Samarkand is one of the most beautiful cities in Uzbekistan and perhaps in the whole world. It is not without reason that it is one of the most sought-after tourist destinations. This year, 7 million tourists are expected to visit it. In the middle of next month, the United Nations Tourism Organization UNWTO will hold its general meeting in Samarkand. Recently, the airline QANOT SHARK opened a direct line from Tbilisi to Samarkand, and now we can also fly there. The city has about 500 hotels and hostels and B&Bs for accommodation.
Samarkand is the second largest city in Uzbekistan and has a population of 650,000. Its history is two thousand years old and began during the time of the Romans. It has preserved ancient buildings that make it a tourist attraction and also many heritage sites recognized by UNESCO. One of the things that caught my attention was the cleanliness. Papers and cigarettes are not thrown in the streets and gardens, and the city looks clean and polished compared to Israeli cities.
For those who are thinking about a trip to Uzbekistan, I recommend spending at least two days visiting my favorite attractions in the city:
1 Registan Square
In the center of the city is the Registan square (in Hebrew: the place of the sand) which was the heart of the old city. It is surrounded by three magnificent madrassas facing the central square. “Madrasah” is the Arabic word for “madrasah” or “house of midrash”. The madrassas in the square were built in the 15th and 17th centuries. The exterior of each madrasah in the square looks similar but the interior in each one is very different. The outside is decorated with beautiful tiles in blue, light blue and white that are organized into geometric decorations, and all are paved on a background of terracotta bricks. Each seminary has a dome with bright blue, white and rosettes. An observation deck is built in front of the stairs going down to Registan Square. When we look from it to the square, Madrasa Ulugh Beg will be to our left, Madrasa Sher-Dor to our right, and Madrasa Tilia-Kori in the center.
The central hall of the Tilia-Kuri madrasa (Hebrew: covered with gold) is a mosque whose walls and dome are coated with gold. It is worth looking here at the alcove of the ‘Mihrab’ facing Mecca, and we will notice golden shields of David there.
The madrasa of Ulog Beg is considered one of the oldest universities in the world. In front of it is the ‘Lion School’, at the entrance of which there is a workshop for Afghan carpets. It was founded by the Pashtun tribe, who are considered the descendants of the ten tribes. Madrasah Sher Dor (“Madrasah of the Lions”) is so named because of the mosaic at the top of its entrance gate, known as ‘Tiglon’.
It’s worth coming back to see Registan Square at night as well, because of the lighting that adds depth and a pulsating holy atmosphere to this lovely place.
Registan Square also has a Jewish aspect. According to a local legend, the Emir of Bukhara Emirate had a Jewish advisor. One day the Jew asks the emir why he is investing in aid to Samarkand? After all, the Zarafshan River will continue to flow water from Samarkand to Bukhara even without the help. The emir accepted the advice and ordered the financial aid to Samarkand to be stopped.
When this became known to the rulers of Samarkand, they sent an assassination squad to kill the Jewish advisor. When they arrived at his house he told them that if they kept him alive, he would teach them the secrets of engineering and architecture to build minarets and beautiful and durable buildings for generations. After three months of concentrated study, they came to kill again. This time he told them that if they kept him alive he would teach them for three months the secrets of the blue ceramic, whose color would never fade. When he finished teaching them he tried to run away, and they chased him and killed him. His memory is preserved forever through the tall buildings in Registan square that are covered with blue ceramics.
2 Gur-e-Amir mausoleum
The national hero of the Uzbeks is Timur Lang (the lame) who in the 15th century conquered 27 countries and turned Uzbekistan into an empire. Timur Lang is buried in the mausoleum he built for his beloved grandson, and after two years he was also buried there. Timur Lang also began building a mausoleum for himself in his native city, but he died in Samarkand in the winter, and it was impossible to transport his body in the heavy snow. That’s why he was also buried in the mausoleum he built for his grandson.
