Day 3
The next morning I had these for breakfast near to my airbnb and the xiao long bao were delicious. Looking at it now, I feel hungry.. of course, the tea and the bread were great as well.
National Art Museum (Samarkand)
Super bummed as no photography is allowed inside hence, I only took a photo of the building outside. This art gallery was very interactive as I was able to touch their items unlike many of the art gallery in Singapore. It was a great experience for me to see and feel their arts.
The Registan Square
Moving on to the famous Registan Square. It is located in the very heart of the ancient city of Samarkand. Thanks to their great architectural ensemble this place is worldwide famous. All three of the buildings have their own unique design. This place is absolutely stunning. If you ever visit Uzbekistan I encourage you to give this place a visit.
Various performance and other bright events of the city and the Republic are held on the Registan Square. As you can see from the photo, this is their light performance.
Later into the day, I came across a food truck that sells burgers. I decided to order their beef burger since I had such a positive experience the previous time I had it.
To my disappointment, the beef was pretty mediocre. A 4/10 for its taste and price.
Day 4
Shah-i-Zinda Ensemble
On my fourth day, Laziza brought me to visit Shah-i-Zinda Ensemble. The name Shah-i-Zinda means “The living king” and is interlinked with the legend that Qutham ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, is buried here. The mausoleum consists of 3 groups of structures 1) Lower 2) Middle 3) Upper which are connected by four-arched domed passages locally called chartak (Source: Wikipedia, 2021).
These are the tombs of the soldiers who fought along side with him.
One interesting fact I learned was, the more important the person was when alive, the more colourful their ceilings are at the place where they are buried. This picture is taken from one of the more important figures tomb area.
Saw something interesting while I was on the way out of the place.
Its a lamb inside of a boot!! Will we ever get to see such a thing in Singapore?
Burial Site of Islam Karimov
This is the place where, Islam Karimov, the first president of the republic of Uzbekistan is buried.
Time for lunch! >>>
Headed for our lunch at this beautiful restaurant, Rui Zamin
So… as you can see i ordered a plate of Plov again because i am so in love with this dish. This meal only cost around SGD 12, super affordable!
Statue of Mirzo Ulugbek
Mirzi Ulugbek is the grandson of the great conqueror of Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Samarkand Bazaar
Headed over to the bazaar to do some shopping and exploring. It has a lot of beautiful pieces and a wide variety of food.
Look at all these gorgeous and fresh strawberries and cherries. They were priced at $6 per basket and $1 only in July.
Look at all these gorgeous and fresh strawberries and cherries. They were priced at $6 per basket and $1 only in July. Then, me and Laziza decided to handpicked a few for ourselves.
We headed to our next destination which is one of the shops that sell authentic local artists’ oil paintings and other handmade items.
I decided to purchase a number of their paintings for myself, family and clients. Although they were not cheap but i think for the quality and authenticity its worth every penny.
The artist, Ulugbek then invited both me and Laziza over to his place for dinner. It was a very heartwarming experience.
He showed me a few more of his collections and introduced each piece to me for my knowledge.
If you are my client, you may spot one of the paintings that I got for you here. I ended off the night learning and seeing all these beautiful paintings and pieces thanks to Ulugbek.