What is Samarkand?

One of my mates recently asked me what and where is Samarkand - and why name the blog after it?

Samarkand is the second largest city in Uzbekistan and is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. Being fairly central on the Europe-Asia silk road meant that it became a 'crossroads of cultures'. Conquered by various people including Alexander the Great and several Mongol leaders, Samarkand has done well to retain most of its stunning architecture and ornate Arabic decoration. The city was made more famous in 1913 when James Elroy Flecker wrote an exotic piece of poetic dialogue named 'The Golden Road to Samarkand' - you can read the poem in the original blog entry. Hopefully reading the full piece will give a better idea of its significance.

THE GOLDEN JOURNEY TO SAMARKAND

by James Elroy Flecker

"We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go
Always a little further: it may be
Beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow,
Across that angry or that glimmering sea,

White on a throne or guarded in a cave
There lives a prophet who can understand
Why men were born: but surely we are brave,
Who take the Golden Road to Samarkand.

Sweet to ride forth at evening from the wells
When shadows pass gigantic on the sand,
And softly through the silence beat the bells
Along the Golden Road to Samarkand.

We travel not for trafficking alone;
By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned:
For lust of knowing what should not be known
We make the Golden Journey to Samarkand."

For the full playscript version, see http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~martinh/poems/SAMARKND