The wonders of Samarkand – one of the reasons for me to actually come into Central Asia … it is not possible with photos to fully capture the beauty of Samarkand’s sight … to fully appreciate, you have to physically get there.

So – this was the big day … Samarkand … and the first day with not-so-nice weather. We had light rain, when we left the hotel … while it cleared up a bit during morning (yet still cloudy), heavy rain and a thunderstorm were ahead of us in the afternoon.

We started the tour with the Gur-e-Amir mausoleum; the alleged burial place of Timur. As this was a workfree day, the place was packed with Uzbek tourists on their pilgrimage to Timur’s resting place.

From the mausoleum we continued to the necropolis of Shah-i-Zinda, famous for its avenue of mausoleums – and yet another place of pilgrimage for the locals. Shah-i-Zinda is said to contain some of the richest and most beautiful tilework in the Muslim world.

After our visit to the necropolis, we continued to a shashlik restaurant. Unfortunately service was a bit erratic, so it took quiet a while until everyone was served and we had paid. As a result, we only made it to Samarkand’s highlight, the Registan Ensemble, in the later afternoon – basically together with a major thunderstorm and associated downpour.

The Registan Ensemble did not disappoint – even in bad weather conditions (actually the bad weather added in terms of atmosphere). This combination of three medressas (Ulugbek Medressa, Sher Dor Medressa and Tilla-Kari Medressa in the middle) is probably – when going to single sights (rather than cities) – the most beautiful and intricate in the whole region … but judge yourself. For details, have a look into the related wikipedia article.