Uzbekistan: Samarkand

Samarkand more than any other city evokes the splendor of the Silk Road, with its gigantic monuments. We were glad that we were going up stream on the Silk Road. Not that Khiva and Bukhara do not have their own merits, Samarkand is breathtaking, nevermind they are largely the results of recent restoration and reconstruction; originally constructed during the zenith of the city when Samarkand was the capital of the Timurid Empire, one of the largest Empires in the world.

• The Registan had to be the most beautiful square in the known world in its heyday. Its beauty is hard to resist.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The monumental Bibi-Khanym Mosque, the largest mosque, built in 1400, is largely in ruins, nevertheless extraordinary.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The Shah-i-Zinda mausoleum complex has the most superb tile works, anywhere.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• There are four dome ceilings around town that have been meticulously restored. If my neck didn't hurt from craning, I could look at them forever.
  
  Amir Temur Mausoleum
  
  
  Registan Square
  
  
  
  
  Aksaray Mausoleum
  
  
  
  

We decided to skip Shakhrisabz. Having been thoroughly dazzled by Samarkand, we didn't want to be underwhelmed, especially considering the travel time and expense.