This beautiful structure inspired the construction of the Taj Mahal in India. Its exterior walls are decorated with charming mosaics in various shades of blue and light blue, with arabesques of paintings and verses from the Koran. The central building was larger than it appears today, and only the foundations remain of it. On both sides stand tall minarets. Above the building is a dome with 64 ribs, according to the years of Muhammad’s life.
Inside, the walls and ceiling are covered in gold. The ceiling has a large dome made of pure gold. The sight is spectacular! On the floor lie several tombstones, the black one in the center is of Timur Lang, surrounded by tombstones of his children and grandchildren. You can feel the history when you touch and feel the tombstones. Under the floor is a burial cave, where their bones were buried.
You should also return here at night because of the stunning lighting.
There is a legend that the emir’s rest should not be disturbed. In 1941, Russian historians opened the grave, to measure his bones and find out if he was indeed lame. The local Uzbeks protested, but it did not help them against the central government in Moscow. The next day, the Germans broke out in “Operation Barbarossa” to occupy Russia. The Uzbeks told the Russians “We told you so!”.
3 Statue of Emir Timur
In the central square we will place a tall bronze statue of Timur Lang. From here he embarked on a campaign of conquest during which he took control of 27 countries from the Mediterranean Sea to India, thus creating the Uzbek Empire. Lang made Samarkand his capital, and he is considered the father of the nation to this day. After his death in 1405, the vast empire he founded disintegrated, and the region was divided into principalities under the rule of his descendants. In the 15th century, the region was conquered by the Uzbek tribes who established the emirates of Bukhara, Khiva and Kokand.
4 Bibi Khanum Mosque
We are not the only ones who have ‘Bibi’. Samarkand also has a large mosque called ‘Bibi Hanum’. Of course it is not named after Binyamin Netanyahu, but after the most beloved woman of Amir Timur among all his many wives.
There are two versions of the origin of the name. According to one, when Timur Lang was on a campaign to conquer India, his wife ordered the construction of the mosque to hold a reception in it when he returned victorious. According to another version, Timur himself built the place in honor of his wife. For centuries it was the largest mosque in Asia, and it could accommodate 10,000 worshippers. The locals had a saying “Only the dome of the sky can compete with the dome of Bibi Khanum, and only the Milky Way can compete with its arches”.
5 The tomb of the prophet Daniel
On the bank of the river there is a tomb attributed to the prophet Daniel. There is a legend that only the leg of the prophet Daniel is buried here. The conqueror Timur Lang had difficulty conquering Peres, and it was explained to him that it was the enormous power of Daniel buried in Shushan that was guarding the Peres. Timur ordered Daniel’s grave to be dug, and his bones brought to Samarkand. Dawn came before they could dig up the whole grave, so they took out only the tibia and one leg, and fled to Samarkand.
The following battles were won by Timur’s army, thanks to Daniel’s bones. Timur ordered to bury them and build a “respectable and large” tombstone, so that they would not know that only one leg was buried here. The tombstone builder understood the word “big” as simple, and built a tombstone 18 meters long. The place also became holy for Muslims.
They planted a seedling near Daniel’s grave that they brought with the bones. It grew into a tree called the “Wishing Tree”. On its dry branches the locals hung colorful cloth handkerchiefs and made a wish. The one whose prayer and wish was granted, had to sacrifice a ram and distribute its meat to the poor. Only then is he allowed to return to the tree and untie the handkerchief he hung there.
In 1993 the tree dried up, and it was forbidden to hang fabrics on it. 3 years later he returned to the pancreas after a Russian monk prayed under him.
6 Gombez Synagogue
In fact, Jews arrived in Samarkand already two thousand years ago, even before the Muslims, the Mongols and the Uzbeks. According to one version, it was the Jews who gave Samarkand its name, which means “Samaria the city”.
There used to be a Jewish community of about 15,000 people in the city, most of whom lived in the Jewish quarter called “Machala”. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, almost all members of the community immigrated to Israel. Today only 7 Jewish families remain there.
