Shadowing Practice: 24 Hours in Samarkand – The Heart of the Silk Road! 🇺🇿 I S3, EP26 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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it is perhaps one kilo one kilo of bread
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it is perhaps one kilo one kilo of bread
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wow hi everyone
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welcome to our journey silk road overland and today is the 21st of October it's in Autumn now and we are in Dushanbe the capital of Tajikistan
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and today we're leaving for our 4th Stan country Uzbekistan so firstly we're going to drive a bit north and then to the west to Panjakent
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and then cross the border and then go to Samarkand and in the past two days we've been staying in the capital we got a very nice hotel just next to the train station
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this hotel is called Hong bao palace and we got a very spacious room what i also like about the hotel is that they have free laundry services
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and after the Pamir highway we got so much dirty clothes and the ladies in the laundry are really nice so if you travel to Dushanbe you can check out this hotel
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i really liked it it's also in a very central location
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you can find cafes and restaurants in a very short distance only 10 minutes walk from the city centre we left our hotel and we drove through the centre
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it's a lovely area with small markets and cafes after leaving Dushanbe we headed north and reentered the mountains along the way we passed through an old tunnel
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people call it the Tunnel of Death i don't know exactly how long it is but inside it's pitch dark some parts with no lights at all and the air is thick with exhaust fumes
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it took us more than 20 minutes to drive through
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oh fresh air comes back again
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i think that is the worst part i heard this tunnel of death wasn't paved so it was only dirt road inside a couple of years ago and absolutely no light
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that's why it's very dangerous to drive inside and you know the traffic comes from two ways and sometimes people even want to take over which makes it even more dangerous
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we kept riding until nightfall before finally reaching the border town of Panjakent we stayed for one night and the next day crossed the border into uzbekistan
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we just finished the border crossing on Tajikistan side and now we are riding Towards Uzbekistan checks in uzbekistan are very thorough
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there were long lines of trucks and all of our luggage went through security screening thankfully everything went smoothly finally we crossed the border
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and we are now in Uzbekistan look the trucks are still waiting the custom or the border control of Uzbekistan side is incredibly slow
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i don't know why in tajikistan it took us about half an hour to finish everything here i think in total we spent like two hours and had been queuing for very long eventually they have to type all our information
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like this into the computer and that took some extra time and we paid like four Euros for the two bike but finally we are here
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yeah finally in uzbekistan i'm really looking forward to some uzbek Plov now because everybody said the uzbek plov is the best in central Asia
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once you are in uzbekistan one thing that you quickly notice this country is way more densely populated compared with tajikistan
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so ever since we left the border there has always been settlement and lots of cars as well
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everything is a lot easier here
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after crossing the border we made it soon to samakhand we stayed in a historical area where you can see lots of splendid historical buildings at first glance
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they remind me strongly of what i had seen in Iran blue glazed tiles and mosaics monumental events forming the entrances decorated with geometric patterns
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and Arabic calligraphy these blue wonders belong to the timurid architecture tradition which is deeply rooted in Persian architecture culture
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during this period samarkand became the true hub of the Silk road the most important center for trade craftsmanship and scholarship in central Asia
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it's a middle break of the school time so kids are returning this morning i was talking with a boy from our hotel reception
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so our hotel is actually a family run business it belongs to a family of eleven people they live all together and this boy told me that the majority population
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in Samarkand are ethnic Tajik so they speak Tajik at home among themselves and since they are all uzbek nationals they all know how to speak uzbek
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so they are kind of born bilingual and at school they learn to speak English and Russian so even the girl from the our hotel
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who is only i think maybe eight years old she speaks perfectly two language plus some English and fairly good Russian so people here are truly very multilingual
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and with all those language skills i would say that someone from Samarkand can travel all over central Asia without any communication issues because first of all
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Russian is very much spoken in all the Stan countries and secondly the tajik is very close to persian so they can understand someone from Iran or someone from Afghanistan who speak Dari
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which is very close to Persian as well and also the uzbek language is very close to uygur language so if they travel to China Xinjiang
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they can also talk with local people and the boy told me although they don't speak kyrgyz or kazakh they go there and they can understand them fairly well
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we were just walking in an old city and we ran into a bakery it smells really good this is boss the boss name is Bekhrus
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yes what's this bread called for here yes chap chock chap chock yes chap chock
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wow start over there
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with after mix yeah after over here yeah stay thirty minute one hour hmm small
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after cut it 200g
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450g yeah
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how many hours do you work every day ten hours every day we work ten hours i cut dough cut the dough yes exactly hahaha
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thank you hahaha i cut dough every day hahaha it's my job it's my work hahaha
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there are many different types of Naan the most iconic one is called Samakand Naan
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it's a huge heavy piece of bread famous for being dry firm and long lasting historically ideal for caravan travel
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it is perhaps one kilo one kilo of bread and it has a golden crust it's thick and dense
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wow look
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i think one bread is enough almost for three people for a day
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they just wipe the bread with some water to make it very very shiny and Flo asked why do you do that and she said it's a makeup
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and it's just so interesting to see how they were made
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when you enter this kitchen you can smell the the dough so they've already cut the dough into a round ball like this it's quite big i think maybe it's about 500 gram
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and then a guy has to form really really hard with wooden form look
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i think that must be a very tiring job and then he passed it out to another guy he would stamp it and then put some black sesame on top
