UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Understand
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The name "Samarkand" is said to derive from words meaning "stone fort", but there are about as many other names and claimed origins as there were varieties of goods traded in its bazaars - some of them of dubious value, far from being genuine silk. Stone fort? - it was sun-baked mud, adobe as it's called in the west, and whoever reckoned it would repel invaders was sold a dud.
This area has been inhabited for millennia, but the first entity that could be called a town was about the 8th century BC. It grew into a citadel protected by stout mud-brick walls on the site now known as Afrosiab (though that name is relatively modern). Not stout enough however, as it was conquered again and again, notably by Alexander the Great in 329 BCE bringing in a Hellenistic period, by the Sogdians in the 7th century AD, and by the Arabs in the 8th who made it a great centre of Islamic culture. Samarkand was destroyed by the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan in 1220, but flourished again when Timur-i-Leng (known as Tamerlane in the West) adorned it as the capital of his empire from 1369. Its glory days followed as a trade centre on the Silk Road, the great plexus of overland trading routes between China and the Mediterranean region, and the magnificent buildings you come here to see were mostly erected in that heyday.
That empire weakened, and nomadic Uzbeks (Shaybanids) took Samarkand in 1500. Over the next century the entire Silk Road declined, when western merchants became able to sail to and from China and no longer risked the perils and hardships of the overland route. In 1784 the emirate of Bukhara conquered it, and by this time western nations were trying to muscle in on the orient. Britain got the upper hand by sea, gaining India, while tsarist Russia tightened its grip inland; neither could ever subdue Afghanistan. Russia captured Samarkand in 1868, bringing railways, industry and their language and culture. Under communism from 1924, Samarkand was the capital of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, until that role passed to Tashkent in 1930.
Stalin was paranoid that the peoples of Central Asia would rebel and slay him, as they would have, given half a chance. His grand scheme was to create five Soviet Socialist Republics cutting across ethnic and linguistic boundaries, so they would feud against each other and not unite against him. Thus the large chunk of Tajik territory containing Samarkand and Bukhara, and speaking a language akin to Persian, was assigned to Uzbekistan, where the majority spoke a language akin to Turkish. And it worked: those cockamamie borders stand a century later, and Russian is the lingua franca for all the "Stans".
It was not difficult for foreigners to visit in the days of the Soviet Union, so long as they joined an approved Intourist group and admired what they were scheduled to admire. When that empire collapsed, the first leader of independent Uzbekistan was Islam Karimov, an old-style hardline communist and isolationist, who restricted travel and much else. A thaw ensued after his death in 2016, and the country became tourist-friendly - they needed the income. Most visitors still arrive in tour groups but the entire country is easy to visit independently, especially its twin jewels of Samarkand and Bukhara.
The Tourist Information Centre is on Tashkentskaya, 200 m south of Bibi-Khanym Mosque, open daily 10:00-17:00.
Get in
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By plane
[edit]1 Samarkand Airport (SKD IATA), ☏ +998 66 232 3659. This has daily flights from Moscow (several airports), Saint Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi, less often from Almaty, Istanbul and Abu Dhabi. Uzbekistan Airways are the main carrier. Domestic flights have withered since the trains improved, but twice a week the flight between Nukus and Tashkent calls here. The airport was rebuilt in 2021 so it's clean and spacious. It's only 6 km north of city centre so a taxi should be inexpensive. Buses M1, 31 and 52 run from Arrivals hourly to the railway station. 
By train
[edit]Four trains a day run from Tashkent Central, taking about four hours - quickest is the "Afrosiob". Two more run from Tashkent Janubiy (South), less convenient for most travellers. Trains continue west to Navoi, Bukhara (2½ hr), Alat on the Turkmenistan border, Urgench, Khiva, Nukus and Kungrad, and south to Qarshi and Termez on the Afghan border. One train per week is from Volgograd (with connections from Moscow and St Petersburg), via Atyrau in Kazakhstan, then Kungrad, Nukus, Urgench, Bukhara and Navoi, continuing from Samarkand to Tashkent.
