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The Uzbek Itinerary
Tag Archives: samarkand
Tashkent – The Uzbek “Metro” Capital
The capital of Uzbekistan and the largest city in Central Asia, Tashkent literally translates to “Stone City”. It is very close to the Kazakhstan border. As with most cities in the region, it was completely destroyed by Genghis Khan only to be revived and restored to glory by Amir Timur. It was built as a modern Soviet city after the 1966 earthquake – including the iconic metro which continues to operate to this day!
Our journey started at Tashkent and we were now back after an amazing journey covering Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand. When we left off in our last blog, we had enjoyed visits to the iconic monuments of Samarkand and boarded the Afrosiyob high speed train to Tashkent. Let’s dive right into Day 6 of the trip!
Continue reading Tashkent – The Uzbek “Metro” Capital
Samarkand – Where History and Beauty Converge
Dating back to the 7th century BC, Samarkand (Samarqand in Uzbek) is one of the oldest cities of Central Asia (alongside Bukhara). It lies very close to the Tajikistan border and was also an important city in the Persian empire. Alexander the Great captured the city in the days when it was called Maracanda. It then passed to the Persians, Turkics and Mongols (as it is the case with most cities, Genghis Khan came and destroyed the entire place). The city gained its peak during Amir Timur’s time – becoming a cultural and religious centre. In fact, Ibn Battuta (the inventor of #wanderlust) called Samarkand “one of the greatest and finest of cities, and most perfect of them in beauty“. Today, we dive right into this beautiful Silk Road city!
