After exploring in the dark last night, today I had the full day in Samarkand. But, it was going to be another hot day, so I decided to head out early and begin my sightseeing before the sun got too high. I also assumed this would allow me to beat any crowds.
I was heading to see the Shah-i-Zinda cemetery site, but my route took me by the extraordinary Bibi-Khanym Mosque. I am realizing why generations of travellers have found Samarkand so impressive. I had a sense before for the beauty of architecture that was here, but not its scale.
The Bibi Khanym Mausoleum is just across from the mosque named after her.
I arrived just after 8:30, and indeed it was mostly empty.
"Cemetery" somewhat understates this site, as it is a collection of very impressive mausoleums, some dating back as far as the 11th century. There is a sign outside providing some information, but also showing a photo of how crowded it can become!
There were some people here this morning, but not very many. In fact, I am sure I was surrounded by more dead bodies than living ones!
I have been to many impressive cemeteries, but this one is certainly the most remarkable in terms of its scale.
These may be homes of the dead and you may still be alive, but you feel quite small and insignificant walking through here!
From Shah-i-Zinda I could look back across at the Bibi-Khanym Mosque (to the right) and Bibi Khanym Mausoleum (to the left) and you can get a good sense for how massive they are from here.
After finishing touring Shah-i-Zinda I walked back to my guesthouse to eat breakfast. I popped out again around 10:30 to see the Registan.
But, I was already finding it too hot, so I decided to come back in the evening. I did take this photo of the facade of the Sherdor Madrasa, which is noteworthy because it depicts human faces/living creatures, an Islamic "no-no."
As I walked around the Registan walls and back to my guesthouse, I thought this view was striking with the Tilya-Kori Madrasa cupola in the background and the Russian work truck in the foreground.
I had a few things to do on my laptop, so I sat on the tapchan on the open air second floor of my guesthouse and relaxed in the shade for a couple of hours
In the early afternoon it was time for lunch. I wanted to see a more modern part of the city, plus I had a couple of things I needed to buy, so I took a taxi ten minutes east to a cafe. I had a funny, albeit stressful, thing happen to me after I got out of the cab, because I got out wearing my sunglasses and left my other pair of glasses in the cab. Over the next thirty minutes I struggled using the YandexGo app to retrieve my glasses. Eventually I got the phone number of my cabbie and I was able to Whatsapp him and he drove back to return my glasses. I gave him what I think was a reasonably nice tip for the trouble and he seemed happy and I certainly was, too!
After lunch and buying my sundries in a mall, I walked into the Alisher Navoi Central Park.
I snacked on some cherries I bought from a vendor as I walked . . .
. . . and eventually I sat and enjoyed a nice cool smoothie of some sort at a cafe in the park.
There is an amphitheatre in the park . . .
. . . and the Church of St. Alexius Metropolitan of Moscow across the street. I think this is the first church I have seen in Uzbekistan.
From here I took a taxi back to my hotel and then went up onto the rooftop of a fancy restaurant close by. I drank a beer up here with a view of the Registan.
Something happened up here which was very unexpected. As I was enjoying the view, I saw Matt and Molly who are travel vloggers ("Dabble and Travel") across the rooftop. I occasionally watch their content, and it was very helpful to me when I planned the trip to Syria in 2023. I decided to head over and say hi and next thing I knew a very enjoyable couple of hours flew by as we traded travel stories.
It was well past sunset when I finally excused myself and headed over to finally actually tour the Registan. The Registan is impressive and well-lit at night, plus much cooler than in the day. That said, it is more difficult to photograph in the dark.
Once I was done touring the Registan I bought a shawarma for dinner and headed back to my hotel for the night. Tomorrow I head to Tashkent and then into Kazakhstan, so tonight is my last night in Uzbekistan.
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