Uzbekistan local time |
From Registan square there runs one of the most ancient Samarkand streets – Tashkent Street. In the old days it was one of the major caravan roads connecting Samarkand with Tashkent oasis, Fergana Valley and China. Trade has been carried on in this street since the times of Amir Temur. Thus it is not without reason that at the very beginning of this street, next to the walls of Sher-Dor Madrassah, there stands Chorsu shopping mall built as far back as the 18th century. Bibi-Khanum mosque and Siab bazaar are also located in Tashkent Street. The city authorities have banned the traffic in this street and today it is a pedestrian area. Tashkent Street is lined with stores and handicraftsmen’s shops where you can buy souvenirs to remind you of your visit to Samarkand: fine ceramics, beautifully painted varnished caskets, chapans - national dressing gowns embroidered with golden threads, khan-atlas – a well-known national satin, bakhmal - a hand-made crimson velvet, and Samarkand silk carpets weaved on a hand loom just as they did in old times. In some stores there are arranged workshops of artists and handicraftsmen who in the presence of the visitors create figurines of fantastic dragons and burros, oriental miniatures and aftoba copper jugs. Here embroideresses embellish duppy skull-caps with golden threads and decorate well-known Samarkand suzanes with fanciful patterns.