Samarkand to Tashkent and on to Kuala Lumpur 17.10.13

  We spent the morning visiting "the Observatory" where Mirzoi Ulugbeck an amazing astronomer from the 15th century had his observatory.  The observatory was built 1428 for observations of the moon and the sun and other luminaries of the sky.  After Ulugbeck's death the observatory was destroyed and for centuries its location was unknown.  Discovered in 1908 sadly, only the underground basis of the building and sextant were intact.  By using found documents scientists were able to make a model of the observatory.  The telescope had not yet been invented but Ulugbeck using his amazing sextant was able to catalogue with amazing exactness 1018 stars.  He was a teacher as well as a scholar and an amazing man.  We also visited the Museum of Uzbekistan at this site.  An early (once more of dubious hygiene)
lunch before we set off on the drive back to Tashkent and the plane.  Such a crappy bus and another noisy bumpy road but we passed a lot of cotton fields which were being harvested by hand.  Men and women bent over picking cotton into large white bags.  Outside of the cities the population is still very rural, donkey carts, simple dwellings etc.  There was plenty of traffic on the road and we passed through many check points!  Why?  Bebe said
it was because we were close to Afghanistan and people might be smuggling guns.  About 7 pm we arrived at the
airport.   

 Mirzoi Ulugbeck

 Six of us  were catching a plane this evening but before we could say goodbye to everyone we were whisked away to the Business Class waiting area and the other four to the economy area.  Had our passports etc checked 7!!! times before we got on the plane.  Such overkill!  The Business Class waiting area had no food except some sad slices of cheese and old bread stick and a couple of bottles of soft drink.  However the plane left on time and was comfortable.  Then disaster struck me.  About 2.30am tummy pains then terrible diarrhea until we landed at 8am.  No breakfast served on the plane.  Not that I would have eaten it any way.  Took 7 of Judy's gastro stop tablets. 

  

The underground part of his amazing sextant

Rural scene

Picking cotton