After asking around for a while, I found myself in a shared taxi to Urgut and from there in a Marushtka to the bazaar. It was indeed huge and everything could be bought there. The majority of goods sold were clothing, none of which really hit the spot of Western taste I would say.

Inside the marushtka to the bazaar

Urgut Bazaar entrance

Urgut bazaar

Urgut Bazaar

Urgut Bazaar

Urgut Bazaar

Schaschlik in the making

And Somsa

Fresh bread

Urgut bazaar parking lot

It was easy to find a ride back to Samarkand and I was back shortly before noon. I wouldn’t deem it a must, but if you have the time, you get a very authentic look at a local bazaar.

After the delay on the train ride, I did not want to waste further time and left for the Registan, Samarkand’s premier landmark.

Samarkand used to be the capital of Timur (or Tamerlane’s) Timurid Empire. At his death in 1405, it stretched as far west as Eastern Turkey, comprised most of Central Asia, Syria and reached as far East as Delhi. But already before Timur the city was of significance and was held by conquerors such as Alexander the Great (329 BC) and almost a thousand years later Genghis Khan (1220). It was also Genghis Khan who leveled the city, so most of what’s left today is from the Timurid period and later.

As mentioned, the Registan, consisting of three medressas, is the key attraction in the city – and for good reason:

The Registan – (from left to right): Ulugbek Medressa, Tilla-Kari Medressa, Sher Dor Medressa

Sher Dor Medressa

Sher Dor Medressa

Sher Dor Medressa

Inside Sher Dor Medressa

Sher Dor Medressa exterior

Tilla-Kari Medressa

Tilla-Kari Medressa

Tilla-Kari Medressa

In front of Tilla-Kari Medressa

Inside Tilla-Kari Medressa

Ulugbek Medressa

Inside Ulugbek Medressa

The Registan

A short walk away are several other monuments:

Bibi-Khanym Mosque

Bibi-Khanym Mosque entrance

Bibi-Khanym Mosque entrance

Bibi-Khanym Mosque entrance

Bibi-Khanym Mosque

Inside Bibi-Khanym Mosque

Bibi-Khanym Mosque

Bibi-Khanym Mosque

Marble Qurand stand in the Bibi-Khanym Mosque courtyard

Opposite the Bibi-Khanym Mosque is the Bibi-Khanym Mausoleum

Bibi-Khanym Mausoleum

And across the road, arguably Samarkand’s best restored mosque – the Hazrat-Hizr Mosque.

Hazrat-Hizr Mosque

With a cemetery around the corner.

Cemetery

Hazrat-Hizr Mosque

Hazrat-Hizr Mosque

Hazrat-Hizr Mosque

Hazrat-Hizr Mosque

Except for maybe the Registan, I was almost by myself at all these places.

Not far from the Hazrat-Hizr Mosque and the Bibi-Khanym Mosque was the Siob Bazaar selling fresh produce. It was late Saturday afternoon and it seemed a lot of families were stocking up on food for Sunday.

It is water melon season in Uzbekistan!

It is water melon season in Uzbekistan!

Siob Bazaar

Typical Samarkand bread at Siob Bazaar

Siob Bazaar

Siob Bazaar

Dried berries at Siob Bazaar

The next day, I paid a visit to Timur’s mausoleum, the Gur-E-Amir Mausoleum.

Gur-E-Amir Mausoleum

Gur-E-Amir Mausoleum

Gur-E-Amir Mausoleum

Gur-E-Amir Mausoleum

Inside the mausoleum not only Timur is buried but also several of his relatives and teachers.

Inside Gur-E-Amir Mausoleum

Inside Gur-E-Amir Mausoleum

Inside Gur-E-Amir Mausoleum

And here’s the main statue of Timur, or Tamerlane.

Timur

I then walked to the newer part of town which was nothing to write home about. There is a grave of the unknown soldier commemorating the many Samarkand casualties of WWII.

WWII monument

WWII monument

WWII monument

I ended the day with Lulya kebab at the Karimbek restaurant. Tasty!

Lulya kebab

Samarkand’s landmarks are truly breathtaking. It is however a more modern city than Bukhara and walking between different monuments, you definitely notice this. Nevertheless, not visit to Uzbekistan is complete without passing through Samarkand!

I tried to buy a ticket a day in advance but was turned away since you need your passport for just about everything in Uzbekistan and I had left mine in the hotel. Oh well, so I just showed up the next morning and bought a ticket there. For 49’000 UZS (~10 SGD) I got a seat in what they call business class, but essentially was equivalent to European second class.

Bukhara train station (a 20mins drive outside the city)

Since Uzbekistan likes police checks, all passengers have to go through airport style security screening before boarding.

Bukhara-Samarkand-Tashkent train No. 9

Bukhara-Samarkand-Tashkent

I was assigned a compartment seating six. The first hour (of what was supposed to be a three hours trip) was enjoyable. My seatmate was from Bukhara but had studied in Munich. He was on his way to Tashkent to apply for a student Schengen visa at the Latvian embassy with no intention of studying there but instead going back to Munich. Not sure whether that’s how the Schengen visa are intended. He was also an expert on Swiss 1. Liga soccer (third highest league) since he frequently bets on the first goal of the game being scored in the first half. Apparently, this happens in four out of five games.

But eventually we stopped for 45mins. And again. And again. Apparently due to the construction of new tracks for Uzbekistan’s Spanish-built high speed train. Whenever we stopped, the air-conditioning turned off, which wasn’t great considering it was 37 degrees outside. On top of that, every compartment had several young children and not before long the crying started.

The only stop between Bukhara and Samarkand: Navoi

Views en-route Bukhara-Samarkand

We eventually made it to Samarkand shortly after 2pm instead of 11am. Soon everything should be fine as the high-speed train is supposed to operate to Bukhara by the end of 2016.

Afrosiyob high-speed train

Samarkand railway station

In Samarkand I was kindly greeted by the local taxi mafia and I kindly declined their generous offers. Half a block down the road, I was able to get a ride for a reasonable fare.