Day 58. Buchara - Samarkand.

We got away just after 7. Our fantastic hosts prepared our breakfasts while we packed up the bikes.

Our hosts have been just lovely. The extended family has taken an interest in us and we all ate dinner together last night. The Plov was delicious. A simple enough dish of rice, beef and few veges but the flavour of the spices they used was brilliant.

So after stops for air and gas we set off. Mercifully it is not as hot on the open road but Samarkand is really hot.
There were many opportunities today unlike earlier days to stop and buy cold water. Some to drink and some to pour over us. I reckon about 50ks from a dripping wet t shirt to bone dry.
I have also carried out a scientific experiment, I believe sparkling water is not as efficacious as non sparkling water. Perhaps Catherine you could explain this to me.  ( maybe the temperature had just gone up a notch Mark) Robyn

We arrived at our accommodation, had a bit of a rest then we went exploring.

The main attraction here is the central square consisting of 3 Madrass or schools. Where young boys would come to be educated. We hired a guide and she was very helpful in explaining the history and function of the place. She then took us by taxi to the mausoleum of Tamerlaine, the great Amir. All of these buildings have been faithfully rebuilt and are quite beautiful.

Each of these doors leads to a small room, this was for the students and teacher. above the teaching space was a small area that they lived in. 

This is the traditional bridal outfits. A wedding here lasts 4 days. ( It used to be 40!) Now they get married in the white dress and then over the course of the next few days they change outfits and greet guests in a new outfit each time. we saw lots of brides and grooms getting photos in front of the Madras

After a lovely meal we wandered back to the main square along with hundreds of local families to see a beautiful light show where the madrasses were lit up in different colours all set to traditional music. Great show and a lovely atmosphere.

Grabbed a taxi home which turned into a mission as I asked the driver to take us via an ATM. He didn’t have a clue, so here I am with Maps.Me directing this guy to the nearest ATM. We visited 3 and still didn’t get any money but it did provide a great deal of entertainment.

Home to follow the live commentary if the cricket. That was so nerve wracking but went to sleep feeling a bit robbed.

There are not too many more things to see here but ordinarily we would have stayed a day or two longer but have decided to move on to Dushanbe where there is the possibility of having the leaking fork seal in the bike fixed.