more of Samarkand

So off we went on our final full day of discovering Samarkand with trips to the observatory and the amazing Shah-I-Zinda Mausoleum and another market and then lunch and a fashion show at a designers showroom and a theatrical dance and historical costume performance - ending with dinner at Abdu's sister's home - an amazing feast!

first the Shah-I-Zinda background from wikipedia-
The Shah-i-Zinda complex was formed over nine (from 11th till 19th) centuries and now includes more than twenty buildings.  The ensemble comprises three groups of structures: lower, middle and upper connected by four-arched domed passages locally called chartak. The earliest buildings date back to the 11-12th centuries. Mainly their bases and headstones have remained now. The most part dates back to the 14-15th centuries. Reconstructions of the 16-19th centuries were of no significance and did not change the general composition and appearance.

then the photos-
starting with a few of the beautiful tile work-

the next photo was with my phone it has a wider lens for a bigger view-

we had already made our stop at the Observatory- and were headed to the market-

then it was off to the fashion show - incredibly beautiful designs made with recycled suzanni materials- among other creative approaches-

then back to the hotel for a brief rest and time to repack for tomorrow's check out- and off to the theater and then dinner at the home of our guide's sister... where his wife and niece did the cooking because the sister was away...

so tomorrow will be our very last day of traveling in Uzbekistan and we will take the train in the late afternoon from Samarkand to Tashkent - we have rooms for a few hours to shower and organize our things before a midnight departure for the airport for transit home - but we still managed to go to Urgut to see a local (Walmart style) market which had some bargains waaaay in the back on handicrafts but it seems pretty much everyone was shopped out by then - oh and it was raining! (and my camera was on the blink so no photos at all survived that experience)

I had a few photos of the road to the Urgut market - mulberry trees line all the roads for production of silk the branches are clipped for the leaves to feed the silkworms-

this is the "exemplary housing" you see all over the countryside - built by the government for those who are willing to move to the countryside and work in more rural areas-

several shots of butcher shops and one of a fish place- taken from the bus (hence the rain on the windows)

Then some food from our farewell lunch - the cake was really good! the main was a mixed grill plate served family style so I didn't find a photo when I returned LOL - so sorry 

this beet salad was actually apple with beets and was very good- above was chicken and potato salad mix with carrot... and some egg...

cheese filled pastry and chicken soup - which was perfect for this one rainy day of the whole trip!

the yummy cake!

and then we visited a paper maker-

and then made a quick stop to see a buzkashi match in the rain and mud...(photo from the internet)

then a quick coffee and off to the train- the trip was over all too soon but we had seen so much and met so many wonderful people.

I got my on-the-blink camera through pretty much the entire trip but the last day we had a fail and when I got home I ordered the newer version of the same camera which has served me so well the last five years- I used the Sony RX-100 (first generation - now called Mark I) and I replaced it yesterday with a Sony RX-100 Mark V.  That camera got nearly six years of rugged use and it had been the only camera I ever used that rivals my digital SLR with multiple lenses.  Apologize that the last day's photos we somewhat disjointed but I know there are many other good ones to remind all of those of us on the trip of our fabulous time in Uzbekistan!

thanks for your company - Donna, Lesa, Jane, Alexis, Tim, Patty, Rusty, Kay, Linda, Cynthia and your leadership and lessons Abdu and Caroline! Wonderful traveling with all of you!!!!