Samarqand.....Samarkand

Just to explain: I use the various spellings of place names to enable wider searches should people be interested but road signs often have other spellings and of course scripts.

Anyway with mid afternoon temperatures hitting the mid to high 30s and overnight staying above 20°C my stay in Samarkand was a hot one. The tour bus drivers sleep in the baggage compartments, very much at odds with their customers in air conditioned hotels, and were amused by my position in amongst them all. 

I walked through the park which provided some shade and past the theatre to check out an alternative P4N which had some shade but was also the filling up point for numerous water tankers that deliver to the parks, gardens and suburbs. On balance this would be the better place to stay and indeed I spotted Frank and Andrea again: not surprising as we are on a similar route and time frame. We arranged to meet up for a meal yesterday evening with a view to planning a joint approach at the Tajikistan border as their evisas had produced nothing either.

A bridge cut across to the parks surrounding the impressive Registan, a trio of madrasas that almost defy description.

Returning to the van for a mid afternoon rest I did in fact have some shade as I was completely hemmed in....

Our evening rendezvous at the Hotel Diyor was a great success with excellent food enjoyed under a welcome overhead misting system, my lagman turning out to be a delicious interpretation of spaghetti bolognese. Good local beers also helped.

On my way I had watched a street circus act and on my return caught some of a spectacular son et lumiere played out over the walls, arches and domes of the Registan before an enthralled crowd of thousands. Back at the van a cold shower and just a sheet at bedtime ensured a comfortable night.

The local gardeners, sweepers and litter pickers start early to escape the midday heat and of course the coaches fire up to head off for their clients so I was also away early as I wanted to head out to the far side of town.

My destination was the Ulugbek Observatory founded in the 14thC where the namesake astronomer accurately recorded the position of over 1000 stars. He was the grandson of Timur who ruled Samarkand and a vast empire to the west for 40 years.

I caught shade where I could as I passed the 40,000 capacity Bibi Khanym Mosque and cut through the large cemetery having called at the Hazrat Hizr Mosque with its lofty viewpoint. Alongside is the mausoleum of Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan's first president who died in 2016.

A good meal of plov on a shaded terrace revived me for the final kilometre up to the observatory passing a couple of metal working shops.

Returning to the shady parks once more I passed the various tombs on Shah-i Zinda and was asked by a friendly group of Uzbeki women to take their group photos. Their carefree enjoyment contrasted sharply soon after with a woman taking a drink from a hose and resting from her task of collecting huge sacks of discarded water bottles.

I returned to the van for a cool down and headed back to the Registan for a final performance of the show and this morning have relocated to the water bowser park up to confirm things with Frank and Andrea.

What the outcome will be on the border should be clear by tomorrow night but I have a good Plan B, just in case...

Lovely pics..