The best museums Samarkand

Unfortunately, there is so little left to see of this famous observatory that some people will "miss out", which would be a mistake, because the only view of the underground part of the giant sextant is worth the visit: an 11 m arc lined with marble parapets where the degrees are indicated. The site of the observatory was long lost in memory and was rediscovered at the beginning of the century by Viatkin, a schoolmaster with a keen interest in archaeology, whose tomb can be seen at the entrance to the site. Ulugh Begh was a scholar, poet and mathematician, considered one of the greatest astronomers of his time. While telescopes were still unknown at the time, he wrote an astronomical catalogue with the coordinates of more than 1,000 stars. He was able to determine the rotation cycle of the planet Saturn as well as the length of the stellar year with less than one minute of error. But his son, allied with religious fanatics, put an end to his work by assassinating him in 1449. Not content to make the man of science disappear, who dared to discuss the existence of God with his students, the fanatics destroyed his achievements and especially the most disrespectful: the observatory which housed the largest sextant in the world: 90 °, while the usual sextants are 60 °. The circular building, 45 m high, had three levels with walls decorated with frescoes depicting the stars and the solar system. The descriptions of the time make us bitterly regret their destruction. The whole site was ransacked, the stones used for other constructions, and the underground part of the sextant completely buried, only to be rediscovered centuries later.

The museography has been reworked. But the museum has gained in lighting and enhancement what it has lost in museographic funds. Fewer astronomy-related objects will be found here than in the old building: in particular, the ceiling with its vaulted ceiling and the astronomy tables of Uulough Begh have been lost, and the focus has shifted to a few objects from the Timurid period that are of no real interest and, above all, devoid of any explanation or connection between them. The large mural depicting the life of Uulough Begh, and in particular his assassination by his own son, has been replaced by two fairly conventional scenes that stick with the official story for which a parricide has no place in a museum. Work your guide to dig up the story!

It is here that you will see the main pieces unearthed throughout the many excavation campaigns that have marked the life of the site since the Russian conquest. In particular, you will find many period photos and the history of the excavations that have brought to light the life on Afrosyab Hill at the time of the first installations and foundations of the city. The centerpiece of the museum is a 7th century fresco known as "The Ambassadors". It is a unique work, and one of the few available to archaeologists and historians to study Sogdian painting and art. On the four walls of a house discovered by chance in 1965, while the municipality was drilling a new road, this major fresco depicts the Sogdian king Vakhourman receiving ambassadors from neighboring countries. Thus, it is China which is represented on the north wall. It shows the emperor hunting and the empress on a boat. The south wall depicts Samarkand celebrating Navrouz and the east wall depicts India, its pygmies and astrologers. Archaeologists and specialists disagree on the western wall at the moment. The hypotheses of each one are still debated. This major fresco was greatly deteriorated in places. In 2014, France has decided to finance major restoration work. These should last 8 years, under the direction of a French team. In the meantime, a copy can be seen at the Museum of the Peoples of Uzbekistan in Tashkent.

The house of the Tajik alter ego of the poet Khamza, Sadriddin Aïni (1878-1954), dates back to 1937 and provides an insight into the work and daily life of the writer and poet who became president of Tajikistan (he is still highly honoured in this country today). He is notably the author of the novel The Slaves of Bukhara, a masterpiece that is still awaiting its translation into French, like his other novels unfortunately. In addition to period household furniture, the exhibition presents numerous photographs and reproductions of his poems. Very inspiring.

The must-see museum exhibits numerous photographs of the Registan in the 19th century, before its restoration, when it was a market. The exhibitions are located in the former house of a Jewish merchant. A whole part of the collection shows the life of the local Jewish community, numerous before the departures to Israel and the United States that followed independence. An interesting visit to see yet another facet of Samarkand's cultural and social richness.