Silk Road - 30 May 2009 - On the Road to Samarkand

We stopped at a supermarket, but they didn’t have the batteries that I needed. We then went off to lunch at a nice restaurant. After lunch, we left for Samarkand. For two hours the landscape was flat with nothing to see except endless farm land and animals grazing.

During the drive our guide, Sanam, answered questions. 80% of the population is officially Moslem, but they tend not to practice. Most are Suni, but a few are Shi’ites. There are a few Buddhists. Most but not all Christians are Russian Orthodox. 70% of the population lives on the farms.

After driving for three hours, I noticed mountains in the distance. As we continued, rolling hills developed.

Scenery on the road to Samarkand
View from Balcony of room in hotel in Samarkand

Samarkand, which means ‘Rich City’, has a population of about 450,000. It was founded about 2750 years ago. It originally had 8 miles of city walls, which Genghis Khan destroyed. It was rebuilt by Tamerlane. We had dinner in the hotel. The complaint about the hotel is the air conditioning or should I say the lack thereof.