Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
five domes, containing an 18m sarcophagus -
legend has it that Daniel's body grows by
half an inch a year and thus the sarcophagus
has to be enlarged. His remains, which date
to at least the 5th century BC, were brought
here for good luck by Timur from Susa, Iran
(suspiciously, an alleged tomb of Daniel can
also be found in Susa).
Ulugbek's¨Observatory¨
oBSeRVAToRY
(Toshkent yo'li; admission 9000S;
h
8am-7pm
Apr-oct, 9am-5pm Nov-Mar)
The remains of
Ulugbek's Observatory is one of the great
archaeological finds of the 20th century.
Ulugbek was probably more famous as an
astronomer than as a ruler. His 30m astro-
lab, designed to observe star positions, was
part of a three-storey observatory he built in
the 1420s. All that remains now is the instru-
ment's curved track, unearthed in 1908. The
small on-site museum has some miniatures
depicting Ulugbek and a few old ceramics
and other artefacts unearthed in Afrosiab.
Regional¨Studies¨Museum¨
MUSeUM
(Abdurahmon Jomi 51; admission 9000S;
h
9am-
5pm)
The Regional Studies Museum occu-
pies an old Jewish merchant's house, and
has a lavish wing devoted to Jewish his-
tory, with old photos of Samarkand's once-
prominent population of both European
and Bukhara Jews. The rest of the museum
contains the standard line-up of old ceram-
ics, stuffed animals and historical displays.
Hazrat-Hizr¨Mosque¨
MoSQUe
(Toshkent yo'li; admission 7000S;
h
8am-6pm)
Across the intersection from the Siob Ba-
zaar, the Hazrat-Hizr Mosque occupies a hill
on the fringes of Afrosiab. The 8th-century
mosque that once stood here was burnt to
the ground by Chinggis Khan in the 13th
century and was not rebuilt until 1854. In the
1990s it was lovingly restored by a wealthy
Bukharan and today it's Samarkand's most
beautiful mosque, with a fine domed interi-
or and views of Bibi-Khanym, Shah-i-Zinda
and Afrosiab from the minaret. The ribbed
aivan
ceiling drips colour.
Ishratkhana¨Mausoleum¨
MAUSoLeUM
(Sadriddin Ayni)
If you prefer your ruins really
ruined, it's worth the slog out to the
Tomb
Raider
-style, 15th-century Ishratkhana
Mausoleum, newly topped by a tin roof.
1
Navoi Ko'chasi & Park
Samarkand's Russified downtown area
tends to escape tourists' radars, which is
unfortunate because it's quite un-Sovietised
and charming.
WHERE'S¨THE¨OLD¨TOWN?
In recent years, city planners have completely redesigned Samarkand to seal of older
sections of town from tourits' view. Roads have been rerouted, and tatues of Navoi,
Gorky, Gagarin and others have disappeared or been relocated. Hideous walls have
been erected around Gur-e-Amir and behind the Regitan, and virtually all access points
between the old town and tourity Tashkent and Regitan treets have been closed of.
Plucky travellers who do manage to ind their way into the old town will be rewarded
with an authentic slice of
mahalla
(neighbourhood) life. The mot intereting neighbour-
hood is the old Jewish Quarter, accessible by a gate of Toshkent yo'li, next to the Tourit
Information Centre. From the gate, walk eat along the main lane, Abu Laiz Samarkandi,
and ind the gloriously faded
Koroboy¨Oksokol¨Mosque
down an alley on your right.
Continuing along Abu Laiz Samarkandi, pass the diminutive
Mubarak¨Mosque
on your
left and proceed to the neighbourhood
hammomi
(public baths), which are sadly no
longer working. Take a left on unmarked Denau ko'chasi, opposite the
hammomi
, and
look for the working 19th-century
Gumbaz¨Synagogue
(
%
+998 91 552 72 68) a few
houses down on the left. You're welcome to visit the synagogue, which was built for the
Bukharan Jews of Samarkand in 1891, but call ahead to be sure that there will be some-
one there. There are approximately 50 Jews remaining in Samarkand, with numbers
decreasing all the time, according to Rabbi Yusuf Fakar.
Wander through the lanes south of the
hammomi
until you locate the tidy new
Mausoleum¨of¨Imam-al-Matrudiy
(Buxoro). Jut wet of here is the more intereting
Makhdumi¨Khorezm¨Mosque
(Buxoro), with a colourful ceiling under its
aivan
and
some ine interior tilework. Other neighbourhoods worth wandering are wet-southwet
of Bibi-Khanym and behind Gur-e-Amir.
