Samarqand Travel Blogs, Travelogues and Travel Journals

"We travel not for trafficking alone, By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned. For lust of knowing what should not be known We take the golden Road to Samarkand." - James Elroy Fletcher   This is truly the highlight of the "Golden" or "Royal" Silk Road (Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand). Finaly I could set my feet on the famous Registan Square in Samarkand. However when I saw it for the first time for real I reckon I was a little bit disappointed but as time progressed and I passed …

Making pottery is one of my "looking forward things to do" in Uzubeki. We've got a bus drive to a handmade silk paper center in Koni Ghil village. We saw how they preserved the skill of handmaking. It was intereting to see the process from tree to paper. They made from mulberry which is surprising thing for us Japanese caz we use different trees. Actually, I didn't know it. I got the idea from the senior Japanese who live in countryside with lots of knowledge abo…

I know this is a shock for anyone who knows me, but I am planning something... a silk road trip. I don't have a time frame yet (next spring I hope) but looking for any feedback from anyone. Also would love to find a few places to stay and friendly faces along the way.

Two guys set out from Brisbane Australia equipped with a flexible self made itinerary. Four months started in Katmandu Nepal April 2004 and ended in Beijing China July 2004. How we get there is up to us....

Following in the footsteps of Marco Polo by reliving the past of the Silk Roads from Syria to China, going upstream the mighty Mekong from Vietnam all the way to Tibet, see the roof of the world and more.....

Leaving behind Bukhara, I headed for my next destination: Samarkand. Samarkand is one of the most ancient cities in this part of the world, and its name is synonymous with the treasures traded along the ancient Silk Road. It is also known throughout the world as having been the capital of the Timurid empire. Amir Timur loved Samarkand so much that he adorned the city with numerous grandiose monuments, some of which fortunately remain (or have been restored) to date. Many of these monuments ar…