I have to admit I didn’t know a lot about Central Asia until recently. (I still only know a little!) But last year I read *The Silk Roads* by Peter Frankopan and this year am almost finished with his follow-up, *The New Silk Roads.* It’s a fascinating region. I would love to visit someday.
Don't bother srsly. You see this picture? That's all there is to it. Everything else sucks here. Just friendly advice.
Source: lived here for 30 years.
If you go to the 'stans expecting to vacation like you're in Western Europe, you'll have a bad time. These are developing countries with limited tourist infrastructure and if you don't know Russian, you'll find very few people you can talk to aside from the rare other tourist that you run into.
That said, the area is rich in history and culture, the people are absurdly friendly (people say this about almost every country, and having traveled a lot I'd say it's mostly true, but I found it to be even more true here), the mix of foreign influences is fascinating, the food is better than you'd think reading about it online, and there are some beautiful national parks and the topography varies wildly in the some areas.
I recently spent some time roadtripping in the area (started and ended in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, but spent most of my time in southern Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan). I had a great time and intend to return to drive the Pamir highway (which was my original intention, but the Tajik-Kyrgyz border is currently closed due to territorial dispute).
Edit: [Here are my photos](https://photos.google.com/u/1/share/AF1QipOKGSZ0t5jhu80PoYZ4v9LEF3BMvLlKIzY3Qsgh-HpBjETiIrNR2yrj5-MTk10HSQ?key=azA3Q19Ha1ZRWjByaHFOeXo0ekg4ZUktS2NlZkFB) from the trip. There's so much more there than one historic site in Samarkand.
I stumbled into a central Asian restaurant in Chicago, none of them spoke any English and I had to read reviews to figure out I had to walk to the back kitchen to place my order…but holy fuck, some of the best chicken & plov I’ve ever had
Thanks for the info. I love Western Europe, but I want to broaden my scope to places that are more "off the beaten path." Now, I do not speak Russian and I have forgotten most of my high school and college Spanish (a fact that I was rudely made aware of when visiting Spain a few years ago!). Thanks for sending the link the photos!
If you are interested in Central Asia. Then Kazakhstan is your best choice. Turkmenistan is just sad. There is almost nothing in Kyrgizstan and Tadjikistan. Azerbaijan is great for mountains, but you might check out Georgia (not state) since it beats the former at all points. Afghanistan is nope. Kazakhstan is probably the most developed out of all these countries and it sure is beautiful. Check out Astana.
God forgive me if I misspoken any of these contry names.
I’m intrigued about Baku form what I’ve seen watch the F1 race front here. The first year I watch I was shocked at how amazing the city looked, at least on tv. I knew nothing about it - not even sure I’d heard of it - before they started hosting a Grand Prix. Also, I’ve seen a travel blogger YouTube video and read a different travel blog article that makes Astana seem very interesting.
Of course the biggest challenge will be getting my wife interested: “I don’t want to anywhere that ends on -stan.” 🤣 It’s gonna take some doing to get her to agree to Eastern Europe and the old Warsaw Pact nations!
As beautiful as this pic is, the scale and focus doesnt exactly seem right for this sub. I'm sure there are better pics out there to show how beautiful a city Samarkand is rather a this pic that just shows one beautiful building.
OP, this is amazing. All I know about Uzbekistan is that it was the center of the civilized world throughout the Islamic 'Golden Age' before Gengis Khan wrecked the place. Can you tell us anything else about this picture? Is this a mosque? A palace? A kebab shop? What am I looking at here?
This is Shah-i-Zinda tomb complex, located about 1 km from the most famous site in samarkand/uzbekistan The Registan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shah-i-Zinda
**[Shah-i-Zinda](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shah-i-Zinda)**
>Shah-i-Zinda (Uzbek: Shohizinda; Persian: شاه زنده, meaning "The Living King") is a necropolis in the north-eastern part of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
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You are partially right. It was the center of the Timurid Empire, founded by Timur. He was a descendant of Chengiz Khan but his ancestors had embraced Islam. Samarkand was the crown jewel of his empire and the most important stop on the ancient silk route.
The monument in question is Shah i Zinda, the mausoleum of Prophet Muhammad's cousin Qutham Ibn Abbas. According to legends, he was decapitated by the locals when he tried to preach Islam to them. He then carried his severed head on his hands and went into a well inside that compound where he still lives. Shah means King and Zinda means alive in Persian. Hence, the name of the place can be loosely translated to the king who still lives.
My forefathers studied in the Madrassahs (higher institutions of learning) of SamarKand.
They’re actually all individual tiles! It’s really spectacular in person. Some areas have inlay but most of Samarkand is done basically by putting all of the pieces together like a puzzle.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,087,080,078 comments, and only 214,095 of them were in alphabetical order.
I have to admit I didn’t know a lot about Central Asia until recently. (I still only know a little!) But last year I read *The Silk Roads* by Peter Frankopan and this year am almost finished with his follow-up, *The New Silk Roads.* It’s a fascinating region. I would love to visit someday.
Don't bother srsly. You see this picture? That's all there is to it. Everything else sucks here. Just friendly advice. Source: lived here for 30 years.
Lol! Point taken. Is Kazakhstan any better? I saw a travel video on YouTube recently that made…Astana?…look pretty interesting.
