Samarkand at first glance does not look like a particularly ancient city. Walking through the parks, shopping centers, and apartment-lined streets you would be forgiven for thinking you were in just another post-Soviet city anywhere east of Berlin. It’s only after you stumble into the center of town that you notice the difference—Samarkand is actually one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on Earth. It’s home to a half-dozen artistic masterpieces of medieval Islamic architecture, and visited by millions of tourists a year. That’s Uzbekistan in a nutshell—a place where the past and present collide beautifully, abruptly, and occasionally, violently.
Hi, I’m Geraint (Jer-rant—it’s Welsh, they didn’t consult me on the choice). I’m an English teacher with the State Department’s Fulbright Program here in Uzbekistan. Today I teach English at Qarshi State University, in the city of Qarshi in southern Uzbekistan, but ten years ago I was a student of Mr. Stiven’s just as you guys are now. It’s because of what I learned in CCA’s classrooms that ultimately put me on the path to where I am now. For the next few months I’m going to be writing you updates on Central Asia—it’s history, environment, cultures, languages, and most of all, it’s people.
