Thursday, October 15, 2009

Samarkand, Uzbekistan

A warm welcome from the cold cold very cold Skopje! The summer temperatures seem to be definitely over since Tuesday...on Monday i had my short sleeves, sitting in a cafe...at midnight...after several hours at 5 am, a heavy rain woke me up...when i left home, it was EXTREMELY cold, with a harsh wind blowing...i couldnt believe that such a drastic temp. change could happen in just 5 hours....i know i always complain about how hot it was here etc etc....but i never like such drastic changes, so right now im not really fond of this cold weather...so cold that i definitely have to wear gloves when i go out...oh well, i guess i can never be pleased as my ex loved saying over and over again...guess he was right



so, as usual, lets start the day with one of those so called rare countries...or at least rare in my stock of cards.
This is the Bibi Honim mausoleum in Samarkand, dating back from the 14th century. Samarkand is the second largest city in Uzbekistan and said to be the pearl of the country or the Gem of the East as stated in certain ancient Arab manuscripts.
It is one of the oldest inhabited cities of the world prospering from its location on the trade route between China and the Mediterranean, also known as the Silk Road. It was  founded circa 700 BC by the Persians  and was conquered by Alexander the Great in 329 BC.
This makes me wanna say that Alexander is the pride and joy of Macedonia, though i know it would come to a bunch of disagreements, when claiming whose is Alexander actually...you know, politics...Greece...Macedonia...

the only problem im having regarding this card is the mausoleum/mosque issue...somewhere it is referred to as a mosque...at other places as a mausoleum..and im not sure which is right, since when looking at some pictures, i cant make an exact comparison...and on the right side, there is also a building on the pictures, but on the card there is an empty space...so if someone can clarify it all for me, id be thankful...i know the complex had undergone a reconstruction, which can be seen from the card as well....so i guess thats what causing the greatest confusion with me...and i need to have it cleared up.

 

the stamp comes from a set of 8 issued in 2008, regarding classical architecture in Uzbekistan, and here the State Academic Big Theatre by Alisher Navoi is represented.

6 comments:

Оксана said...

Samarqand is a UNESCO site as well :)

ilyani said...

oh.. I'm so sorry for having thought Alexander the great was greek all this time. coz I thought he belongs to the ancient Macedonia, which is now greece.. I dont know. blame the random infos I get everywhere..

Ana said...

Alexander the Great is a tricky issue i dont like discussing in public...and as with all other issues related between Greece and Macedonia, this is an eternal dispute as well...i could go on and on of why we claim he is Macedonian, just as a Greek person would stand for his side...and i dont like bringing up such issues at my blog, which is supposed to be fun, not political :)

Ksenia, i knew this was under UNESCO....but i was so focused on the mosque/mausoleum thing, that it totally slipped my mind...thanks for the reminder :)

Anonymous said...

It is both mosque and mausoleum! I know it for sure. Bibi Khanim means the senior princess.It was called so in memory of Tamerlan's most beloved wife (he had many), her tomb as well as tomb of her mother is there. It was built after 1399 war campaign to Delhi, India.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous is redjarl on both postcrossing site and forum

Anonymous said...

regarding the stamp: The theatre is not built by Alisher Navoi, it is named after it. It was built by Russian architect Schusev and has wonderful fountain in front. State Academic Theatre of opera and ballet. There are also others.

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