Silk Road - 31 May 2009 - Bibi Hanun Mosque in Samarkand

Breakfast was pretty good, but the lack of air conditioning is a problem. Bora was considering moving us to another hotel, but too many people had sent laundry out.

View from Hotel Room in Samarkand

View from Hotel Room in Samarkand

Samarkand has been in existence since Paleolithic times. A body of a young male Neanderthal was found in the area. The Sogdians lived in Samarkand and Alexander the Great passed through.

We took off heading for the Bibi Hanun Mosque. It was built by the Chinese wife of Tamerlane in the 14^th century. She was supposed to have been murdered by Tamerlane because he suspected that she had an affair with the architect. It was the largest mosque in Central Asia at the time and was constructed of stone and marble. It was a traditional Friday Mosque. Unfortunately, they were in a hurry to complete the project to celebrate Tamerlane’s victory in India and consequently they skimped on quality. It started falling apart and then a 19^th century earthquake really did a number on it. The original Koran, which we saw in Tashkent and that Tamerlane brought back from Basra was displayed in the courtyard on special occasions.
Bibi Harun Mosque
Bibi Harun Mosque
Bibi Harun Mosque Minaret
Bibi Harun Mosque
Bibi Harun Mosque Dome - called a mellon dome
Bibi Harun Mosque
Where the Koran Tamerlane brought back from Basra was originally displayed
Bibi Harun Mosque
Bibi Harun Mosque
Exquisite Tile Work
Outside of Mosque - Selling Scarves