Samarkand is the third of the three major Uzbek Silk Road cities I’ve now visited, following my stays in Khiva and Bukhara last week. It has an aura and a serenity to it, and it’s not been a difficult place in which to spend a rest day and absorb some remarkable history.

It helps that the weather has become more merciful. 29c is conducive to taking in a city’s history and elegance in a way that the much hotter temperatures I encountered last week really weren’t! Walking around Samarkand today, I’ve been accompanied by a soft breeze, and I felt relaxed under the brim of the hat I’d bought in Aktau to manage the effects of central Asia’s beating sun.

Before adopting my full tourist persona today, I went on a bike-focused mission part of the way across the city this morning. I’ve had an issue with my gearing since reassembling my bicycle on the east side of the Caspian, and I haven’t trusted myself to tighten the cabling effectively with the limited array of tools I’m able to carry on the bike. Ahead of the more hilly and mountainous days that lie ahead, I’d eyed Samarkand as a location for seeking some help from a bike shop. I’ll be adding a more robust pair of pliers to the kit list on my next adventure!

Some useful reviews had earmarked one particular shop, but the owner seemed not to have any kind of workshop from which to offer help. He directed me to another place further up the road, with a workshop, but one whose owner was steadfast in his declaration that he dealt with “only Chinese bikes”. A kind lady, seeing my predicament, gestured further still up the road to a young man who could apparently help.

In Russian (everyone in this part of the city spoke Russian rather than Uzbek as their first language), and with the indispensable help of Google Translate, I explained the problem with the bike, which elicited the response, in English – “I understand” – and a beckoning into the workshop through an inauspicious metal gate.

I felt immediately reassured, but a moment later somewhat less so. To put it mildly, the workshop lacked the sense of order that typifies the places where my bike has previously been given plenty of TLC. But needs must, and my worries quickly evaporated. Just as my contrition towards the bike manufacturer and those who’ve serviced the bike before was brewing, the voice from the workshop proclaimed “ok, it’s good”. I tried very hard to pay, but the young man’s protestations were clear. “Small problem”, he kept emphasising, and I left him feeling huge gratitude for his help and kindness.

I’ve spent the afternoon wandering around Samarkand – one of the oldest cities in central Asia. It’s believed to have been founded between the 8th and 7th centuries BC, was conquered by Alexander the Great in 329BC, and then ruled by a succession of Iranian and Turkic rulers until it was taken by the Mongols under Gengis Khan in 1220.

I began at the iconic Registan Square, flanked with its three madrashas (schools), the earliest of which was built in the early 1400s, and I later visited the Bibi-Khanym mosque and mausoleum. The city is photogenic in the extreme, and I’ve had to remind myself to take in the beauty around me as well as try to capture it in pictures!

Tomorrow, I’ll continue my ride east to Jizzakh. I’ll be sad to leave these magnificent Silk Road cities, and Samarkand in particular, behind.