Registan Ensemble

Flying to Samarkand

I was seated immediately after the exit rows on the A321 (version with only two window exits and four doors, no extra doors).  I had received an email notifying that my original assigned seat was no longer available due to operational reasons (perhaps an aircraft configuration change).

It turned out to be the best seat on the plane.  I was the first to get fed, and the seat had generous recline while the one in front of me had none!  The seat belt was fitted with an airbag, which was rather unusual for a non-bulkhead economy seat.

Even though the scheduled duration of the flight was 4h20, we were only about 3h30 in the air, leaving about 90 mins of shut-eye after the meal service.

We landed in Samarkand on-time at 0730 and I was out in about 15 mins with no checked-in bags.

I found two ATMs in the terminal.  The first advised that a modest fee of UZS7500 (NZD1 is chargeable) but the second didn’t.  But nevertheless, the second one applied the fee without warning but it is the lowest fee I’ve seen in a while, so it wasn’t a big deal.

Why Samarkand again?

The plan this trip is to travel the Pamir Highway.  Flights to Dushanbe, the starting point were infrequent (about 3 times per week) and expensive.  That means that I would arrive too early for the road trip (or risk being late).

On the other hand, flights to Samarkand were frequent (about twice daily) and reasonable.  It made sense to put the savings in the fare towards accommodation and use the time to re-absorb the beauty of Samarkand.

Samarkand probably has the highest concentration of beauty in one place, amongst all cities in the world.  Hopefully you’ll agree from the photos on this page.

My positive Yandex experience

I wanted to be sure of the Yandex car pickup location before ordering the car, so did not order it while still inside the terminal.  I lost some time fending off taxi touts before ordering a car to the Jahongir Hotel where I had stayed 7 years ago.

The Yandex prices were less than half of what the taxi touts wanted (about USD4).  I wasn’t worried about the difference but more wanted to conserve cash for now as Yandex is charged to my card.

The first car I ordered was still about 6 mins away when the app suddenly said I had completed my ride and was charged a small amount.

I re-ordered another car and lodged a support request on the Yandex app about my first car.  I received a refund and a well-worded explanation within seconds.

The reason given is that the driver appears to have started my ride while not in the same location as me.  He will be blackmarked and disciplined if it happens to often.

I got to the Jahongir before 0900 and left a little afterwards to explore, since I can’t officially check in till 1400.

[Edit:  I had another incident next day where the driver forgot to end my ride.  Again, support fixed this instantly!]

Amir Temur & Aksaray Mausoleums

The Amir Temur Mausoleum (aka Gur-i-Amir Complex) was nearby so I wandered over after 0900.  Built in 1404, it houses ther mains of Emperor Temur along with 2 sons and 2 grandsons here.

The interior was stunningly beautiful in white, blue and gold tiled relief work.

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Behind and through a gate was the complex was the Aksaray Mausoleum.  Built in 1470, it has a different style.  Again, this was intricately decorated in blue, white and gold motifs.  However, the amount of blue and gold was more dominant here.

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Registan Ensemble

After about an hour at the two mausoleums, it was still far too early for a room to be available at my room.  So, I continued to the Registan Square to visit the three madrassahs, stopping for a delicious lavash roll-up sandwich en route.

The three madrassahs are now termed the Registan ensemble, which I don’t recall being used.7 years ago when I first visited.

After buying the ticket, I first visited the Ulugbek madrassah, the oldest of the three, built in 1420.  It has a nice courtyard surrounded by many arches of the rooms that overlook it.

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My visit continued in clockwise order to the next one, being the Tilla Kari madrassah.  So, I lost the chronological order of the build as this was the last, built in 1660.

On the left of the courtyard of the Tilla Kari was the mosque, which was the highlight of my visit last time.  Once again, it didn’t fail to stun me with the intricate blue, white and gold tile-work.

It doesn’t appear to be a functioning mosque and people went in shorts.  I regret keeping my longs on in consideration of visiting the mosque.  Damn!

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Finally, I visited the Sher Dor madrassah.  Like the Ulugbek, it consists of rooms around a richly-decorated courtyard.

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Keeping cool

At around 1300, it was a reasonable time to check if I could get into my room at the Jahogir.  Fortunately, all was good.  With the temperatures at 35 degC or more, I could only be out half day.  Especially in a city I had visited before and after a night flight.

It’s a real contrast to the cold (and sometimes wet) weather I experienced on my previous visit in autumn.

I rested till the evening when I went out for a kebab dinner.

I went back to Registan Square to see the madrassahs lit up at night.  At 2100, the slowly-changing coloured lights came on.  But the laser light-projections which I enjoyed 7 years ago no longer runs.