No name is as evocative of the romance of the Silk Road as Samarkand. The sublime larger-than-life monuments of Timur, the technicolour bazaar and the city's long, rich history work a special kind of magic. However, outside the historical core, only a bland, sprawling, Soviet-style city remains.
Almost everything of interest is in the sun-dried old town, whose layout has remained unchanged for centuries. One of Central Asia's most awe-inspiring sights is the Registan, an ensemble of majestic, tilting medressas with an overload of majolica, azure mosaics and vast, well-proportioned spaces.
© 2005 Lonely Planet Publications