Samarkand was a city of many surprises. My main attractions to the city were the historical richness and well preserved ancient sites. I visited a paper mill and even an observatory, or rather, the ruins of one, and also saw Samarkand Square. See below for my description, and see my next post for photos.
Samarkand: The Gem Of The East
More than 25 centuries old, Samarkand is regarded as one of the most historic and beautiful cities in the entire world. With its grand architecture and myriad of historical landmarks, it’s no wonder that it is rapidly becoming a popular tourist destination. Samarkand was historically significant as the central point of the Silk Road, uniting China and the West. It is also known for being a central location for Islamic scholarly studies. The two coolest things about Samarkand are: 1) The Ulugh Beg Observatory 2) The Legend Of Papermaking.
An astronomer named Ulugh Beg built the Ulugh Beg Observatory in the 1420’s. It is still regarded by many as one of the finest observatories that has ever existed, even though religious radicals destroyed it in 1449 during a conflict in the region. It would be another 500 years before the ruins were uncovered by a Russian archaeologist. To his surprise, underneath all of the rubble, the tunnels that ran under the observatory had survived, and the location is now preserved for all to see.
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