Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Our original plan was to visit Timur’s birthplace on our way to Samarkand. We (actually Dan) decided to take a shorter route and spend more time in Samarkand. We spent the morning traversing a highway that was being updated in numerous locations along with way. (That translates to it was a really bumpy ride!)

The first stop was Ulugh Beg’s observatory. He was the grandson of Timur and the ruler of much of Central Asia in the 15th century. However, he was more interested in the study of mathematics and astronomy than he was in ruling. While he is not well known in the west, he is a shining example of the flourishing of the sciences in the Islamic world while Europe wallowed through the Middle Ages. He made major contributions to the study of astronomy. The observatory was destroyed by Ulugh Beg’s son after having his father beheaded (he was tired of waiting to come to power.) All that remains are fragments of the instruments that Ulugh used to measure the position of well over 1000 stars that were too sturdy to be destroyed.

The final stop of the day was at the Tomb of the Prophet Daniel (aka Daniel in the Lion’s Den). Perched on a hill, the tomb built to house his arm contains a long, long, long, long reliquary. It was built that way as his arm is said to continue to grow every year.