is usually cooler than much of the rest of the country.
Our first call of the day was to the Gur Emir Mausoleum. Originally this mausoleum was built by Tamerlane for his grandson who died in 1404, but more significantly it was used to house the tomb of Tamerlane himself who died the following year. The term Gur Emir means ‘Tomb of the Emir’. Tamerlane’s two sons and grandson are entombed here and beneath a two-metre slab of dark-coloured jade – in the ancient world more precious than gold – there is the tomb of Tamerlane himself. Eight tombs stand here altogether under a sky-blue dome with 64 ribs reaching up to 32 metres (105 feet).
Next stop was the Ulug Beg Observatory. This is located at 710 metres in the foothills overlooking the district of Afrosiab to the north-east of Samarkand and it was built in 1428 by Tamerlane’s grandson Ulug Beg (1394-1449) who was much less interested in warfare than in science. The complex housed the largest 90 degree quadrant the world had ever seen, although it is called a sextant because only 60 degrees were used, but it was destroyed by fanatics in 1449. It was only discovered in 1908 by the Russian archaeologist Viatkin. All one can see today is a section of the quadrant located by Viatkin (36 foot or 11 metres) embedded in the rock, but there is also an interesting little museum opposite with all the exhibits described in Uzbek, Russian and English.
Next we visited the holiest site in Samarkand: Shah-I-Zinda (The Living King). This complex of 22 buildings is a necropolis of 44 mausoleums dating mostly from the 14th & 15th centuries which climbs up a hill via a series of 36 steps (the Staircase of Sinners) and various passages. Master Persian and Azerbaijani craftsmen created stunning works of terracotta, majolica and tile work. The most famous tomb is that of Qusam ibn-Abbas, believed to have been a cousin of the Prophet Mohammed, which was constructed in 1460. Three pilgrimages to it are deemed the equivalent of one to Mecca. Restoration work is a constant process.
The weather was glorious so lunch was outside at the “Oriental Sweets” restaurant – a converted caravanserai – where unusually coffee was available before and after the food.
After lunch, we visited the Bibi Khanum Mosque which was built on the orders of Tamerlane in 1399-1404 by 600 slaves and 100 elephants brought from India and 200 architects, artists, master craftsmen and masons from the rest of the empire. It was once one of the Islamic world’s largest mosques but, over the centuries, it crumbled and it finally collapsed in an earthquake in 1897. The name ‘Bibi Khanum’ means elder wife and there is a legend about the building of the mosque that probably stems from Tamerlane’s chief wife Sray Mulk Khanum [for information on the legend click here]. The ensemble consists of two small side mosques and the large central mosque before which stands a huge marble pedestal holding a facsimile of the famous Osman Koran which is located in Tashkent.
Next to the mosque, we were able to stroll around Samarkand’s main bazaar called the Siyob Market. This mainly sells dry foods, especially such items as non bread, melons, apples, apricots, and raisins.
Finally an electric van – something new compared to 2006 – carried us to the greatest set of buildings on our tour: the Registan. The name means ‘sandy place’ and it is said that sand was strewn on the ground to soak up the blood from the public executions that were held there until early in the 20th century. The central square is the size of a football pitch and the whole complex is considered by many to be the noblest public square in the world
The complex consists of three great buildings around this central square. They were madrassahs for private study and not mosques for public worship and originally built by the children and grandchildren of Tamerlane. However, with the exception of the Ulug Beg, they were later destroyed and replaced in the 17th century, so the three structures were built over a period of 230 years. The two later buildings were the work of the architect Abd al-Jabbar who drew his inspiration from the earlier Timurid style which is why the three buildings are so harmonious in spite of construction over a period of more than two centuries. All three contain a central courtyard with large iwans (arched portals).
Islam forbids the representation of living things and even symmetrical patterns, so the buildings are covered with intricate Kufic quotations from the Koran, inscriptions extolling the magnificence of the buildings, and various ornate patterns. The dominant colour of the tiles is deep blue. Sadly only about 10% of the tiles that one sees today are original. Most of the tiles that look old and damaged in fact date from the Soviet restoration of the 1970s. The Registan is today designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
One approaches the complex from the fourth, open (southern) side and (another change from 2006) there is an official entry point and charge.
