Samarkand Uzbekistan

Samarkand. What a name to conjure with. The knot in the Silk Road. The almost mythical place that one has heard of but, somehow, never thinks one would see . I have to keep reminding myself that we are really here in fabled Samarkand.

It was a fairly easy journey to get here from Tashkent; the roads were, the main, reasonable. As long as we made regular stops to top up the radiator the car actually ran well and we made good time. Uzbekistan is a great contrast to Kazakhstan, physically it is much more fertile and the inhabitants look quite different too. After dusty, brown Kazakhstan with it's drab, grubby villages with no thought given to the environment Uzbekistan is fertile, pretty clean and neat. Thi country is the largest exporter of cotton in the world. Amazing for one that is so small. As soon as we crossed the border we started seeing endless fields of cotton growing along with watermelons and pomegranates. It makes it all look very attractive. Such productiveness was a rare sight in Kazakhstan which, even with al it's oil and mineral wealth was very scruffy.

We have been met with enormous curiosity and friendliness here. People literally jump and down waving and laughing when we go by. It is charming to see such enthusiasm for a bunch of mad people in increasingly beaten up old cars. Many people, especially in the countryside, wear traditional dress; long flowery shapeless dresses and flowery headscarves for the women and dressing gown type robes for the men along with little pill box hats, often beautifully embroidered. The men are more likely o wear western clothes but often still top it off with a little hat. In the cities it feels very cosmopolitan though with lots of women in western dress. I feel some shopping coming on today, a rest day. The bazaar here will be marvellous, I am sure and full of gorgeous embroidered fabrics. I am also looking forward to visiting the Registan: I made a brief visit there last night as it is only a short walk from our hotel but it needs proper exploration today.

The Registan is considered by many to be the single most awesome sights in Asia. It was created as the commercial centre of the medieval city and is a mixture of Medressas, Mosques and mausoleums. From the little I saw in the fading light last night it is beautifully proportioned and a stunning mix of fabulous inlay of cobalt blue mosaics and majolica. It looks to be in excellent condition when you consider hat this is an earthquake zone but closer scrutiny today may enlighten me on that. So, it was here that the great medieval scholars were educated and where the frantic trading of the Silk Road reached it's zenith. It is too thrilling to be able to spend today exploring all this.