One of the most unusual visits we had was to see a 14th century observatory built by Ulugh Beg who was very into astronomy and built this around the 1420's. It got covered by earth for many centuries and what one can see now was only discovered in 1908....... the exterior is still very impressive...
We did finally get to see the Bibikhan mosque.....
There are 3 mosques buildings.....
2 have been restored .......
...but one mosque is closed to the public as it is a little dangerous.... falling sand! Managed to get an interior view of it however. They are waiting for the OK from UNESCO before restoring. The exterior looks great! But happy that we could not enter!
It was decided to go over a mountain pass the next morning, the Takhta-Karacha pass..... unfortunately as it was raining there were very few people at the market at the top.
We were en route to visit where Timur was born, Shahrisabz. His Summer Palace had been huge in its day, the gate posts were 65 m high.... however what remains has not been restored. But still impressive in size
Getting into the train terminal was very like taking a flight.....entry check with passport, to even enter the train station grounds, then again security check for all baggage within the station, a long wait in a waiting room and then finally allowed to access the platform to embark......
with a final check of tickets at the carriage door.....
On arrival at Samarkand we were picked up by our driver who had driven ahead with out luggage.
Our hotel, the Bibikhanum, was not as charming nor the rooms as great as the prior nights in Bukhara. However it had a view to die for! On to the domes of the BibiKhan mosque! Our evening view on arrival was amazing!
We were taken out to dinner to the Karimbek restaurant.... passing by the Registan en route! Samarkand is now a very large city so walking to a restaurant was not an option! All the restaurants we were taken to seem to be in the new part of the city. So driving to them was usually a 10 minute drive.
Our breakfast view at the hotel next morning was even more amazing than our view the prior evening.....
