Hazrat Daud Cave near Samarkand. One of the famous holy places of Uzbekistan is located 40 km southwest of Samarkand on the territory of the village of Aksai. This is the cave of Hazrat Daud (Saint David), revered in three world religions. It is shrouded in many legends, which are retold from year to year by local residents to pilgrims who come to ask the saint for help, healing from illnesses, or the fulfillment of a cherished desire.
According to Arabic legend, the biblical King David was sent by the Lord to Asia to preach monotheism. Hazrat Daoud, as Muslims call him, with his sermons angered the Zoroastrians who lived here, who began to persecute him. Daud took refuge in the mountains and, having prayed to God, was able to push the stones apart with his hands and hide in the mountain.
The cave of Hazrat Daud is believed to fulfill any, even most incredible desire. To get to it you need to mount 1303 steps, plunging up to the mountain peak. Then you need to go down 200 steps to the cave of Hazrat Daud. The cave, from 0.5 to 4-m wide, up to 15-m high and up to 30-m long, is a dark tunnel where you can see Daud’s handprints and footprints at its end. To make a wish you should touch them.
