Everything you saw or read about the Silk Road becomes real as soon as you enter Samarkand. Turquoise chapels and portals with azur blue tiles just everywhere. It is breathtaking!
We sat on the main square staring at the Registan for hours, just not believing what we were seeing. And .. being stared at from the locals ;-) The kids are so sweet, eager to talk and practise the few senctences they know in English. Despite the place being pretty touristic (like all of Uzbekistan) the locals are still friendly and interested in us and not in our money.
Visiting the street of thumbs (see pic) we got to talk to one of the old local men (with the white beard) and he invited us for an icecream. Just like this. Such a pity we only could talk a few words with hand and feet...
Not only the city and its monuments were amazing - also our hotel was really beautiful. Set in a quiet courtyard with huge Mulberry trees and grapes so low that they were quasi hanging into our mouthes (like in "Schlaraffenland"). Thanks god the hotel was good then after 2 days I (Simone) became pretty sick. Fabri was running around to call a Doc and - due to communication problems - they were sending the emergency instead .. how embrassing ;-)) But after 2 days in bed, some strange pills (you don't want to know how they prescribe things here and how the pharmacies look like) and plain rice I was up and running again.
I still blame our - hillarious - visit to a locals restaurant in Shakrizabsz for this little incident. A strange town 2hrs south of Samarkand which was nothing special until we entered - dragged by a local woman - this restaurant where only smartly dressed up women were having lunch. We protested to sit down and eat ... also because I saw where they were taking the water from and after having a glimpse into their "kitchen", but no mercy ;-) When the women found out that we come from Italy she made the band put up Toto Cotugno with "Italiano vero" and we had to stand up and sing (in fact I gave the stage voluntarily to Fabri, as he is the REAL Italian ;-). Hillarious!!! Sweat was running down our legs and arms, and we gave the women there a real good laugh!
And .. we even got a goodbye present (a cloth for the running sweat ;-)) and - as said - I got a little other present, which made us stay a bit longer in Samarkand than planned. Anyway, there are worse places on earth to be stuck...
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