After invasions by
Alexander the Great
and Genghis Khan,
2,700-year-old Samarkand
was transformed into
a fairytale city by the
legendary warlord, Timur
(also known as Tamerlane).
Today, Uzbekistan’s most
glorious and magical city
boasts incredible squares,
buildings and bazaars.
HORSING AROUND
Samarkand has a football team,
FK Dinamo Samarqand, but a
traditional sport called Kupkari
is
even more popular than soccer.
Players on horseback attempt
to pick up the headless body of
a goat or calf and get it across
a goal line. Up to 100 horses
and riders can join in at one
time, so play gets rough! Some
participants wear old Russian army
tank helmets and the riders’ horse
handling skills are legendary.
Large tournaments are held at
Samarkand’s hippodrome.
BREAD WINNER
Siab Market is the beating heart of
Samarkand – full of locals shopping,
chatting, playing backgammon or
watching street performers. The air
all around is thick with spices. People
munch on local specialities such as
salted apricot pips roasted in ashes,
while bakeries offer many kinds of
golden Samarkand flatbread.
The bread is baked in special ovens
and is said to be unique
to the city.
ROYAL STAR
Blackouts are a common
annoyance for Samarkand’s
kids today, but the
temporary lack of light
pollution reveals the night
sky as it was in 1424, when
this was the astronomical
capital of the world. Star-
gazing Prince Ulugh Beg
– grandson of Timur –
mapped an amazing 1,018
stars, creating a chart used
by Greenwich Observatory,
London, 250 years later.
The remains of his ancient
observatory can still be seen
on one of Samarkand’s hills.
LOVER’S LEAP
An old legend says that
Samarkand, originally called
Marakanda
, was named after
two tragic lovers – a beautiful
princess called Kant (which
means ‘sugar’ in the Uzbek
language) and a poor boy
called Samar, known for
his bravery. When the king,
Kant’s father, discovered
their forbidden love, he
killed Samar. Kant was so
heartbroken, she jumped
from the roof of a castle.
COOL COSTUMES
Fabrics are also used to tell the city’s history in El
Merosi theatre. A historic fashion show presents
costumes from different eras in Samarkand’s past,
from Scythian horsemen and warriors of the first
millennium BC up to now.
FOLLOW THE THREAD
The Silk Road (an ancient trade route between China and the
Mediterranean) made Samarkand famous, and silk remains
important to the city. Local women weave it into valuable carpets,
which can take years to create. Every carpet contains a story, and
some of the patterns have been around since Silk Road days.
MAGIC MOSAICS
Timur had an awful reputation for
violence, but he never killed the
artisans or architects in the places he
conquered. Instead he sent them to
Samarkand to sculpt his capital into a
giant work of art. Samarkand became
world famous in the 14th and 15th
centuries as a place of beauty, because
of the intricate mosaics around the
Registan, Bibi-Khanym Mosque and
the Shakh-I-Zinda cemetery. Now it’s
being carefully restored, tile by tile.