Stage 94: From Tashkent to Samarkand

After visiting the most important sights in Tashkent, our little Uzbekistan tour continued with three days in Samarkand. In Uzbekistan, you can conveniently book train tickets through an app, but that doesn't mean the train ride itself is comfortable... Even for daytime journeys, you often have to book a bed as some trains do not have seats. Just like in hostels, the lower beds are much more popular and comfortable, but cost the same. Since we were traveling relatively spontaneously, we had to settle for whatever was available on the three to four-hour journey. So we spent the ride lying down as sitting on the upper beds was out of the question. Nevertheless, we could already catch a glimpse of the desert landscape that awaited us. We arrived at Samarkand train station in the evening and realized that we needed yet another taxi app here. At our accommodation, we were welcomed with weak English, but very kindly. They were even grilling shashlik in the courtyard. At first, we declined a portion in order to explore the new surroundings a bit in the darkness. After a short walk, however, we felt guilty (and hungry). And after all, the city wasn't going anywhere!

Our affordable accommodation was only 200 meters on foot from the famous Registan Square, which couldn't have been better. We spent the whole next morning there. The three huge madrasas from the 15th-17th century were beautiful, but of course we were not the only tourists there, and it was teeming with stalls. However, we didn't mind the hustle and bustle too much, as the beautiful decorations made up for it. Moreover, the majority of tourists were apparently Uzbeks from the surrounding area, there were only a few Western tourists. From Registan Square, it was not far to the huge Bibi-Khanym Mosque, which impressed more with its sheer size than with its decoration. After a short detour to Hazrat-Khizr Mosque (from there, you had a great view of Bibi-Khanym Mosque!), we continued to the Shah-i-Zinda ensemble, a collection of artful mausoleums from the 11th to the 19th century. It is still not known who some of the mausoleums are dedicated to. Each individual mausoleum was a work of art on its own! Later in the afternoon, we also visited Amir-Temur Park with its lion sculptures, the Rukhobod Mausoleum, and the Amir-Temur Mausoleum. However, after being overwhelmed with impressions, we had no desire to go inside. Instead, our stomachs were growling, and we took a taxi to the Karimbeg Restaurant. There, we enjoyed a hearty meal at a good price, the best restaurant we went to in Uzbekistan!

We decided to stay one more day in Samarkand to process all the beautiful impressions. Besides, we were in no hurry. On the next day, we went to Samarkand's bazaar again. We had already bought fruits and nuts the previous day, and today it was time for long pants for me. Later, we visited the ancient Afrasiyab settlement from pre-Christian times. You can still see the excavation site, but no buildings remain. In the neighboring museum, we could admire some findings from the ancient settlement. From there, we went to the Ulugbek Observatory with a British couple. We used the rest of the day to relax and plan our further travels.