Tag Archives: Gur-e Amir

My Iconic Travel Moments – 2011 to 2019 (#2) – Samarkand in Uzbekistan
Number 2 – Samarkand, Uzbekistan My 2018 trip to Uzbekistan with travel buddy Hamish was absolutely superb. You may already have read about the Turkmenistan leg of the trip (Darvaza Gas Crater was iconic travel moment number 4). Uzbekistan just about edged it for me, and even then it was a pretty close call between […]

My Iconic Travel Moments Part 3 – 2011 to 2019 (#2) – Samarkand
Number 2 – Samarkand, Uzbekistan My 2018 trip to Uzbekistan with travel buddy Hamish was absolutely superb. You may already have read about the Turkmenistan leg of the trip (Darvaza Gas Crater was iconic travel moment number 4). Uzbekistan just about edged it for me, and even then it was a pretty close call between […]

A-Z April Challenge (Cities Visited) – S for Samarkand
Samarkand, Uzbekistan There are certain names that conjure images of exotic travel to far flung magical destinations. Timbuktu, Port Said, Tangiers, Damascus, Jaipur, The Caspian Sea, Lake Titicaca, Saigon. Samarkand is one of those places and is a location that very much lives up to expectations. It is undoubtedly the Crown Jewels of Islamic architecture […]

Central Asia – The Joy of Looking Up
Whilst on my travels through Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan, I was taken aback by the sheer beauty of the Islamic art & architecture. Whilst the tile work and art on walls, doorways & minarets was quite exquisite, it was the colourful intricate interior ceiling designs of mosques, madrasahs, mausoleums, khans & palaces that really took […]

Samarkand, Uzbekistan 2018 – Day 2
We managed to resolutely resist Samarkand’s Crown Jewels, the Registan. That was for day 3, with today being dedicated to Amir Timur the Great. We would be driving 80km south over the hills and via a bustling market to Timur’s birthplace of Shahrisabz in Kashkadarya province, whilst that evening we would also take in his final […]