On the left hand side is the Ulug Beg Madrassah constructed between 1417-1420 shortly after the death of Tamerlane. It was built by Tamerlane’s grandson Ulug Beg. He was a mathematician and astronomer and encouraged the teaching of science as well as religion. The elaborate tiling of stars reflects Ulug Beg’s passion for astronomy. Having room for over 100 teachers and students in 52 cells positioned around the courtyard, effectively this building was a university. This period brought the cultural flourishing that led to the medical discoveries of Abu Sinna (known to renaissance Europe as Avicenna) and the mathematical breakthroughs of Al Khorezm (for whom algebra is named).
On the right hand side is the Sher-Dor Madrassah built between 1619-1636 and modelled on the earlier Ulug Beg Madrassah. The name means ‘Lion Bearer’. Although the Koran forbids the depiction of animals and people, the tiling on the pishtaq (porch) shows two lions stalking gazelles and behind each lion is a sun portrayed with a human face. This was the badge of Tamerlane. The unorthodox representation is attributed in part to the ego of the governor who built the madrassah and in part to the continued influence of the Persian Zoroastrians who revered the power of the sun.
Both the Ulug Beg Madrassah and the Sher-Dor Madrasah have minarets at each of the four corners. However, these were used more for decoration than for calling the faithful to prayer because the buildings were primarily colleges rather than mosques. Indeed, in Tamerlane’s day, they were used for public executions with criminals being thrown from the top of a minaret in a sack.
Straight ahead between the Ulug Beg Madrassah and the Sher-Dor Madrasah is the Tillya-Kari Madrassah built between 1646-1660. The name means ‘Gold Decorated’. This building looks different from the other two. There are no minarets on the corners, but instead a dome chamber to the left which covers the mihrab facing Mecca. The dome was restored in 1969 and on the inside looks breath-taking.
Dinner was in a city restaurant again – this time an Italian place called “Risotto” which served a dessert dubbed an Uzbek tiramisu.
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Holiday in Central Asia (16): from Tajikistan back to Uzbekistan
September 17th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
On Day 15, it was wonderful to wake up over-looking a glorious lake scene. Before breakfast, I made.a short walk by the lake-side and, after breakfast, the group drove a bit further round the lake for different views. Iskander-Kul, named – according to legend – after Alexander the Great, is a mountain lake of glacial origin and lies on the northern slopes of the Gissar Range in the Fann Mountains.
It is located at 2,190 metres (7,200 feet) so, in the early morning and nighttime, extra clothing is advisable. The views are breathtaking and I could happily have spent the morning there but, as always, we were on the go.
We returned to the main road – another three quarters of an hour of bouncing around – and then, back on that road, we headed west to the town of Penjikent. This is a place with an ancient history dating back to the Silk Road days. Indeed, just outside the modern town, are the ruins of an old Sogdian town which was destroyed in 722 and discovered in 1946. it is dubbed ‘the Pompeii of Central Asia’ but in truth there is no comparison.
After lunch at a restaurant called “Nigina” (where nobody knew the password to the WiFi), we had another look at Tajik history when we visited an impressive history museum named after Abu Abdullah Rudaki (858-941) who is known as ‘the father of Persian poetry’.
After three days in Tajikistan, it was time to return to Uzbekistan, so we said farewell to Shahbaz (who is now my friend on Facebook) and hooked up with our Uzbek guide Timur on the other side of the border where the group returned to travelling in one coach and we drove to the magical city of Samarkand. I was here in 2006 and never expected to return.
The previous two days, Samarkand hosted a meeting of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation with President Putin of Russia and President Xi of China as two of the participants. Also in attendance were the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan whose armies have been fighting border skirmishes while we have been in Tajikistan. According to media reports, 26 people have been killed.
Our boutique hotel was the Grand Samarkand and dinner was at a restaurant called “Xan Atlas” which especially enjoyable because the main dish was fish (we have eaten so much meat) and the dessert was birthday cake (one of the group was 67).
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