Day 01
Walking Tour of Russian Samarkand
- You will meet your tour guide and set out to visit the sites on a walking tour.
- University Boulevard (Abramovsky Boulevard) is located in the very centre of Samarkand. It was laid out in the 1870s, after the capture of Samarkand by Tsarist Russia; at that time, it was considered a kind of border between the old and new parts of the city.
- The Samarkand State University, the largest and most prestigious of the city's six higher educational institutions, is located here in one of the ancient buildings on these streets. Under the shade of chinar and oak trees, which can be considered centuries old, flocks of girls and young men walk with textbooks and notes in their hands. Only experienced architects could combine European features and local traditions so intricately.
- We will visit the Russian-Chinese Bank, which opened in 1895. Next door is the city Khokimiyat. Samarkand seems to be the only city in Central Asia where the administration is housed in a pre-revolutionary Russian building, and even earlier, this was the site of the administration and the governor's residence (1888).
- Then we will visit the Cathedral of St. Alexis of Moscow, an Orthodox church in Samarkand built in 1911. It was consecrated in 1912 in honour of Saint Alexis of Moscow. From there, we will move away from the Boulevard along the former Chernyaevskaya (Mahmud Kashgari), notable for two more churches - Christian, but not Orthodox. Closer by is the Church of John the Baptist (1915-16).
- A couple of blocks away stands the Armenian church Surb-Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God), consecrated in 1903, opposite the Armenian church and the old State Bank built in 1908.
- Further along the former Chernyaevskaya, we will continue into the next part, or rather come to it from the other side, where there is a winery named after Khovrenko. The view along the former Frunze Street, as it was called under the Soviets, is unusually lively. There is also a huge old bathhouse here.
- We will visit the regional museum of local lore, created in 1981 in the house of the Jewish merchant of the first guild, Abram Kolantarova. The house was built in 1916. By walking, you can see a lot of exciting things.
This is the end of our excursion.