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bakers have to lean their whole bodies into the oven to slap the dough onto the inner walls this type of Samarkand Naan is said to have a history of over 1000 years
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baking Nan looks difficult and it truly is it's a scaled craft that takes time to master
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hahaha hahaha
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how was your bread making bad
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i failed after the dough is set
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the oven is fired up water is sprinkled inside and then it creates a huge steam the lid is closed and the steam and fire work together
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to bake the bread until it turns golden
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this big tray reportedly has a huge production tray after tray is loaded onto trucks and delivered to naan bazaars even as far as Tashkent
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one day 10'000 crazy and then all of Samarkand buys the bread
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you also export to other places yes yes
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people from tashkent buy bread from here? yes yes this black one is black sesame Black sesame white one is white sesame White sesame
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are you learning how to make bread here yeah i'm trying to learn it and then you will make you will have your own bakery is it hard？ is the work hard？
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my work is a little bit simple simple this one is hard this one is hard so the sticking part is hard
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this have you tried no no no not yet not yet so you have to be skilled enough to do that yeah
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also it's very hot yes it's very hot yeah it's a good training
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hahaha how old are you i'm twenty twenty yeah and how long have you been learning about 6 months
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six months six months yeah and how long do you have to stay here to learn the whole thing about two more months two more months yeah and you can graduate
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yeah and then you can start be a baker like a real baker wow
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Samarkand is one of the oldest cities in uzbekistan it's also one of the oldest and continuously inhabited cities it has a history of more than 2700 years
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in the city there is also a big Bazaar and there are different sections and this morning we come out because we are a big fan of the Bazaar tour
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just want to give an idea of how big the market is so this is only the fruit so fruit and vegetable area look
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and over there that is a clothes section and there is also a carpet handicraft section and over there there is another part
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the Uzbek currency is normally very big has lots of numbers we just draw less than 100 euro i think that's about one million
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one million Uzbek som we have never been so rich before so anyone who visit uzbekistan can easily be in a millionaire so this biggest banknote
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200'000 som which equals about a 117 yuan that is about less than 15 euros
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they also have a lot of colorful spices
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look at this colorful plate is this also for plov
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this is all spices and this is tea i think
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plov mix plov mix cumin so he's telling us how to make a plov spice mix chili chili
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Ginger Ginger ha ha
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Paprika Paprika kurkuma kurkuma
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raisin ah raisin dried grapes
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this red berberis berberis
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this berberis oh another berberis
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samarkand mix flour one packet four kilogram rice one kilogram rice mix one spoon
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so one kilogram rice one spoon yes one spoon okay hmm mix
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and this is for one kilo rice this one packet four kilogram four kilogram okay
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this kind gentleman showed us all the different spices in the Samarkand Plov
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that is really nice of him this oil
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(I don't understand) (I don't understand) meat meat (I don't understand)
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carrot this mix spice ah for the meat this meat and then rice
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i get it thanks in the bazaar you can find a lot of those traditional hats some are very colorful
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some are square and some are red
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it looks as if it's a kazakh or kyrygz hat
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ah those must be the kazakh hats it's more round whereas the traditional uzbek is more square something like that
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and those are the most typical uzbek hat that you often see people wear especially the men i think it's a man's hat
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so we even have pickled tomatoes this area smells so nice
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Samarkand halva
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yeah samarkand halva this is also samarkand halva this one is with nougat this is with pashmani try it
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there are some quite interesting sweets in the market that's halva
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and this one looks like hair
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two ten okay Thank you
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i got two pomegranate juice for 25 thousand freshly squeezed pomegranate juice a little bit bitter and very sweet and another better way to drink it
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is to mix the sparkling water with the pomegranate juice super fresh
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and i think we're going to end our today's video i hope you enjoy this video about samarkand and tomorrow we'll be leaving for tashkent thanks for watching and bye bye
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will delve into the fascinating culture and history of Samarkand, a significant city along the ancient Silk Road. By practicing with the informative transcript, you will enhance your listening and speaking skills, focusing on travel-related vocabulary and expressions. This engaging content is perfect for those looking to improve their English skills while exploring the diverse linguistic landscape of Central Asia. Get ready to immerse yourself in the intricacies of language through the lens of a vibrant travel narrative.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Silk Road: A historic trade route that connected the East and West.
- Uzbek Plov: A traditional Uzbekistan dish that many consider the best in Central Asia.
- Bilingual: The ability to speak two languages fluently.
- Timurid architecture: A style of architecture that is deeply rooted in Persian culture, characterized by intricate tiles and designs.
- Naan: A type of bread, with Samarkand Naan being a particularly notable variant.
- Pamir highway: A famed mountain route known for its stunning scenery but also challenging conditions.
- Cultural hub: A center of cultural exchange and activity.
Practice Tips
For effective practice using the video, try the technique known as shadowing, where you mimic the speaker’s tone, speed, and rhythm. Start by listening to small sections of the transcript. Given the varied pacing of the speaker, break down their speech into manageable parts. Focus on repeating phrases, especially complex vocabulary like Uzbek Plov and Timurid architecture, to improve your pronunciation and retention. You might find it beneficial to use a shadowspeak approach, which allows learners to engage deeply with authentic content and refine their speaking skills for situations like IELTS speaking practice.
As you practice, pay attention to the cultural context provided in the video. This will not only help you learn English with YouTube effectively but also enrich your understanding of different cultures and their languages. Engaging with these topics can boost your confidence in both casual and formal conversations. Remember, consistency is key, so practice regularly to see significant improvements!
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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