Samarkand

A picture says a thousand words - the Registan, Samarkand

The Ulugbek Medressa (1420) - Ulugbek was a grandson of tyrant Emir Timur who built this glittering almost mythical Islamic capital in the 14th century. Samarkand originally was a key Silk Road city dating from the 2nd century BC with trading routes from the West spanning out to Persia, India and China

Aye just walk across the line of my photo!

Tilla-Kari Medressa (1660) - the three medressas of The Registan are among the world's oldest

Sher Dor Medressa (1636) - unusual decoration with lions flouts Islam's prohibition against the depiction of live animals

Cobalt blue tiling of a dome of the Tilla-Kari Medressa with some insensitive Soviet restoration. Across the land the communists destroyed thousands of mosques etc but kept what they considered showcase religous edifices. The above two pics were taken hanging off the top of a minaret of the Ulugbek Medressa after paying a cop a backhander. Descending the crumbling staircase not for the first time I found myself locked in a mineret!

The courtyard of The Ulugbek Medressa like the majority is now soulless and is used to sell souvenirs. Karimov's regime ensures religion is still on the backfoot.

Guri Amir Mausoleum is the burial place of Timur (14th century ruler) and his descendants

Camera shy ladies at The Siob Bazaar which seemed rather sanitised by Asian standards

Hats off to the locals who wanted their pic taken by The Bibi-Khanym Mosque

Stunning tilework in a tomb at The Shah-I-Zinda - an emotive shrine where Quasim ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Mohammed is buried

The blue dome marks Quasim ibn Abbas' tomb dating back to the 7th century. Rebuilt in its present form after Mongol destruction in the 13th century

Even more tilework!

Parallel universe - Across the road from the splendour of The Registan a typical decaying apartment block

Soviet Daze!

Emir Timur (now reinvented as a national hero) is one in a long line of ruthless dictators, that include Jenghiz Khan, Stalin and present incumbent Islom Karimov

The fall of the Soviet dream! - The G.U.M. State Department Store epitomised Soviet shopping - broken fountains, long queues and empty sheves. Now overflowing with imported counterfeit goods