These trains may sell out, see Uzbekistan#Get in for how to book.
2 Samarkand railway station (Вокзал Самарканд) is clean and modern. It's 5 km northwest of city centre, take the tram or marshrutka as below. The station doesn't have much retail, but there's a shopping centre and market 200 m south at the corner of Berumi and Rudakhi, open daily 05:00-22:00.
By road
[edit]Samarkand is 290 km southwest of Tashkent, about four hours to drive; buses and shared taxis leave from Sobir Rahimov bus station. Follow M39 via Jizzah: this crosses a corner of Kazakhstan, which is treated as no-man's-land with no passport checks but keep yours handy. From Bukhara is 270 km by M37.
Get around
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The main sights of Samarkand are in two nearby clusters: Gur-i Amir and the Registan, and Bibi-Khanym Mosque, Shah-i Zinda, and Afrosiyab. It's simplest to walk between all of these. Take a bus or taxi for sights further out, such as Ulugh-Beg Observatory 2 km beyond Afrosiyab.
There are two tram lines from the railway station. T2 is the one you want, heading southeast to Siyob Bazaar about 1 km north of the Registan. T1 goes south to Sartepa and is always about 5 km west of the main sights.
Yellow taxis can be taken all over. 5000 som is a standard fare pretty much anywhere in the city, add 2000 for the outskirts. Yandex Taxi app works well in the city center and will offer you a variety of prices. A local SIM card is recommended, as drivers may phone you if they can't find you.
Marshrukas - white city minibuses - are tired, wheezy and crowded. 2000 som is a standard fare in 2024.
See
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- 1 Registan, ☏ +998 66 235 7052. Daily Apr-Oct 08:00-23:00, Nov-Mar 09:00-20:00. This magnificent square is the defining image, not only of Samarkand but of the whole Silk Road. It became the city's main square from the 15th century, Timurid times, after Afrosiab was abandoned. It's lined by three madrasahs, all with grand portals and richly adorned. Ulugbek on the west side is the oldest madrasah, from 1417; its upper floor has been lost. Shirdor facing it on the east side was built from 1619; "Shir" means tiger, from the motif on its portal. Tilya-Kori on the north side was built from 1646 and was also the grand mosque; the name means "gilded". Each madrasah is set around a courtyard, with student lodgings and classrooms. Adult 65,000 som.
- Shaybanid Mausoleum is in the small park next to Tilya-Kori Madrasah, free to access. Muhammad Shaybani (1451-1510) ousted the Timurids from Samarkand and established an Uzbek proto-state, but it did not outlast his death in battle.
- 2 Bibi-Khanym Mosque, Tashkent Road. Daily 09:00-20:00. Named after the principal wife of Timur, this was erected after his capture of Delhi in 1399. But design was muddled and construction rushed, so for the next 150 years it had to be patched and mended as bits fell off, until it was given up as a lost cause. It actually stood for another 200 years before collapsing in 1897. It was rebuilt from 1974. Adult 40,000 som, child 30,000 som.
- Bibi-Khanym Mausoleum opposite the mosque is the resting place of Saray Mulk Khanym (1341-1408). She had been a member of the harem of Amir Husayn of Balkh, but Timur defeated and slew him, and took over the harem. Same hours and prices as the mosque, which most visitors reckon is not worth the money and you see enough from outside.
- Siyob Bazaar is just north of the mosque, see Buy. Use the footbridge to cross Shah-i-Zinda to reach Khazrat Khizr.
- 3 Khazrat-Khizr Mosque, Tashkent Road. Daily 08:00-18:00. This was built from 1855 over much earlier foundations: first was a Zoroastrian temple, then a mosque built in 712 but destroyed in Genghis Khan's invasion of 1220. Since 2018 it's also held the mausoleum of Islam Karimov (1938-2016), First President of Uzbekistan. Free.
- 4 Shah-i-Zinda Ensemble. Daily 07:00-22:00. Necropolis ranged over a small hill south of Afrosiab, named for the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. The best structures are 14th-16th century, such as the Kusam-ibn-Abbas complex, the Turkan Ago Mausoleum, and Kazi Zade Rumi mausoleum. It remained in use into the 19th century. It can feel crowded, as the area you can visit is along a staircase thronged with tour groups. Adult 50,000 som.
