Day 10

Time to visit the remaining historical buildings in Samarkand while the weather is decend. First up is the Bibi-Khanym Mosque which is one of the most important monuments of Samarkand.

In the 15th century it was one of the largest and most magnificent mosques in the Islamic world. By the mid-20th century only a grandiose ruin of it still survived, but major parts of the mosque were restored during the Soviet period.

Now it’s time to visit the main attraction in Smarkand, the Registan.

The Registan was the heart of the ancient city of Samarkand of the Timurid dynasty. The name Rēgistan means "Sandy place"  in Persian.

They are still restoring some of the domes and interior paintings by hand.

The three madrasahs of the Registan are: the Ulugh Beg Madrasah (1417-1420), the Tilya-Kori Madrasah (1646-1660) and the Sher-Dor Madrasah (1619-1636). Madrasah is an Arabic term meaning school.

After checking out of our hotel and getting some lunch we proceeded to the nearby Gur-e Amir Сomplex. This complex consists of a 15th-century mausoleum of Turko-Mongol conqueror Timur featuring tombs, mosaics & ornate carvings.

It was pretty from the inside, but the outside is the same as many mosques. We are pretty much done now with all the mosques and monuments. They all look pretty much the same, time for something different.

Time to head to the train station and continue our journey to the final city of the trip, the modern-esq Soviet-style city of Tashkent!

Tomorrow we explore Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan!