Registan – Samarkand, Uzbekistan

The Registan was the heart of the ancient Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The name Registan means "Sandy place" in Persian. The Registan was a place of public executions, where also people gathered to hear royal proclamations, heralded by blasts on enormous copper pipes called dzharchis. Samarkand is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Province. The city is most noted for its central position on the Silk Road between China and the West, and for being an Islamic center for scholarly study. In the 14th century, it became the capital of the empire of Timur (Tamerlane), and is the…