La Gringa y Su Esposo: Samarkand

March 31 – April 4

Warning: many photos of beautiful blue tiles incoming.

We packed up early in Tashkent and walked to the metro, passing through security without trouble despite our large backpacks. With tickets in hand the train station was similarly hassle free, and we made our way to the Afrosiyob train, a high-speed all electric line from Tashkent to Samarkand built about eight years back and later extended to Bukhara (and recently on to Khiva). We ended up in VIP despite trying to order the cheapest tickets, so the seats were large and comfortable and they provided us with coffee or tea and some odd bread rolls with a bit of orange filling that may have been pumpkin.

Two hours later we pulled into Samarkand and made our way to our hotel midway between new town and old town. Samarkand feels somewhat similar to Tashkent, with nice wide boulevards and lots of green space, but where Tashkent’s historical monuments were mostly destroyed in the 1966 earthquake, Samarkand has a number of restored monuments from the 11th–19th centuries along with a ruined settlement dating to 500 BCE. The most famous of these is the Registan, a set of three old madrassas (Islamic universities) focused on theology, philosophy, and astronomy, but our favorite was the Shah-i-zinda complex, a necropolis of mausoleums surrounded by a modern cemetery. The city was a famous stop along the Silk Road and served as the capital for Amir Timur’s empire in the 14th century and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. All of the structures have been restored by the Soviets and so looked complete, but there are a few pictures from prior to the restoration and old chunks of ceramic that demonstrate that the brilliant blue color dates back to the original tilework. Some folks complained about the restoration, but we actually liked it. It gave you an appreciation for what it looked like at its zenith (i.e. impressive!).

Getting mobbed! We were selfie sentations again at the Registan.

We spent the afternoon and evening exploring the magnificent ancient structures, checking out the Registan and Shah-i-Zinda complex. It was a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon, and the local residents were out riding bikes, eating ice cream, and shopping at the nearby bazaar. There were at least two couples taking wedding photos at the Registan, one in a western suit and wedding gown and another in traditional getup. We grabbed $0.25 ice cream cones, with Tim trying the popular kiwi-banana soft serve mix. Gross, right? He liked it. The Shah-i-Zinda complex was so beautiful that we went back on another day to get a few more pictures before wandering through the surrounding cemetery en route to the Afrasiyob museum.

Afrasiyob was an ancient city inhabited from 500 BCE to 1220 CE when it was destroyed by the Mongols, and is also the namesake of the train line. We paid 50K som ($6) for entry to the museum, which was sparse but with a few interesting pieces of ceramic, coins, and bits of a single large fresco. There was very little explanation of the city, the ruins, or the relics. We read what we found on Wikipedia on our phones to learn more then went to find the ruins. Behind the museum was a wall with an open gate and nobody around, so we walked through the gate toward where google maps thought we’d find the ruins, walking into a field of rolling green hills populated mostly by goats. It just looked like green hills, no ruins in sight, and Tim joked to keep your eyes peeled for ancient artifacts. I replied I wouldn’t recognize an artifact if I stepped on one, which took on a new significance when we realized the hills were absolutely littered with broken ceramic pieces. Did they date back to the 12th or 13th century? Who knows. They looked similar to what was in the museum. After wandering across the area for an hour and not finding any obvious ruins, we ended up back near Karimov’s mausoleum, the first president of Uzbekistan from 1989–2016. It’s odd to see a very traditional looking mausoleum built in 2017, but the craftsmanship was flawless and there were many people partaking in a prayer in Arabic. We can’t speak to his legacy or the general sentiment towards him, but there were hundreds of people at his tomb on a random Tuesday.

Ancient artifacts?? Well the one on the right probably not.

We spent our final day in Samarkand relaxing, and I went to get a massage at a nearby baths complex (Hammomi Dovudi), which was built in the 14th century. I had the hotel call ahead to book an appointment, and when I showed up it was just me and my masseuse, a local babushka lady. She instructed me to take off all my clothes and enter the baths, which were stone steam rooms filled with water taps and marble benches. There were 9 different rooms, and I was the only one there. The service was 80% scrub/washing and 20% massage. The intent was clearly to get you clean. (Implied by the title “baths”?) She dumped buckets and buckets of warm water on me, scrubbed me head to toe with a loofah, then some kind of herbal scrub, then soap. Then shampoo. She even cleaned inside my ears. After all that I’m pretty sure I came out two shades whiter and smooth as a baby’s butt. Then she applied a home made powdered ginger scrub. Not sure what all was in it, but after a minute it started to tingle and burn like Bengay. She said to wait for 5 minutes but I probably only made it 3, it was so intense. More water buckets and a final soap and I was the cleanest I have been in months. Total? $21. I tried to tip her but she wouldn’t let me. During the cleansing she was serving me green tea and chatting to me in a mix of Russian and charades. I’m pretty sure she told me she was 65, been doing this for 38 years. Her parents had also been in this line of work, and the family has been in the business for 75 years. She asked me my age and told me her daughter was my age too. She also asked if I was married (I said yes) and whether I had kids. When I said no she said “no problem, later”. Words from the wise, people! It was a super interesting experience, I’m surprised it isn’t more busy than it is.

Next stop: Bukhara.