Samarkand: Juwel der Großen Seidenstraße
Samarkand, die ehemalige Hauptstadt von Sogd, ist eine bezaubernde Stadt mit bedeutendem historischen Wert, da sie einst das Herz der Großen Seidenstraße war. Im Laufe der Jahrhunderte wurde es als „Rom des Ostens“, „Stadt der Heiligen“ und „Eden des Ostens“ bezeichnet. Viele renommierte Historiker, Dichter und Denker lobten Samarkand für seine kulturelle Bedeutung, die es zu einer kostbaren Perle der islamischen Welt und zur Hauptstadt des Timuridenreiches machte.
Samarkand, a city in the east-central part of Uzbekistan and more than 2750 years old, is one of the oldest cities in Central Asia, the same age as Rome and Athens.
Samarkand was a model of genuine oriental hospitality; several nationalities easily coexisted in it. In ancient history, Samarkand was known as the capital of the old state of Sogdiana, described as early as the 5th century. BC e. in the holy book of Zoroastrianism, the Avesta.
Samarkand was noted under the name of Marakanda in the writings of Roman and Greek historians and biographers about Alexander the Great.
Great Silk Road passed through incredible Samarkand in the East to China, west to Persia, and south to fabulous India.
At one time, Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Amir Temur (Tamerlane), and famous travellers Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta inscribed their names in the city's history.
Samarkand has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as a Crossroads of Cultures since 2001.
