Salaam from Samarkand

We arrived here in the late afternoon, and after hearing nothing but good things about this new city, everyone in the group was eager to start the explorations as soon as we got settled.

It was decided en route to make the first evenings activity in the wonderful city of Samarkand, wine tasting.  Our Uzbek guide, Bek, told us it would take 30 minutes to walk to the wine tasting “factory”, but our eager legs carried us there in 20. 

Before tasting could commence, we were shown around the small museum dedicated to the wine history of the region.

Hoping for a delightful array of different whites and reds to tantalise our taste buds they were instead assaulted by incredibly sweet liquids that increased in alcoholic content as we moved along the board. The lovely old man who was leading us through our wine tasting adventure proudly told us that wine number 7 was given as medicine to the victims of Hiroshima and more recently the Japanese tsunami disaster due to its “blood cleansing qualities”.

Wine tasting, Uzbek-style

Jill, Fraser and Toby assessing the nose and colour

Jill doesn't seem convinced by the taste...

A few members of the group purchased some bottles, one of which would meet an unfortunate end toward the latter part of our evening’s escapades.

It was soon time to soak up all that we had drunk with some traditional Uzbekistan grub which fortunately was available at the restaurant next door!  As we entered the grand hallway and walked through to the main dining hall we were greeted by a troupe of belly dancers dancing between tables.  The disco lights were flashing and the music was banging!  

After ordering food, Momma Anne W kicked off her shoes to dance with the locals, she was joined by Jill, Alison, Anne H and Cathy, Ann S and Toby. Annie, Phil, Norman and Jacq also made a (brief) appearance.

After some lovely food and much merriment, it was time to head for bed.  On his way out through the grand entrance hall, poor Norm lost his tenuous grip on his treasured purchase from the earlier wine tasting and it came to a sticky end on the polished marble floor.

Even so, an enjoyable evening was had by all, Samarkand gave us a glimpse of the culture we were about to experience and we gave Samarkand a hint of what it has to expect from our band of merry travellers!