20141001_Uzbekistan_0668 Samarkand
A well-dressed young artist begins sketching the outline for a painting of the structure protecting the massive marble sextant which is all that remains of the observatory built by Ulugh Beg in 1429. The art and student artists arrayed around the site are here to make a good impression on the attendees of the 99th Executive Council Session of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) meeting in Samarkand 1-3 October 2014.
Significant advances in astronomical knowledge were made at the observatory. Religious fanatics destroyed the observatory when Ulugh Beg died in 1449 and it was not rediscovered until 1908.
A grandson of Tamerlane (Timur the Lame; 1336-1405), Ulugh Beg (1394-1449) became sovereign ruler of most of Central Asia plus Afghanistan while still a teenager in 1411. He was also an astronomer and mathematician. While on his way to Mecca in 1449, he was beheaded by order of his own eldest son.
Samarkand was probably founded in the 5th century BCE. In 329 BCE it was conquered by 27-year-old Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE). Beginning in the 6th century CE it became a central Silk Road trading point growing even more populous than it is today before its destruction in 1220 by the Mongols led by Ghengis Khan. In 1370 Tamerlane (Timur the Lame; 1336-1405) made Samarkand his capital which blossomed into an economic, cultural, and intellectual center. At the start of the 16th century the Uzbek Shaybanids gained control of the region and moved the capital to Bukhara sending Samarkand into decline, culminating in virtual abandonment after a series of earthquakes in the 18th century. Forced repopulation by the Emir of Bukhara began a recovery that greatly accelerated with the takeover by the Russians in 1868. In 1888 the Trans-Caspian Railway linked Samarkand to the Russian Empire. Samarkand became the capital of the Uzbek SSR in 1925 but was replaced by Tashkent in 1930. In August 1991 Uzbekistan declared its independence.
Samarkand–Crossroads of Cultures became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.
[The term ‘Silk Road’ was coined in 1877 by German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen. The Silk Road contributed not only to the exchange of goods and technologies, but also to the mutual enrichment of cultures and traditions of different peoples. Direct maritime trade between Europe and the Far East ultimately supplanted the overland route.]
On Google Earth:
Ulugh Beg Observatory 39°40'29.13"N, 67° 0'20.69"E
20141001_Uzbekistan_0668 Samarkand
A well-dressed young artist begins sketching the outline for a painting of the structure protecting the massive marble sextant which is all that remains of the observatory built by Ulugh Beg in 1429. The art and student artists arrayed around the site are here to make a good impression on the attendees of the 99th Executive Council Session of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) meeting in Samarkand 1-3 October 2014.
Significant advances in astronomical knowledge were made at the observatory. Religious fanatics destroyed the observatory when Ulugh Beg died in 1449 and it was not rediscovered until 1908.
A grandson of Tamerlane (Timur the Lame; 1336-1405), Ulugh Beg (1394-1449) became sovereign ruler of most of Central Asia plus Afghanistan while still a teenager in 1411. He was also an astronomer and mathematician. While on his way to Mecca in 1449, he was beheaded by order of his own eldest son.
Samarkand was probably founded in the 5th century BCE. In 329 BCE it was conquered by 27-year-old Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE). Beginning in the 6th century CE it became a central Silk Road trading point growing even more populous than it is today before its destruction in 1220 by the Mongols led by Ghengis Khan. In 1370 Tamerlane (Timur the Lame; 1336-1405) made Samarkand his capital which blossomed into an economic, cultural, and intellectual center. At the start of the 16th century the Uzbek Shaybanids gained control of the region and moved the capital to Bukhara sending Samarkand into decline, culminating in virtual abandonment after a series of earthquakes in the 18th century. Forced repopulation by the Emir of Bukhara began a recovery that greatly accelerated with the takeover by the Russians in 1868. In 1888 the Trans-Caspian Railway linked Samarkand to the Russian Empire. Samarkand became the capital of the Uzbek SSR in 1925 but was replaced by Tashkent in 1930. In August 1991 Uzbekistan declared its independence.
Samarkand–Crossroads of Cultures became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.
[The term ‘Silk Road’ was coined in 1877 by German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen. The Silk Road contributed not only to the exchange of goods and technologies, but also to the mutual enrichment of cultures and traditions of different peoples. Direct maritime trade between Europe and the Far East ultimately supplanted the overland route.]
On Google Earth:
Ulugh Beg Observatory 39°40'29.13"N, 67° 0'20.69"E