In the summer of 2022, I was fortunate enough to travel to Uzbekistan with G Adventures. Samarqand had been at the top of my bucket list for many years, so I was incredibly grateful and happy to finally see the city in person. Samarqand was first founded sometime around 700 BCE. In the 500s, it was incorporated into the Achaemenid Empire. Alexander the Great passed through in 328 BCE, writing that it was “even more beautiful than I had imagined.” The city rose to become a major post on the Silk Road. In the late 7th century Muslim armies invaded. The city became a major center of Islamic scholarship and the first place the Muslim world experimented with making paper, after leaning the skill from the Chinese. In 1221, Genghis Khan captured the city. Then in the 1300s, under Timur, Samarqand went on to become one of the most glorious capitals in the world. Here are some of the beautiful historical sites I saw in Uzbekistan during my time there.

Registan: in 1888 Lord Curzon described Samarqand’s Registan as “the noblest public square in the world.” Timur intended on using the square for royal proclamations and executions, but his successors turned it into a place of scholarship. The Registan is bounded by three madrasas, the first being built by Ulugh Beg—grandson of Timur—in the 1400s and the other two being built in the 1600s. The sun rises on the madrasa of Ulugh Beg and sets on the one opposite—it is really astounding to see.

Shah-i-Zindeh: a complex of sixteen buildings which was originally built to commemorate Qusam Ibn Abbas, who reportedly came to preach Islam in Samarqand in 676.

Gur-i-Amir: the mausoleum where Timur rests. Born in 1336, he earned the nickname “The Prince of Destruction” due to his brutal campaigns. After destroying cities, Timur brought back their artisans and architects to his capital of Samarkand. The architect of the Gur-i-Amir came from Isfahan. The message “when I rise from the dead the whole world will tremble” is inscribed on Timur’s tombstone. Despite the warnings of a curse, Soviet archaeologists decided to exhume his body in 1941. German armies invaded the next day. Shortly after he was reunited, the Soviets won the battle of Stalingrad.

Bibi Khanum Mosque: named for Timur’s favorite wife. There is a legend that the architect fell in love with her and after she permitted him to kiss her cheek, Timur sent his elephant brigade into the mosque and wreaked the damage that can still be seen today. It has been substantially reconstructed in several years, which has sparked some controversy.

After visiting Samarqand, we continued to Bukhara, Khiva, and Tashkent. Here are some of the lovely historical sites I saw:

Bukhara has been considered a sacred place for some time. The name relates to the Sanskrit word for shrine. Imam Bukhari was born there, although he died and is buried near Samarqand. The city experienced a golden age during the Samanid Empire (819-1005), but much of their architecture was destroyed during the Mongol invasions in the 1200s. From the 16th century it was the capital of the Bukhara khanate until the last Amir was dethroned in 1920 by the Red Army. Here are some of the holy and historic sites:

1. There is an ancient well associated with Prophet Ayub (as).
2. Samanid Mausoleum built in 943, one of the oldest surviving domed mausoleums in the Islamic world.
3. The oldest mosque is the Magoki-Attari, built atop a Zoroastrian temple. Before the first synagogue was built in Bukhara, Jews prayed alongside with Muslims here. It was buried during the Mongol invasion and excavated in modern times and is no longer an active house of worship.
4. Kalyan Minaret, built in the 12th century. There are 109 steps to climb to the top.
5. The 15th century Ulugh Beg madrasa, on which there is an inscription that reads, “aspiration to knowledge is the duty of each Muslim man and woman”
6. Madrasa of Nadir Divan Beghi, which depicts birds flying to the sun, symbolizing aspiration for spiritual knowledge
7. Mir-i-Arab Madrasa—built in 1535, it was the only functioning madrasa in Soviet Central Asia and it is still active today.
8. Bolo Hauz mosque, completed in 1712
9. Chor-Minor mosque, completed in 1807, although no longer active
10. Ark—first built around the year 1000, it got its modern shape during the Manghit dynasty, which took control of Bukhara in the late 18th century

We visited a small museum and workshop to learn about the history of puppetry in Bukhara.

Khiva was perhaps the most beautiful place I visited in Uzbekistan. The inner city is known as Ichan-Qala or internal fortress and is bounded by a large wall. We visited the tomb of Pahlavan-Mahmud, who died in 1326 and so lived through severe years of Mongol rule. A Sufi teacher, poet, and wrestler, he apparently, “trained his students’ spirit through the art of wrestling”

Kalta-minor or short minaret (meant to be the tallest minaret in Central Asia but construction stopped due to political instability) and the 18th century Djuma-Mosque (which was originally a Zoroastrian temple, it has 212 carved wooden columns, some dating back to the 6th century).

Here are old postcards of Samarqand found on Delcampe

Here are a few of Toshkent:

Here are mentions of Uzbekistan in National Geographic: