Registan benches

On to Samarkand then, Central Asia's former city of glory. It's nice to see the thing that's on the cover of the guide book -- even if the book itself is worth less than a pile of dung -- so I went straight for the Registan, a public square surrounded by three magnificent medrassahs.

A 16th century Mad Russian

This is blue chip tourism, but I know you only came here for the bench reviews, so let's get on with business.

A stunning sight, with wrought iron body and varnished wooden seat, seen here near the Registan.

Above I can be seen relaxing on this fine long-wheel base multi-seater, taking in, frankly, a stunning view. Seen in the background are the other two mad cappers, the left one being 600 years old and covered head-to-toe in mosaics, as are the other two young ones (merely 500 years old), and they all contain a serene courtyard meeting all the needs of casual hat shoppers.

Mad hatter?

Anyway, I digress, back to the benches and on to one of my all time favourites, winner of the contented bench competition in the quiet courtyard of a fifteenth century kepassah, this lovely lurcher is sitting silently, humbled by its stunning surroundings but it keeps its integrity, matched by its elegance, and the tea set combo just tops it all off!

Tea time.