S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky: The Splendors of Russia in Natural Color 1905–1916

Exhibition of Šechtl & Voseček Museum of Photography February–May 2006

 

Samarkand

Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. Founded circa 700 B.C. Alexander the Great conquered it in 329 B.C. In 1370, Timur decided to make Samarkand the capital of his projected world empire. In 1868, the city came under Russian rule, when the citadel was stormed by a force under Colonel A.K. Abramov (1836-1886).
 

Samarkand

Вид с Тилля-Кари на Самарканд.

View of Samarkand from Tilla-Kari.


Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-prokc-21763. Digital color rendering by Jan Hubička based on color composite by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.

На Регистане.

On the Registan. Samarkand.


One of the most awesome sights in Central Asia, if not one of the most remarkable in the world, the Registan was the center of medieval Samarkand. It consists of three huge madrassas, forming three sides surrounding a huge square.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-prokc-21726. Digital color rendering by Jan Hubička based on color composite by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.

Часть минарета и купола Шир-Дор с Тилля-Кари.

A Portion of the Shir-Dar Minaret and its Dome from Tillia-Kari


The tiled columns, walls, and domes of the Shir-Dar (“Lions' House”) madrassa in Samarkand show the elaborate abstract designs and use of calligraphy typical in much of Islamic and Central Asian architecture. This madrassa, constructed 1619 – 1636 and in essence a Muslim theological academy and school, is part of the complex of mosques and madrassas found in Registan, the most sacred precinct of old Samarkand.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-ppmsc-04440. Digital color rendering by Walter Frankhauser.


Группа еврейских мальчиков с учителем.

A group of Jewish boys with the teacher.


Samarkand (1), an ancient commercial, intellectual, and spiritual center on the Silk Road (2), developed a remarkably diverse population, including Tajiks, Persians, Uzbeks, Arabs, Jews, and Russians. Samarkand, and all of West Turkestan, was incorporated into the Russian Empire in the middle of the nineteenth century and has retained its ethnic diversity up to the present.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-ppmsc-04442. Digital color rendering by Walter Frankhauser.


Старик Сарт (бабайка).

A Sart old man (babaika).


In a photograph taken near Samarkand, an old man, probably an ethnic Tajik, holds birds he has just caught. Samarkand and its region were noted for wide diversity in ethnic groups, including Uzbeks, Tajiks, Persians, and Arabs as well as the more recently arrived Russians.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-ppmsc-04441. Digital color rendering by Walter Frankhauser.


Сартянка.

Sart woman.


Woman in "Purdah", dressed in a traditional costume covering the whole body. Until the Russian revolution of 1917, "Sart" was the name for Uzbeks living in Kazakhstan.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-ppmsc-03957. Digital color rendering by Walter Frankhauser.


Доктора.

Physicians. Samarkand.


Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-prokc-21771. Digital color rendering by Jan Hubička based on color composite by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.

Торговец лепешками.

Bread vendor, Samarkand.


Samarkand bread—puffy, with a golden crust—is still available, to the present day. Many tourists buy this bread as a souvenir: it remains beautiful and delicious for a long time. The round Samarkand bread is baked in a big clay oven called Tandoor. A guest to an Uzbek home will be first of all offered a small bowl of green tea and this traditional round bread.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-prokc-21765. Digital color rendering by Jan Hubička based on color composite by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.

Шашлычная.

Shashlik stand. Samarkand.


Shashlik (kebab) is meat, usually mutton, grilled on a skewer with vegetables. It is a traditional food in Central Asia and the Caucasus, and is popular also in the Balkans, Ukraine and Russia

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-prokc-21742. Digital color rendering by Jan Hubička based on color composite by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.

Водонос.

Water carrier. Samarkand.


Samarkand's climate is classified as continental, with hot summers and cool winters. Summer temperatures often surpass 40°C; winter temperatures average about −23°C, but may fall as low as −40°C. Samarkand is quite arid, with average annual rainfall amounting to between 100 and 200 millimeters and occurring mostly in winter and spring. Between July and September, little precipitation falls, essentially stopping the growth of vegetation during that period.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-prokc-21730. Digital color rendering by Jan Hubička based on color composite by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.

Торговец материями.

Fabric merchant.


A merchant at the Samarkand market displays colorful silk, cotton, and wool fabrics as well as a few traditional carpets. A framed page of the Qur'an hangs at the top of the stall.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-ppmsc-03948. Digital color rendering by Walter Frankhauser.


Торговец дынями.

Melon merchant.


Dressed in traditional Central Asian attire, a vendor of locally grown melons poses at his stand in the marketplace of Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-ppmsc-03949. Digital color rendering by Walter Frankhauser.


Сартские поля.

Sart fields. Samarkand.


The city of Samarkand was surrounded by oases and agricultural regions that supported the urban population. Traditional food crops grown on fields such as these included melons, wheat, beans, rice, and barley.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-ppmsc-04439. Digital color rendering by Walter Frankhauser.


Байга.

Bayga. Samarkand.


Bayga. Samarkand."Bayga" is name for traditional competetion in horse riding on long distances (today 25, 50 or 100 km) " Should be: ""Bayga" is a traditional long-distance horse riding competition, over 25, 50 or 100 km

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-ppmsc-04845. Digital color rendering by Walter Frankhauser.


Общий вид мечети Шах-Зинде. (вечерний снимок).

General view of Shah-e-Zindeh (at sunset).


The Pamir Mountains provide a dramatic backdrop for an evening view of the Shakh-i Zindeh Mosque in Samarkand, a complex of graves and mortuary chapels built over many centuries for the women of the dynasties descended from Timur (Tamerlane, 1336 – 1405), the great medieval ruler of Central Asia.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-ppmsc-03978. Digital color rendering by Walter Frankhauser.


Главный вход в мечеть [ошибка в авторском описании, на самом деле некрополь ] Шах-Зинде.

The main entrance to Shah-e-Zindeh. Samarkand.


Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-prokc-21817. Digital color rendering by Jan Hubička based on color composite by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.

Часовня на горе Чапан-Ата в 5 верст. от Самарканда.

Chapel on Chapan-Ata Mountain, five versts from Samarkand.


Chapan-Ata is mosque and mausoleum from 16th century. A verst is an obsolete Russian unit of length. It is defined as being 500 sazhen long, which makes a verst equal to 3500 feet (1066.8 metres).

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-prokc-21894. Digital color rendering by Jan Hubička based on color composite by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.

All photographs Prokudin-Gorsky took in Samarkand
Search the archive of Prokudin-Gorsky on US Library of Congress