Uzbekistan: Samarkand Photos

Our time in Uzbekistan is going to be a bit of a whistle-stop tour as we have an immovable date at the Russian border on November 16th. So, for a change, we’re going to behave like proper tourists and only stop off at the 3 or 4 places you’re meant to stop at when in Uzbekistan.

First up is the ancient city of Samarkand.

Founded somewhere around 5BC, it steadily became an important crossroad on the silk route. By the 14th century Samarkand was quite the metropolis and many large medressas and mosques were built. Despite the region’s geological instability (think earthquakes!) and years as a part of the Soviet Union, many of the structures have survived to this very day.