Samarkand in the fifteenth century
I have two European travellers over-wintering in Samarkand in the 1420's.
Where could they go to socialise, get news, tell stories, play chess? Would it be a coffee-house, a tea-house, a caravanserai, an inn?
Did street life go on into the evening, or was there a curfew?
How about established Christianity in the city? I've found out a little bit about the Nestorians, but it's very vague.
What was the palace like?
I''ve read Ruy Gonzales de Clavijo's account of his journey to Samarkand in the early 1400's, tried to Google Ibn Battuta and his accounts of his travels in the 14th century, and read the Rubaiyat (way too early, I know.) This website gives a useful overview; http://www.oxuscom.com/timursam.htm and in desperation I re-watched Michael Wood's In the Footsteps of Alexander. Also I had a look at Fordham University's Medieval Sourcebook.
I can access the publications of the Hakluyt Society at the State Library next time I visit it, but there are oodles of them, and some guidance on which ones to look at would be very useful.
Any help will be much appreciated!