A smooth-faced border officer at the glossy Samarkand International airport was scrutinising my passport. Standing in his booth, wearing an oversized uniform, he inspected my photograph and asked where I was staying. He had already checked all of its 60-plus stamps and visas, and studied each of the security holograms, foil inlays and perforations; and he was now holding it up to a lamp, examining the watermarks on every page – much to the quiet, shuffling irritation of the long line of Uzbek ci
Samarkand was a major Silk Road trading hub for more than 2,500 years. Now, the Uzbek city has a major new tourism complex, which it hopes will reflect its former glories.