Of the many synagogues that were affected by the disease, only two are still active. The ancient synagogue “Gombez” (the dome) is so called because in the center of the ceiling there is a large dome reminiscent of the Great Synagogue in Tel Aviv. She is painted light blue. The walls are covered with wood with beautiful engravings up to 2 meters high, and above them are stone reliefs, some of which are gilded. The Holy Ark is in an unusual location, in the corner of the front wall. Most of the benches are arranged with their backs to the wall. The Gombez Synagogue is currently only active on Saturdays.
7 The observatory of Ulug Beg
Ulog Beg was the grandson of Timur Lang, and he also served as Sultan. Unlike his grandfather who was known for his cruelty, the grandson was a man of peace and education. He devoted his life to the sciences of mathematics and astronomy. In 1428 he built a huge observatory that was the most sophisticated in the Muslim world. It was a 3-story circular structure, more than 40 meters in diameter, with polished glass windows of various thicknesses and styles.
Inside the interior space was a parabolic rail from the floor to the ceiling, on which moved a mirror on wheels, which was aimed at a special window in the roof slopes.
Olog Beg also calculated the times of sunrise, eclipses of the sun and moon, measured the length of the year, and determined the inclination of the earth. His calculations were found to be accurate compared to today’s calculations, with a difference of only 6 seconds for the solar cycle. And he was able to do this 200 years before the invention of the first telescope, and 400 years before the Hubble satellite telescope was sent into space.
In 1908, archaeologists discovered the lower part of the observatory’s mirror rail, and built a guard structure on top of it. In front of it we built a museum with explanations about Olog Beg and the meaning of his discovery. Down the hill stands a statue of Ulog Beg, from which a paved path leads to the observatory.
8 The new Samarkand tourist center
At the edge of Samarkand, a tourist center was built in 2019 on an area of 2,600 dunams, which includes luxurious and simple hotels with 2,500 beds, and other tourist needs. They also built a fair and congress center there with 20 halls that can accommodate 3,500 visitors.
The attraction there is the “New Old City” on an area of 110 dunams. They dug a circular water canal there, and on the island created in the center they built pedestrian walkways and buildings in the ancient construction style of Samarkand with the mosaics on the outer walls, and with minarets and blue and green domes. Everything like the original but smaller. These buildings house restaurants and boutique shops for clothes and shoes. The place has become an entertainment center for young people and local families, who come to spend evenings and weekends there.
9 The Jewish cemetery
The cemetery is divided into a Bukhari area and an Ashkenazi area. In front of the entrance you see a memorial stone on which are engraved the names of dozens of Jewish soldiers in the Russian army who fell in World War II. Beside them is a tall statue of the bereaved mother crying for her sons.
The area of the Buharis is very well maintained, paved paths and beds and lawns, between the tombstones ornamental trees that cast shade. The tombstones are made of black marble on which the portrait of the deceased is also engraved. There are also benches on the side of the paths.
But this splendor ends about two hundred meters from the gate, and that’s where the burial area of the Ashkenazim begins. There are no paths or lawns and trees. Up the hill you see simple stone tombstones on which it is difficult to read the text. They lie in an arid and dry area.
10 the big market SILIB MARKET
Bazaar Siob is the most popular in Samarkand. It has everything, vegetables and fruits, clothes, also several pharmacies and souvenir shops. There are products on the market that deserve our attention. Near the entrance there are stands of melons and watermelons. The melons here are huge, bigger than our watermelon. They taste very sweet. It’s worth tasting.
You should also look for and charge the dry yogurt balls. They are a kind of “cracks” of the Uzbeks. The yogurt balls are of different sizes, from a small marble to a ping pong ball. They are in different flavors of saltiness and spiciness.
Don’t miss the halva booths that offer tastings of pistachio or chocolate and honey flavored halva.
The writer was a guest of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Israel and the Ministry of Tourism of Uzbekistan