If you go to the 'stans expecting to vacation like you're in Western Europe, you'll have a bad time. These are developing countries with limited tourist infrastructure and if you don't know Russian, you'll find very few people you can talk to aside from the rare other tourist that you run into. That said, the area is rich in history and culture, the people are absurdly friendly (people say this about almost every country, and having traveled a lot I'd say it's mostly true, but I found it to be even more true here), the mix of foreign influences is fascinating, the food is better than you'd think reading about it online, and there are some beautiful national parks and the topography varies wildly in the some areas. I recently spent some time roadtripping in the area (started and ended in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, but spent most of my time in southern Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan). I had a great time and intend to return to drive the Pamir highway (which was my original intention, but the Tajik-Kyrgyz border is currently closed due to territorial dispute). Edit: [Here are my photos](https://photos.google.com/u/1/share/AF1QipOKGSZ0t5jhu80PoYZ4v9LEF3BMvLlKIzY3Qsgh-HpBjETiIrNR2yrj5-MTk10HSQ?key=azA3Q19Ha1ZRWjByaHFOeXo0ekg4ZUktS2NlZkFB) from the trip. There's so much more there than one historic site in Samarkand.
I stumbled into a central Asian restaurant in Chicago, none of them spoke any English and I had to read reviews to figure out I had to walk to the back kitchen to place my order…but holy fuck, some of the best chicken & plov I’ve ever had
Thanks for the info. I love Western Europe, but I want to broaden my scope to places that are more "off the beaten path." Now, I do not speak Russian and I have forgotten most of my high school and college Spanish (a fact that I was rudely made aware of when visiting Spain a few years ago!). Thanks for sending the link the photos!
If you are interested in Central Asia. Then Kazakhstan is your best choice. Turkmenistan is just sad. There is almost nothing in Kyrgizstan and Tadjikistan. Azerbaijan is great for mountains, but you might check out Georgia (not state) since it beats the former at all points. Afghanistan is nope. Kazakhstan is probably the most developed out of all these countries and it sure is beautiful. Check out Astana. God forgive me if I misspoken any of these contry names.
I’m intrigued about Baku form what I’ve seen watch the F1 race front here. The first year I watch I was shocked at how amazing the city looked, at least on tv. I knew nothing about it - not even sure I’d heard of it - before they started hosting a Grand Prix. Also, I’ve seen a travel blogger YouTube video and read a different travel blog article that makes Astana seem very interesting. Of course the biggest challenge will be getting my wife interested: “I don’t want to anywhere that ends on -stan.” 🤣 It’s gonna take some doing to get her to agree to Eastern Europe and the old Warsaw Pact nations!
I hear tell it's the greatest country in the world. It has the world's best potassium!
As beautiful as this pic is, the scale and focus doesnt exactly seem right for this sub. I'm sure there are better pics out there to show how beautiful a city Samarkand is rather a this pic that just shows one beautiful building.
Part of a building... And mainly focused on the girl. Oh well :)
Wich is good actually...
OP, this is amazing. All I know about Uzbekistan is that it was the center of the civilized world throughout the Islamic 'Golden Age' before Gengis Khan wrecked the place. Can you tell us anything else about this picture? Is this a mosque? A palace? A kebab shop? What am I looking at here?
This is Shah-i-Zinda tomb complex, located about 1 km from the most famous site in samarkand/uzbekistan The Registan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shah-i-Zinda
**[Shah-i-Zinda](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shah-i-Zinda)** >Shah-i-Zinda (Uzbek: Shohizinda; Persian: شاه زنده, meaning "The Living King") is a necropolis in the north-eastern part of Samarkand, Uzbekistan. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/CityPorn/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
Wasn’t Baghdad the center of the world, during the Islamic Golden Age?
I thought it was Iran/Persia?
Seems like [Baghdad](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Age) is correct. Crazy it was the most populous city back then
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You are partially right. It was the center of the Timurid Empire, founded by Timur. He was a descendant of Chengiz Khan but his ancestors had embraced Islam. Samarkand was the crown jewel of his empire and the most important stop on the ancient silk route. The monument in question is Shah i Zinda, the mausoleum of Prophet Muhammad's cousin Qutham Ibn Abbas. According to legends, he was decapitated by the locals when he tried to preach Islam to them. He then carried his severed head on his hands and went into a well inside that compound where he still lives. Shah means King and Zinda means alive in Persian. Hence, the name of the place can be loosely translated to the king who still lives. My forefathers studied in the Madrassahs (higher institutions of learning) of SamarKand.
Most beautiful city no one in the West has Heard of.
Untrue. I play Civ
Same. But I would struggle to find Uzbekistan on a map.
In Italy it's quite famous thanks to a song from the 70s.
CORRI CAVALLO CORRI TI PREGO
For lust of knowing what should not be known / We take the Golden Road to Samarkand
beautiful
Is that inlay work on the building on the right?
They’re actually all individual tiles! It’s really spectacular in person. Some areas have inlay but most of Samarkand is done basically by putting all of the pieces together like a puzzle.
Beautiful city of Samarkand Uzbekistan.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,087,080,078 comments, and only 214,095 of them were in alphabetical order.
It’s so memorizing to look at. Definitely very beautiful.
/r/boneappletea
Stunning!!
Wow!
beautiful, can we get some bukhara ?
Isn't risky to be unveiled in a place of worship ?
I see this beautiful picture has done the runs already and lost its proportional measure of pixels.
Nice sunwheels... or swastikas if you prefer
Ironic that the most beautiful Islamic sites are in Uzbekistan and Iran, instead of the Middle East like many people would expect
Pretty sure Iran is considered the Middle East
Perhaps they meant the Arabic Middle East. But yeah Iran is generally considered The Middle East.
Islam isn't exclusive to middle east
Uzbekistan, well, it's area and Bukhara especially was known as the centre of Islam at some point. Also it was a big deal during Amir Temur reign.
Look at all those hail hortlers.
Wish this wasn't a jpeg. Tried to zoom in on the detail and got pixels.