Samarkand is an exotic place in Central Asia, Uzbekistan. I discovered it in June, and was already too hot. There is no shadow there, there is no hope for rains. Despite all these, an impressive city I falled in love with!

Samarkand is one of the oldest world’s cities. It is 2700 years old and was founded in the same time with Rome and Babylone, under the name of Afrasiab. Its actually name of Samarkand has a persian origin, and means the stonefort.

Samarkand was named the pearl of the Orient, the oriental Rome. It is first of all an islamic city and a traditionally islamic centre of scholar studies. You can find, see and admire here three islamic universities from different periods of times, based in the fascinating square of Registan. The Registan is a typically islamic architecture, similar with the spanish Alhambra and the Istanbul Blue Mosque. Registan means the sandy place, here were made the public executions and the sand were used for cleaning.

The three islamic universities are:

-Ulugbek Madrasah, build between 1417-1420. During the XVth century was Islam’s bigger university. You can admire the geometry mosaique, the high wide arches, and the proportionally minaretes

Sher Dor Madrasah (1619-1636) is much sobre, very harmonic and symetric

Tilya kori Madrasah (1649-1669) , named also the golden building.

In the good old times, before XIIth century, Samarkand was much important and bigger than today(400 000 inhabitants in 2005).

The city lies in the neighborhood of Silky Road, which had a major contribution to the city importance and prosperity. It was first an oase on this road, where camels and people stopped to refresh.

In the XIIIth century the city was destroyed by the mongols lead by Genghis Han, and needed a few decades to recover. In the XVth century Tamerlan declared Samarkand the capital of his huge empire, and the city flourished again. Tamerlan also protected arts and culture, and during his rule were build most of the old buildings I mentioned above.

Samarkand is hot, interesting, deep and special. The people are good hosts, and very normal, have no afraid of fanatic muslims. My tip: visit Samarkand, but not in summer.