Promenade of Mausoleums

Shah-i-Zinda, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Monday, October 20, 2014.

Shah-i-Zinda is not just a cemetery, it’s a showcase of some of the most intricate mosaic and tilework of the Muslim world. Walking through this initial “canyon” of mausoleums brings you to a promenade of other resting places of prominent people. This picture was taken before a busload of Chinese tourists arrived.

According to a nearby descriptive sign (and my guidebook), this mausoleum, the resting place of Temur’s niece Shodi Mulk Oko, is the most beautiful tomb in all of Shah-i-Zinda. Looking at how intricate the mosaic tilework is, that might be accurate.

It’s mausoleum after mausoleum at Shah-i-Zinda. If Oprah was here, she’d be like, “You get a mausoleum and YOU get a mausoleum, and YOU get a mausoleum. Everybody gets a mausoleeummmmmm….!”

Entering The Gate.

I admire the colors and the art work of this room at the Kusam Ibn Abbas Complex within Shah-i-Zinda — it truly is astounding. However, I don’t realize at the time that everyone is sitting down, and waiting for me to sit as well. One man even motions another to make room, to let me sit. Confused, I just sit down and realize what’s going on. A prayer session goes on for a few minutes and I try to follow along, but it’s lost on me.

Exiting The Gate.

Not to sound culturally-insensitive, but this kid looks like he’s straight out of Hogwarts.

View or add comments on the original Instagram posts.
View or add comments on the original Facebook page posts.

Next entry: My Crown Jewel of Samarkand

Previous entry: An Uzbek’s Conception of the Philippines

SHARE THIS TRAVEL DISPATCH:

Follow The Global Trip on Twitter
Follow The Global Trip in Instagram
Become a TGT Fan on Facebook
Subscribe to the RSS Feed

This dispatch is one of over 70 travel dispatches from the trip grouped and titled, "The Global Trip: 'Stan By Me." It's an archived compilation of Instagram and Facebook posts which chronicled a trip through three countries in Central Asia: Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

Next entry:
My Crown Jewel of Samarkand

Previous entry:
An Uzbek’s Conception of the Philippines

THE GLOBAL TRIP GLOSSARY

Confused at some of the jargon that's developed with this blog and its readers over the years? Here's what they mean:

BFFN: acronym for "Best Friend For Now"; a friend made on the road, who will share travel experiences for the time being, only to part ways and lose touch with

The Big Trip: the original sixteen month around-the-world trip that started it all, spanning 37 countries in 5 continents over 503 days (October 2003–March 2005)

NIZ: acronym for "No Internet Zone"; a place where there is little to no Internet access, thus preventing dispatches from being posted.

SBR: acronym for "Silent Blog Reader"; a person who has regularly followed The Global Trip blog for years without ever commenting or making his/her presence known to the rest of the reading community. (Breaking this silence by commenting is encouraged.)

Stupid o'clock: any time of the early morning that you have to wake up to catch a train, bus, plane, or tour. Usually any time before 6 a.m. is automatically “stupid o’clock.”

The Trinidad Show: a nickname of The Global Trip blog, used particularly by travelers that have been written about, who are self-aware that they have become "characters" in a long-running story — like characters in the Jim Carrey movie, The Truman Show.

WHMMR: acronym for "Western Hemisphere Monday Morning Rush"; an unofficial deadline to get new content up by a Monday morning, in time for readers in the western hemisphere (i.e. the majority North American audience) heading back to their computers.

1981ers: people born after 1981. Originally, this was to designate groups of young backpackers fresh out of school, many of which were loud, boorish and/or annoying. However, time has passed and 1981ers have matured and have been quite pleasant to travel with. The term still refers to young annoying backpackers, regardless of year — I guess you could call them "1991ers" in 2013 — young, entitled millennials on the road these days, essentially.

Spelling or grammar error? A picture not loading properly? Help keep this blog as good as it can be by reporting bugs.

The views and opinions written on The Global Trip blog are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the official views and opinions of the any affiliated publications.
All written and photographic content is copyright 2002-2014 by Erik R. Trinidad (unless otherwise noted). "The Global Trip" and "swirl ball" logos are service marks of Erik R. Trinidad.
TheGlobalTrip.com v.3.7 is powered by Expression Engine v3.5.5.