Samarkand

by Colin Thubron

A journey to the heart of and ancient city.
An extract from 'The Lost Heart of Asia'.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

57 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Colin Thubron, CBE FRSL is a Man Booker nominated British travel writer and novelist.

In 2008, The Times ranked him 45th on their list of the 50 greatest postwar British writers. He is a contributor to The New York Review of Books, The Times, The Times Literary Supplement and The New York Times. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. Thubron was appointed a CBE in the 2007 New Year Honours. He is a Fellow and, as of 2010, President of the Royal Society of Literature.

Reviews

[Alex Prins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rich in detail and description, and itself a time capsule from a period in the nineties soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union when Uzbekistan was a fledgeling state. Thubron seems to dislike most Turks/Uzbeks/Russians/people however, and uses quite strong language to call the large majority of them ugly...

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see why he is such a well respected travel writer. I really enjoyed this. Nice combo of place and time.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Samarkand is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. Samarkand is the capital of the Samarkand Region and a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlements Kimyogarlar, Farhod and Khishrav. With 551,700 inhabitants (2021), it is the third-largest city in Uzbekistan.
The author wrote this travel guide 30 years ago. The country is controlled by Islam and this is mentioned frequently in the book. But to my astonishment very favourably, no mention whatsover of public executions, beheadings, stoning, curring of limbs, whipping and the other pleasantries of islam worldwide. No, these are not terrorists but friendly and hospitable people.
Colin Thubron wrote a travel book and, rightly, spends a lot of time describing the fine architecture of ancient times. Buildings are described in detail, historical context and current use. The uninformed reader may based on the book pack his bags and travel to the region - to be seriously disappointed and put himself in mortal danger at the same time.
In short, the book reads more than old-fashioned fiction that a modern travel guide.

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminded me of a Conan the Barbarian book, if Conan were content to just look at things and talk to people. There's even a wizard in a castle at the end.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this little gem. However, I am ashamed to admit that I had not heard of Tamerlane until reading this book. How was this possible when he had wrought so much destruction upon the earth? What an incredible tale of an amazing city.The opening paragraph captured exactly what I experienced when I heard the word "Samarkand". Loved it.