The Story of Bibi-Khanym

Bibi-Khanym Mosque, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Monday, October 20, 2014.

The Bibi-Khanym Mosque, was once the Islamic world’s biggest. It’s actually a complex of three mosques, but the original was one ordered by Amir Temur’s Chinese wife, Bibi-Khanym, as a surprise while he was away pillaging as conquerors do.

Legend has it that the architect of the mosque fell in love with her and wouldn’t finish the job unless they kissed. Obviously this did not go well with Temur when he got back, and he since decreed women to wear veils so this temptation could not happen again.

Some of the intricate mosaic work at Bibi-Khanym Mosque.

People having a conversation while a woman sweeps the grass.

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Next entry: An Uzbek’s Conception of the Philippines

Previous entry: Encounters on Tashkent Road

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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:
An Uzbek’s Conception of the Philippines

Previous entry:
Encounters on Tashkent Road

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.

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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.
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