Uzbekistan: Samarqand travel pictures

Uzbekistan Photo Gallery – Samarkand edition

Samarkand (Russian: Самарканд, Uzbek: Samarqand) is located more or less centrally in Uzbekistan and was certainly the climax of my Central Asia trip. The city is full of larger-than-life technicolour monuments and high profile historical attractions. Nothing else evokes strong romantic images of trade caravans, palaces, and articulate decorations as the buildings in this city, the confluence of the Silk route and the Spice route.

Here is a tour of Samarqand in pictures.

Ulugh Beg Madrasah, building on the west side of the Registan complex

Tillya-Kori Madrasah, the central building

Security guards in Registan blatantly ask tourists for bribes

Sherdar Madrasa, on the east side of the Registan

Registan - meaning "sandy place"

Gur-e Amir complex

Guri Amir is a mausoleum of Tamerlane the conqueror.

This building occupies an important place in the history of Persian-Mughal architecture and was used as a blueprint for many buildings in India

Striking similarity for Mughal architecture in India, such as the Humayun's Tomb in Delhi and the Taj Mahal in Agra

Inside Temur's tomb

Heavily restored interiors of Temur's tomb

Crescent Eid moon rising behind the tomb complex

Siab/Siyob Bazaar gates

Inside the Bibi Khanam mosque (view from the priests/mullah's courtyard)

Pretty tiles on the mosque exteriors

View of the Bibi Khonum mosque complex

Shah-i-Zinda (meaning "Living king") Ensemble

Shah-i-Zinda is a necropolis that includes tombs mostly from 9-14th centuries but some more recent ones as well

The complex is a large centre of pilgrimage and devout worshipers converge from across the region

Tombs on the lower levels

Shohizinda - main street

Remaining walls of the Ak-Saray Palace, planned to be the most grandiose of all Temur (Tamerlene)'s constructions

Strolling inside Registan's buildings

Most of the rooms inside these historical structures are now tourist stores

Cheap souvenirs, and kinda expensive compared to what you get just a couple of blocks away

Sher-Dwor (Tiger-door) building

The tiger mosaics on the face of each madrassa are interesting, in that they flout the ban in Islam of the depiction of living beings on religious buildings

I definitely recommend sticking around for the evening when the lights come on.

Tilya-Kori Madrasah, the grand mosque

Lights stay on till 8pm and are well done.

Exterior facade of the Sherdor madarsa

Ulugh Beg Madrasah at night

Each building in Registan has a large courtyard with little rooms flanking it's external edges

The Sher-Dor madrasa building glowing in the night

The Registan was a public square, where people gathered to hear royal proclamations, and also a place of public executions.

The structures are now predominantly Islamic, but the influence of Buddhist, Hindu, Zoroastrian, and Jewish elements is clearly present. This is not surprising at all; Samarkand was a happening place in the olden days and therefore very cosmopolitan. In the fourteenth century and after, it was the capital of Timur (Tamerlane), a whole slew of construction was undertaken, leading to impressive sites such as the Registan, Bibi-Khanum Mosque, the Shakhi-Zinda compound and the Gur-Emir ensemble, Ulugh-Beg’s Observatory, etc.

Tomb of Taimur/Temur the conqurer/barbarian (depending on who you are talking to!)

Gur-e-Amir at night

Bibi Khanum was one of the largest and most magnificent mosques in the Islamic world in the 15th century

This is just stunning in so many ways!

Tour groups and groups of pilgrims

Uzbek people are really friendly, particularly women are happy to chat with you.

When in Samarkand,...

Only parts of its gigantic 65 m gate-towers of the Ak Saray palace survive, with blue, white and gold mosaics.

Amir Timur's statue and the ruined walls of his White palace

Kok Gumbaz (Green domes) mausoleum complex

Main hall of the central mosque is abundantly gilded

Chad and me.

The central Samarkand complex, called Registan (meaning “sandy place”), is unbelievably beautiful. Despite seeing similar architecture for the past several weeks, I was blown away by the beauty and precision of these buildings.

Walking outside the walls of the Registan

Go'r Amir Maqbarasi

If you can squeeze through under the holes in that block, you'll bear many children...

Shah-i-Zinda complex, one of the most impressive places of Silk Road architecture

Beautiful entrance doors to buildings on the upper level

Octagonal doorway arch

Approaching the inner scantum

Vivid shades of blue and intricate caligraphy

Kusam ibn Abbas, the cousin of Prophet Mohammed, said to be buried here.

Being a weekend, there were many visitors to this holy site

Elaborate interiors of a tomb

Ak-Saray Palace, Amir Timur's summer palace also known as the "white palace" Above the entry are big letters saying: "If you challenge our power – look at our buildings!"

Inside the tomb of (Jehangir?)

Inside a mausoleum - very peaceful

Dorus-Saodat complex east of Kuk Gumbaz

A conclave where guards hang out for tea breaks.

Samarkand is well connected to both Bukhara and Tashkent, making travel by train particularly comfortable and fast. Also the nearby town of Shakhrisabz, where Amir Timur the conqueror was born, hosts impressive ruins of the Ak-Saray Palace and the Kok Gumbaz mosques – makes for a great day trip.