3. Great Golden Beacon
The fabled city of Samarkand, at the hub of the old trade routes of Central Asia, has attracted poets, pilgrims
and plunderers across deserts and mountains for more than 2000 years. As the sunlight reflects off its richly
decorated mosques and minarets, the city gleams like a great golden beacon that can be seen for miles over
the surrounding plains.
4. Junction of the Silk Road
In ancient and medieval times, Samarkand stood at the junction of the Silk Road leading from China to the
Mediterranean and the trade route from India to the west.
6. Captured By Alexandar
In 329 BC, when it was known as Maracanda and was capital of Sogdiana, a part of the Persian Achaemenid
Empire, the city was captured by Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia, while he was enroute to India.
Samarkand suffered significant damage during Alexander's initial conquest
7. Invasion by Changaiz Khan
The Mongols were superb horsemen, and under Changaiz Khan’s inspired leadership proved an unstoppable
force. After laying waste to Beijing in 1215, Changaiz Khan took control of the Silk Road and in 1220 besieged
Samarkand.
8. Tamerlane (The leader of Samarkand)
The second nomadic leader of importance to Samarkand, Tamerlane. He was born near Samarkand in 1336. By
1367 the Mongol Empire was in decline and Tamer was determined to become the leader who would restore it to
its former glory. He proceeded to launch a succession of military campaigns from the Black Sea to the Indus Valley,
ransacking towns and villages, massacring whole populations and building pyramids with their skulls.
9. Ulugh Beg
Under Ulugh Beg, Samarkand became a cultural and intellectual center of the age. The ruler built a grand two-
storeyed madrasa, or theological college, decorated with a beautifully carved facade, that occupied the whole of
the west side of the central square.
10. 1900 - Population: 58,194.
1914 - Population: 90,000.
2001 – Population: 361,339.
Uzbekistan’s children, teenagers and young people under the age of 25 comprise approximately 60% of the total
population.
Population & Education
Schools
1200
Colleges
50
Universities
6
Polyclinics
80
13. • Kurash - the traditional upright jacket wrestling which originated in Uzbekistan more than 3500 years ago.
• The great oriental scientist and philosopher Avetsena writes that practicing Kurash is one the best ways to
keep the human body and mind healthy and sound.
Sports
14. • Samarkand features a Mediterranean climate.
• Closely borders on a semi-arid climate.
• July and August are the hottest months of the year with temperatures reaching, and exceeding, 40 °C
(104 °F).
• January 2008 was particularly cold, and the temperature dropped to −22 °C (−8 °F)
Climate
16. People from Samarqand can be chiefly described as hospitable - Uzbek hospitality is something to be experienced.
You will certainty find yourself as a guest in an Uzbek house. There is a short information about Uzbek national
dish –Pilav.
Pilav is the most popular dish in Samarqand / Uzbekistan.
Customs & Traditions
