Uzbekistan. Samarkand
It was my dream to visit Samarkand one day. In the pictures, it looked like a fairy-tale city.
I have a thing for antic mosaics and all shades of blue. Put those two together, and you are in the paradise of the most gorgeous architecture in Uzbekistan. I know that, for most people, Uzbekistan does not ring a bell of anything exotic, fabulous or once in a lifetime tale-like experience. For me, it does. My heart melts in front of those enormous colourful buildings, and my head spins while I am surrounded by such beauty from every side.
Our Uzbekistan route was targeting to see the four capitals of ancient kingdoms on the Silk Road – Kokand, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. Samarkand, without question, is outstanding and the most beautiful.
During this World Tour, I have discovered that high expectations set me on the wrong foot to start exploring a new place: usually, they lead to disappointment. This did not happen in Samarkand: looking at all those colours, at the perfection of every little detail, you suddenly find yourself lost in an unreal atmosphere, touched by all the beauty surrounding. For me, it was too much to absorb at once.
Registan
I knew that Registan was beautiful, I had seen many pictures before, but what I didn’t expect was its size: it’s immense. I remember myself watching it from the outside (the spot from most postcards photos are shot) and thinking that this was already too much to bear. And then I discovered that the three Islamic schools (madrasah) that compose it, facing one each other, have a closed inner yard, which all four walls are decorated with the same meticulous precision of the facade outside.
Forget the Soviet block stereotypes
A popular misconception I hear in Europe is that Uzbekistan got attached to the stereotype of post-soviet grey, boring architecture. Not at all! Of course, Tashkent has a lot of such districts (mostly because it was completely destroyed and rebuilt), but Samarkand is different, it was a major trading city of the ancient Timurid dynasty, and most of its monuments are intact. It is one of the main crossroads on the Silk Road, and its culture, its cuisine, its vibrant and colourful architecture, developed long before the Soviets occupied the country.
From a political perspective, Uzbekistan is still in close relationship with Russia, and it was funny for me, when we took our first taxi from the airport, to hear the driver exclaim, upon finding that I am Lithuanian: “oh, I know Lithuania, you hate Russia”. I was laughing. His claim was way too strong, today there is a lot of business between Lithuania and Russia; but yes, in a sense, comparing our two nations, the taxi driver was not so wrong either. Some post-soviet countries have a very different approach to their history and their occupants.
Another funny moment regarding my nationality happened in Kokand. We met very nice people, locals and Russian tourists, exploring the city. They invited us to join their little group, and we spent a few hours exploring the city together. They gave me advice on how to behave in Samarkand, and generally in any bazaar (outdoor market) in Uzbekistan. They suggested to hide Adriano somehow, not to mention anything about being from Italy, it was good that I could speak some broken Russian and so they recommended to tell that my grandmother was born Uzbekistan and I am visiting her homeland. Therefore prices will be much closer to real ones than to what can be asked to Italian tourists. In Russian, the invented story sounds even better about the “babushka iz uzbekistana”.
So yes, we communicated in Russian. Surprise, surprise, but Adriano speaks Russian better than I do, he is almost fluent in it, so we had no issues. I think that in the centre of Samarkand there is no problem with English as we have seen many Italian and French tourists in Samarkand. Though, I am not sure about Kokand, Khiva and Bukhara. Further from the touristic zones can be more challenging to find someone speaking English. Samarkand is by far the most touristic from all four cities on our route.
Registan alone would be enough for me to fly to Samarkand and Uzbekistan. But there is much more to see and explore.
Shah-i-Zinda, tombs & mausoleums
Tombs and mausoleums, the whole place is a dream come true for sophisticated mosaic lovers.
Some other mosques and mausoleums on the way
All sightseeing places in Samarkand have an entrance fee of around 2-4 EUR. Though what you get for that money can differ a lot from place to place: for some of them, like Registan, a fee of 4 EUR is really nothing for how big they are and how much there is to see; while others are small, and, in the context of an amazing place like Samarkand, not that special. Dedicate half a day for Registan and a few hours for Shah-i-Zinda. I would call the rest a secondary choice, try some, skip the others, depending on your budget and available time. As Samarkand is becoming more touristic, the prices most likely will change rapidly.
Central Bazaar
Bazaars (outside market) are a cultural experience in Uzbekistan. As a tourist, you can try some local street food there, and in some areas you find lots of fresh and sweet fruits (this mostly in non-desert areas such as Samarkand, and especially Kokand and Ferghana Valley; but oases in the desert, such as Bukhara and Khiva, have their dose of fruits too, depending on the season). Dry fruits, either simple or covered by sugar or other sticky sweet things, in general, are not missed in local bazaars. Next to them, people sell traditional local bread, all kind of nuts, seeds, local sweets, spices; and moreover there are carpets, scarfs, traditional clothes like long flowery dresses.
Apparently, the central bazaar in Samarkand in some days is more active than in others, it seems that we have not seen it at its full.
Good news: no visas
We were one of the last tourists who travelled to Uzbekistan with visas pre-arranged at the embassy. Immediately after we departed, Uzbekistan announced that, for a long list of European countries, a visa is not required anymore. Based on what we have experienced, Uzbekistan is destined (Adriano corrects: doomed) to become a major touristic spot, because it is simply incredible, there is a lot to see, and you cannot find such architecture in such volume elsewhere. It is easy and quite cheap to reach from Europe, safe, food is good, service is continuously improving and not expensive. Since no visa is required anymore, I would suggest that now it is a perfect time to go, before it gets spoiled by too many tourists.
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Photo album
