Today I visited a Role Play/Combat Sim named Samarkand. The sim has an Ancient Arab/Persian look to it and according to Wikipedia, “Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, prospering from its location on the trade route between China and Europe (The Silkroad)”.

The Landing Point

In Second Life, to find Samarkand just search under places using the word “samarkand”. Samarkand’s landing point is the Market Area (see photo) which is located 600 meters above the ground. To visit other areas of Samarkand you must find the teleporter which is at the other side of the market. Also, upon landing you will be given notecards with rules and other informations about the sim so read them well.

The City

Samarkand’s main area is the City. I’m not sure if its an exact recreation of Ancient Samarkand but if it’s not then still the builder did a good job in creating it. I’m not sure what the different buildings are for or who lives in them but they do look good.

In the city, I also found what looked like vendor stalls. The stalls were very small and they were all empty. If they were vendor stalls then there’s a very high chance that they’re not yet open for business. There’s also this fortress like structure near the it.

The city is a nice place to visit. There are various areas which you can enjoy like the waterfall, the desert oasis and others.

The Arena and The Silkroad

As the name implies, The Arena is where combat or fights are held and since Samarkand is also a combat sim they do schedule fights or tournaments frequently. I wanted to know how to join or enter the fights but I didn’t find any information about it. Samarkand’s Arena is located 700 meters above the ground and it’s not that big.

The Silkroad is, if I’m not mistaken, Samarkand’s Dance Club. There’s a Dance Ball hanging down the ceiling and 2 contest boards (I assume its for male and female contestants) on the wall. I guess the residents of Samarkand loves to party after a bloody battle at the Arena. LOL!

Other Stuff

While I was at the Silkroad, I noticed some floating objects below it. Using my camera controls, I panned and zoomed in to it and there I found floating structures. Well, floating homes and skyboxes have their special uses so I’ll just let you decide what those floating places were for.

Samarkand is a very nice looking sim and if you are looking for an RP/Combat sim then you should give Samarkand a visit. My impression, from reading their notecards, is that Samarkand is very strict in their RP but I haven’t seen anyone there to see how strict their RP really is. Anyway, if you are there then just follow the rules and you’ll be okay. I’m sure the owners of Samarkand are not the type who eject and ban people just for kicks. LOL!