Samarkand - Crashing Iskander’s Birthday Party

The sights of Samarkand
“Everything I have heard about the beauty of Samarkand is true- except that it is even more beautiful than I could have imagined” Alexander the Great, 329 BC
The city is truly beautiful- domes and minarets. Most of the sights are the work of Timur (Tamerlane), his grandson Ulughbek and the Uzbek Shaybanids.

Our first stop was the Gur-Emir Mausoleum, the tomb of Tamarlane, two sons and two grandsons. In the center of the mausoleum is Timur’s dark-green jade tomb.

A Soviet anthropologist opened the crypts in 1941 and confirmed that Timur was tall and lame in the right leg and that Ulughbek died from being beheaded. According to legend, he found on Timur’s grave an inscription to the effect that “whoever opens this will be defeated by an enemy more fearsome than I.’ The next day, June 22, Hitler attached the Soviet Union.

At Bibi-Karim Mosque, the skies began to turn very dark, the wind came up and we were caught in a huge storm. The locals claim that the strange weather is because of the nuclear testing in Pakistan.
Legend says that Bibi-Kyanym, Timur’s Chinese wife ordered the mosque built as a surprise while he was away. The architect fell madly in love with her and refused to finish the job unless he could give her a kiss. The kiss left a mark and Timur, on seeing it, executed the architect and decreed that women should thenceforth wear veils so as not to tempt other men.

We had lunch at the Afro-Saib Hotel then headed off to the Registan… Ulug Bek, Sher dor, and Tilla Kari.

The Registan is one of the most wonderful sights in Central Asia. Its’ name means “place of sand”- it was strewn on the ground to soak up the blood from the public executions that were held here until early this century. It was here that Tamerlane stuck his victims’ heads on spikes. It was medieval Samarkand’s commercial center and at one time was probably filled with vendors and a huge bazaar. The Soviets have done significant restoration but the bazaar is gone.

The Ulugbek medressa on the west side is the oldest, finished in 1420 under Ulugbek (who is said to have taught mathematics, theology, astronomy and philosophy there).

The Sher Dor (Tiger) medressa was finished in 1636 and is decorated with roaring tigers, against the Islamic prohibition against the depiction of living things.

In between is the Tilla-Kari (Gold-Covered) medressa completed in 1660, with a garden courtyard.

Then it was on to UlugBek’s Observatory. Ulugbek, the grandson of Tamerlane, was less interested in conquering the earth than the starts.

His was the best-equipped observatory in the medieval world with a 3-story observatory that he built in the 1420’s. “Where knowledge starts, religion ends”.
Just outside the city is a site called Afro Saib, after a Sogdian king, the ruins of ancient Samarkand.

The Museum had no lights so Tammy got her flashlight. Later we discovered that it held some of the greatest treasures in the country. John found a green shard from the sacking of ancient Samarkand/Afro Saib by Genghis Khan (Sogdian capital)

One of the most moving sites in Samarkand is the street of tombs called the Acropolis—Shah-I-Zinda….the second Mecca. The name, which means Tomb of the Living King, is a complex of rooms around the grave of Qusam ibn-Abbas, a cousin of Muhammad, who is thought to have brought Islam to the region.

After we got dropped off in the market, Jack and John negotiated for a trail mix selection of raisins, pine nuts and dried apricots.
We wandered our way back to the Hotel Samarkand and we had a bottle of wine ($2) and watched “The Bold and the Beautiful” on the TV in the bar. The hotel restaurant isn’t open at night…. so we asked the guide for a restaurant recommendation. She gave us three choices and said that the bar man would take us in a cab to show us the options. So, we hopped in a taxi and drove to three boring Russian restaurants…linen tablecloths, candles and no patrons. Little Moscow! We hopped back in the cab after the third drive-by and asked the driver if he knows of a local Uzbek place. John says, “Screw the Russians” and the bar man and driver broke out in laughter. At that point, they took down the street.

We drove for a long time and got to a local restaurant by the bar man’s house. Unfortunately, there was a huge banquet going on …live music, traditional dancer. The bar man talked to the hosts and they invited us to join them. He found the semi-English speaking son of the guest of honor (Uktam)…sat us at a table piled with plates of food and bottles of vodka and cognac.

They seemed to find us quite amusing and brought us up to the dance floor with the main tables and guest of honor. With video and still cameras going, we attempted to do a traditional Uzbek dance with the guests. The party was for Iskander’s birthday. He was the head of cotton production for Uzbekistan and the main floor was filled with important looking officials.

John caught the eye of the “life of the party” and was dragged into multiple dances with the large Russian woman.

Finally, we were asked to give a toast. As we walked up, they handed the microphone to me and I was forced to give a toast (complete with interpreter). Handing the microphone to John, he commented, “In America, the women do all the talking for the men”. The interpreter looks at us in panic and said, “I can’t say that….” By this time, our bar man was back to take us home….what an evening!
Note- older Uzbeks drink like Russians (the over 35 crowd). Under 35, there’s a major divide- no drinking.