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Samarkand has long been a place of legends. Flattened by Genghis Khan in 1220 and resurrected as Tamerlane's capital and the jewel of the Silk Road, its turquoise tile domes and minarets possess a mythical status sur-passed only perhaps by Shangri-la. Together with its Uzbek sister Bukhara, it was a key stop for the caravans that plied the network of routes stretching from the markets of Istanbul to the silk weavers of China. Traders, diplomats, pilgrims and missionaries thronged the cities' bazaars as East met West in a blossoming of commerce and learning. But with the discovery...
...imposing collection of intricately patterned towers, precise arches and azure domes. The Registan?a three-sided plaza of colossal mosaic portals, minarets and medressas (Islamic schools)?was the center of medieval Samarkand and remains the most impressive site (entry $1). In the market near Bibi-Khanym, something of the Silk Road survives as women hawk bread as big as dinner plates, children push barrows of melons and men slice sides of mutton for the kebab stands around town. Most hotels are concrete, Soviet-style affairs. The Furkat bed-and-breakfast offers doubles at $50; call...
...west of Uzbekistan, on the Turkmenistan border, is Khiva. Although not a Silk Road city, from the 16th to 18th centuries it prospered from trade with Russia and as a slave market. Today the infamous oasis is preserved almost as a ghost town within the confines of its walls. Turquoise tiles dazzle from the incomplete Kalta Minor minaret. The twin turrets of the West Gate are breathtaking, as is the all-encompassing view from the Khan's Kunya Ark. Tour the bazaar outside the eastern wall: until 1873 thousands of slaves?Russians, Kurds and Persians?were sold at the pens...
Small inherited a vast and (literally) crumbling empire of 16 museums and galleries, 142 million artifacts--ranging from the Wright brothers' biplane to Nancy Reagan's silk-satin Inaugural gown--nine research centers and the National Zoo. Unlike his predecessors, however, Small is neither a scientist nor an academic. He spent 27 years at Citibank, and his last job was COO of Fannie Mae. He plays flamenco guitar and owns a world-class collection of Amazonian art, but he got the job because he knows how to raise money and crunch numbers. His mission was to put the world...
...flak in the Miss Universe competition May 11--though she may get some piercing stares from the other contestants in Puerto Rico. The blond 18-year-old from Haifa, a soldier in the Israeli army, plans to wear a bulletproof gown created by Tel Aviv designer Galit Levi. The silk animal-print dress, shown here on Levy, is covered with an Israeli army-issue flak jacket embroidered with diamonds and pearls for a "softer look." The designer wants to send a message that everyday life should go on despite the latest outbreaks of violence in the Middle East. Levi...