Samarkand is The Mirror of the World, the Garden of the Soul, the Jewel of Islam, the Pearl of the East, the Centre of the Universe. Lying in the river valley of Zeravshan (gold - strewer) and flanked by Pamir-Alai mountains spurs, this fabled oasis at the fingers of the Kyzyl Kum desert has never lacked breathless admirers. Another name, City of Famous Shadows, reveals Samarkand as witness to the full sweep of Central Asian history. Up to 40,000 years ago, natural bounty drew Palaeolithic man to the area. The city proper claims equity with Rome and Babylon, for archaeologists date urban settlement at least to the sixth century BC.

Until the 16th century, Samarkand was always the first city of Transoxiana in population, commerce and culture, for fertile earth rewards the farmer and trade routes west to Persia, east to China and south to India met here to form a major Silk Road crossroads and emporium. Among conquerors to cast their shadows were the Macedonian Alexander the Great, the Mongol Genghis Khan and, above all, Tamerlane, whose capital of fluted domes and sky-blue mosaic excites the traveller even today.

History - Samarkand (Marakanda to the Greeks), one of Central Asia's oldest settlements, was probably founded in the 5th century BC. It was already the cosmopolitan, walled capital of Sogdian empire when it was taken in 329 BC by Alexander the Great, who said, 'Everything I have heard about Marakanda is true, except that it's more beautiful then I ever imagined.' A key Silk Road city, it sat on the crossroads leading to China, India and Persia, bringing in trade and artisans. From the 6th to the 13th century it grew into a city more populous than it is today, changing hands every couple of centuries: Western Turks, Arabs, Persian Samanids, Karakhanids, Seljuq Turks, Mongolian Karakitay and Khorezmshah have all ruled here- before being literally obliterated by Genghis Khan in 1220.
This might have been the end of the story, but in 1370 Timur decided to make Samarkand his capital, and over the next 35 years forged a new, almost-mythical city, Central Asia's economic and cultural epicentre. His grandson Ulughbek ruled until 1449 and made it an intellectual centre as well.

The Registan ensemble at the heart of Samarkand , restored to its original splendour, ranks first in Central Asia and among the greatest of all the grandiose and magnificent works of the Islamic world. Here lay the crossroads of Tamerlane's capital , where six arteries met under a domed bazaar, yet his grandson Ulug Beg envisaged a more cultural and political role. The Registan ensemble consists of three madrassahs: Ulugbek Madrassah, Shir Dor Madrassah and Tillya Kari Madrassah.Tamerlane vowed to create Bibi Khanum Mosque without parallel in grandeur or decor throughout the Mislim world. Despite of ravages of time on one of his foremost expressions of power, the remains still captivate the visitor by their fantastic scale and romantic legend.