From Astana, Tim went on to Uzbekistan and took a train to Samarkand on Saturday.

This is Gur-e-Amir, the mausoleum of the Asian conqueror Timur (also known as Tamerlane), which also hosts the tombs of his sons, grandsons and teacher. Construction of the earliest part of the complex started at the end of the 14th century and of the mausoleum itself in 1403.

I don’t have many pictures of interest on hand and haven’t been able to go out to take anything recently, first because of extreme heat and humidity, and now because of incessant rain. Plus I’m always after Tim to take pictures when he travels, and this time I think he outdid himself, so I’m going to focus mainly on this gallery for the time being!

Arched view of the mausoleum, Gur-e-Amir, posted earlier: