Samarkand

Samarkand ("Stone Fort" or "Rock Town") is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Province. One of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, prospering from its location on the trade route between China and the Mediterranean (Silk Road) and for being an Islamic centre for scholarly study. In the 14th century, it became the capital of the empire of Timur (Tamerlane), and is the site of his mausoleum (the Gur-e Amir). The Bibi-Khanym Mosque remains one of the city's most notable landmarks.

Lowry refers to the city in his novel Ultramarine; "Or Saigon. Or Trebizond, Or Samarkand." I said."(Pg.84).