Shahrisabz

Towards Shahrisabz, passing through Takhtakaracha

Tamerlane was the guiding thread that shaped the Uzbekistan travel section, and it seems appropriate to conclude the tour with a visit to his hometown, Shahrisabz, located 85 km south of Samarkand. We had already arranged a meeting with a driver at 7 am, who would be punctual in front of the hotel, and within a couple of hours we reached our destination. The road is very scenic; we briefly stopped where desert-like hills provided a backdrop for some famous Western films, after which we arrived at the Takhtakaracha step, located at an altitude of 1,788 meters, which opens onto a wide valley with mountains to the south marking the horizon and the border with Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Continuing beyond Shahrisabz, one reaches Termiz and immediately crosses into Afghan territory. On the ridge is a small bazaar where fruits and dried cheese, always arranged in an orderly and almost artistic way.

Ak-Saray and the mausoleums of Shahrisabz

The driver dropped us off near the Palace of Aksaray... arranging to meet on the opposite side of the accessible area, about a couple of kilometers away. A richly flowering garden has been set up around the palace, but only part of the entrance arch remains. The ruins leave plenty of room for imagining how large and wealthy the complex must have been, intended to impress and intimidate anyone who saw it. In the center of the enormous square stands a Statue of Timur which, when framed with the arch in the background, deliberately creates a line of continuity with this. Walking under the warm sun within the park, you encounter buildings such as the Abdushukur Agalik, the Kuba Caravanseray, now a restaurant, and the Mulk Ashtor Mosque, where a Friday celebration is taking place, and the Chorsu, which is actually more of a textile workshop-shop. All buildings are quite ordinary, except for the Mosque Kok Gumbaz, with stunning blue domes, near which is the Sheik Shamshiddin Kuloi Mausoleum, where some relatives of Tamerlane were buried. Not far away is another important site, the Dorus Siyadat mausoleum, a complex within which are several tombs, one of which is believed to have belonged to Tamerlane himself. He had planned to be buried in this city, but the impossibility of crossing the pass due to the harsh winter conditions prevented it, and it seems that this is the reason why he now rests in the Gur-e Amir of Samarkand. Another crypt nearby houses a son of Tamerlane, who died young when the ruler was still alive. Finally, within the same complex is the Khazarati Imom mosque, where, on Friday, religious services are held: we witness some moments of the ceremony, while the imam alternates between recitations and what I would call a sermon, strictly in Uzbek, so we can barely imagine how much sound is being broadcast.

Within the urban setting, it is important to highlight how the basil, whether green or reddish, is considered a decorative plant and features long fragrant borders. The garden should be relatively new because the trees are still quite small and unfortunately don't provide much protection from temperatures well above 30°C. While we enjoy an ice cream to cool down, we witness the departure of worshippers from the mosque and notice how many people were inside; we had only seen those sitting in the courtyard, but there must have been at least 200 people. Some of them stop for an ice cream at our kiosk, while others walk or cycle away, and not a few have their prayer mat under their arm. We will also need to be patient with the traffic when we depart for Samarkand.

Descending from the hill, on the northern slope towards Samarkand, a peaceful stream runs along which the road occasionally opens onto simple rural houses that take advantage of the water to irrigate small plots. At 5:00 PM we are back in town, and we go to see the hidden neighborhood behind the Karimov avenue that connects the Registan Square with the Bibi-Khanym Mosque: here we find a couple of interesting local mosques, the Makhdumi Khorezm and finally, the Muborakb Mahallasi, and to finish with the Gumbaz Synagogue, a splendid example of tolerance amidst so many mosques. The row of shops and the walls running along Tashkent Street also try here to separate the "beautiful" tourist area from the "unattractive" residential area; but it is precisely by walking through these modest streets that you can grasp the reality and spirit of a city, even managing to exchange a few football passes with some children. We end our walk in front of the entrance to the Shah-i-Zinda while the sun is setting, we take a taxi and go for dinner at another charming restaurant in the Russian quarter after the Tamerlane monument, where borsch, lamb in parchment, plov, and chak-chak (a crispy dessert made with nuts, honey, and sugar) are on the menu. We enjoy this wonderful city.

Tomorrow we leave early by train for Tashkent.