Samarkand, Uzbekistan

After breakfast we visited Registan Square and the Shahki-Zinda complex of mausoleums. Shaki-Zinda is a necropolis of turquoise-tiled mausoleums and mosques, with sparkling blue colors and finely detailed tiling.  It is quite a beautiful complex. Construction of the Shahki-Zinda began in the 7th century and was redefined during the 14th century reign of King Tamerlane.  We walked through the narrow medieval streets where 11 mausoleums house the remains of Uzbekistan’s ancient nobility.  We also visited the heart of the city, Registan Square, where we walked around the intricate madrasahs and 16th century mausoleums from the Shaybanid Dynasty. Everywhere around Samarqand there are white mulberry trees dotting the landscape and dropping berries on the ground. Interestingly, Cotton (called the White Gold of Central Asia) is the major industry in Uzbekistan with 85% of it exported in exchange for convertible currency. Oil refineries produce about 173,000 barrels per day. We had a delicious lunch at Restaurant Samarkand. They served a national specialty, Rice Pilaf with Beef cubes. But, best of all, they served Chocolate Lava Cake with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Once again, it was a lavish amount of food with several appetizers and breads served before the main meal. Uzbek breads are quite delicious. After lunch, we visited the impressive Bibi Knahum Mosque.  The original structure was erected using thousands of precious stones captured during the great King Tamerlane’s conquest of India. We strolled through the central market. We went shopping a bit later to see the locally grown and produced handicrafts and foods. All of the clothing merchants around the perimeter of the market are selling scarves, tyubiteikas, purses, beaded jewelry, ornate robes, etc. The main market vendors sell breads, fragrant spices, dried fruits and various nuts. Chris, one of our NG staffers, came back to the bus with a huge bag of Saltana’s for everyone to snack on. They were quite tasty, kind of like a giant white raisin. Esther advised us to shop here as there are not good shopping places throughout the rest of our trip. Tonight we enjoyed a traditional Uzbek dinner and folk music performance at Noviy Arbat Restaurant. The female dancers performed the Dance of the Pilaf from Eastern Uzbek and a beautiful Peacock dance. There were 6 musicians playing very unique instruments in accompaniment to the dancers. A few surprising things about the country. I was shocked by the large amount of tourism and the heavily congested automobile traffic. We noticed tour groups from A&K, Club Med and JNJ throughout the day. Most of the automobiles on the roads are older models purchased and brought in from Russia. I did not see any Mercedes, BMW or Audi’s which were seen often in Tbilisi. Also surprising was that the Sunni Muslims, which is the majority of the population, drink alcohol and smoke and the younger generation wear very western attire. Uzbek people have been lovely. The teenagers and young children love to practice their English with us and often want photos taken with us. As we are finding in so many remote countries as we travel, cell phones are abundant. Most of the people we encountered in the city spoke fairly good English, which is now being taught as a 2nd or 3rd language in the schools. There is no health insurance. There are government hospitals. Private medical clinics are very expensive. One of our little elderly gentlemen, Mort, took a fall into a drainage ditch as he was leaving our restaurant last night. He is quite banged up this morning. Emily had to stitch up the lacerations on his face. He probably has a nasal fracture too. He is now being transported about via wheelchair. Hoping his rib injuries don’t cause issues for him during the rest of the trip. This is exactly why we need to do international travels while we’re younger and healthy! Registan Plaza Hotel (crummy hotel!)