Our Day in Samarkand

Our first activity was to learn how silk paper is made. Mulberry trees are very common in the Stans. The Mulberry tree is also the home of the silkworm which eats the leaves of the tree and of course is where silk comes from. The small branches of the tree, however, are used to make paper. It’s a fascinating process and the paper that is made from this tree can last for 1500 years.

Our guide is pointing to the smaller branches that are used to make the paper.

Stripping away the dark part of the bark.

The white strips are soaked in water for hours. (unfortunately there is a reflection in the water)

From here the strips are made into pulp. The process is driven by a water wheel that turns an axle that drives the mashing of the strips.

The big beam down center is moved by the water wheel. The smaller beams that are being moved by the big beam go into the house where the energy is transformed into mashing the strips.

The pulp is put into water again and spread out as much as possible. The square wooden screen is then used to get the pulp out of the water. I know this sounds complicated, but just hang with me here and you’ll see the net results.

The screen is turned over to put the pulp onto a layer of cotton.

Another layer of cotton is put over the pulp and then the screen is used to apply pressure to get as much of the water out as possible.

This is a stack of layers of cotton and pulp being weighted down by a rock again to get as much of the water out.

After the water is removed, you now have basically a sheet of paper.

The paper is rubbed gently to give it a shine.

The paper on the top is regular wood pulp paper, and the paper on the bottom is silk paper.

These are two bookmarks made of silk paper that I bought.

The following items are all made from silk paper.

The studio also has a ceramic shop and here are some pictures taken from there.

She’s making a sculpture of a man with a donkey.

Our next visit was to the Mirzo Ulugbek observatory. Ulugbek was the grandson of the famous ruler Amir Timur who I will talk about later. Ulugbek was notable for his work in astronomy-related mathematics, such as trigonometry and circle geometry, as well as his general interests in the arts and intellectual activities. It is thought that he spoke 5 languages in addition to a small amount of Chinese. During his rule (first as a governor) the Timurid Empire achieved the cultural peak of the Timurid renaissance through his attention and patronage. Samarkand was captured and given to Ulugbek by his father. He built the observatory in Samarkand between 1424 and 1429. It was considered by scholars to have been one of the finest observatories in the Islamic world at the time and the largest in central Asia. Ulugbeh was subsequently recognized as the most important observational astronomer from the 15th century by many scholars. However, Ulugbek’s scientific expertise was not matched by his skills in governance. During his short reign, he failed to establish his power and authority. As a result, other rulers, including his family, took advantage of his lack of control, and he was subsequently overthrown and assassinated.

Group of women were happy to have us take their picture outside of the Observatory

Sextant
Lacking telescopes to work with, he increased his accuracy by having his sextant have a radius of about 36 meters (118 feet) and the optical separability of 180″ (seconds of arc). The purpose of the sextant was to measure the transit altitudes of the stars. This was a measurement of the maximum altitude above the horizon of the stars.

Also at the site is a museum

The area that his grandfather ruled. Samarkand is the star close to the center.

A painting depicting a place of trade during this time.

A painting depicting how the sextant would work.

Different calculations of the length of a year. Ulugbek’s is second from the bottom. He is exactly 1 minute and two seconds off from present calculations. His calculation might’ve been correct at that time because this value has changed.

We drove back into town to go to a necropolis.

Within the old city walls is both a Muslim and Jewish cemetery. This is a picture of the Muslim cemetery. The Jewish cemetery is above and I just didn’t have the time to go up there.

The necropolis is the Shohi Zinda complex dating from the 11th to 19th century. The mausoleums were built for women.

This octagonal mausoleum was built in the 14th century.

The highest point in the complex which contains a number of Mausoleums.

Usto Ali Nesefi Mausoleum. Among the buildings of this complex, this mausoleum differs by its elegant geometric form.

I really like the design on the outside of this one. It is a part of the Truman Oko complex built by Amir Temur‘s wife

These are the stairs I had to walk up with my bum knee to get into the main part of the complex.

Next stop was a well earned lunch.

A Russian Orthodox Church located across from the restaurant

A kind of curry chicken with rice, which was quite delicious.

After lunch, we got to enjoy a delightful dance performance at a dance school. The dances perform traditional dances, modern dance, and a Spanish dance. I’m just going to post a bunch of pictures of the kids.

We next visited the Gur-Emir mausoleum, the final resting place of Amir Timur, also known as Tamerlane, built at the turn of the 15th century. The interior of the mausoleum has been restored and is brilliant in gold leaf and fresh tile. The heavy gilded central dome opens over a set of tomb markers, resembling sarcophagi. All are marble, with the exception of Amir Timur, which is a slab of solid Jade. Timur, a Turkic ruler, led a small nomad band and by guile and force of arms established dominion over Central Asia by the 1360s. About 1370 Timur proclaimed himself sovereign of the Chagatai line of khans and restorer of the Mongol empire. He then for three decades led his army to subdue each state from Mongolia to the Mediterranean. He is considered the national hero of Uzbekistan.

Our last stop of the day was at Registan Square, the centerpiece of the city and its most recognizable landmark. Three emblematic Madrassas frame the square and loom over the empty space in the center.