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- 5 Afrosiab, Tashkent Road. Daily 09:00-18:00. This was the earlier site of Samarkand, occupied from 500 BC until 1220 AD when the Mongols smashed it. It's within a triangle of mud-brick walls, each over 1 km long, and most of it is a bare vista of ditches and hummocks. The museum displays murals, ceramics and other artifacts recovered from the site. Adult 3000 som, child 2000 som.
- 6 Tomb of Prophet Daniel (Khoja Daniyor Mausoleum), Termez Rd. The Prophet Daniel is a mythical figure, and the Biblical Book of Daniel is thought to be a jibe against Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who persecuted the Jews in the 2nd century BC - with just enough disguise for its authors to escape imperial wrath. Six cities claim to be have Daniel's tomb, and pride of place goes to Susa in Iran. The Samarkand tomb and shrine is along the north wall of Afrosiab but outside that ticketed area. Adult 30,000 som.
- 7 Gur-e-Emir Mausoleum (Amir Temur Mausoleum), Universitetskiy Boulevard, off Bustonsaroy. Daily 09:00-19:00. The warlord Timur or Tamerlane (c 1320-1405) preferred to campaign in spring / summer and lay up during the cruel steppes winter, but on his last sortie was in a hurry to attack Ming China. By then in his eighties, he sickened and died at Farab (nowadays Otrar), to no great sorrow by the Chinese ambassadors he'd imprisoned. It was impossible to transport him through the snow to the tomb he'd prepared at Shahrisabz, so he was laid in a tomb in Samarkand intended for his grandson, who'd died of battle wounds in Turkey in 1403. Both bodies were re-interred here in 1409, and it became the Timurid dynastic crypt. The mausoleum is richly tiled and decorated: the piece of jade (the largest in the world) over Timur's headstone is a poke in the eye of the Emperor of China, since it was purloined from his palace. Adult 40,000 som.
- Church of St Alexius is Russian Orthodox, consecrated in 1916 to serve Tsarist troops. It's at Bobur Mirzo 40, 200 m southwest of the Mövenpick hotel, open daily 09:00-19:00.
- 8 Rukhabad Mausoleum, Bustansaroy (200 m north of Gur-e-Emir). Daily 08:00-17:00. Burial place of the sufi teacher Burkhan ad-Din Sagardji, who died in the 1380s. It became engulfed by later buildings around Gur-e-Emir, which were cleared away in 1996 so the mausoleum complex was rediscovered and rebuilt.
- 9 Ulughbek's Observatory, Tashkent Road, ☏ +998 66 235 0345. Daily 08:00-19:00. Ulughbek (1394 – 1449) was grandson of Timur, and at age 16 he was appointed governor of Samarkand. A cultured talented fellow, he built the Ulughbek Madressa in Registan, and then this observatory. Astronomy in that era was by naked eye, but you could improve observation with a big sighting-line, and he built a whopper, the Fakhri sextant of radius of 36 m. He catalogued over 1000 stars and computed the earth's rotations and tilt with unprecedented accuracy. Meanwhile his 13 wives were busy discussing his shortcomings, the region rebelled, and he was defeated in battle by his oldest son Abdal-Latif Mirza. He was graciously permitted to leave for pilgrimage to Mecca, but Abdal-Latif made sure he didn't get far. The observatory was destroyed at the same time, and its underground portion was only re-discovered in 1908. Adult 30,000 som.
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- 10 Abu Mansoor Al Matrudi Mausoleum. Al Matrudi (853-944 AD) was a theologian whose teachings underlie one of the major strands of Sunni Islam. His original mausoleum was destroyed in 1940 and this is a retro creation of 2000.
- 11 Ishrat-khana Mausoleum, Sadriddin Ayniy. Daily 09:00-18:00. Built in the 1450s / 60s, probably as a burial place for the Timurid dynasty women, it was wrecked in an earthquake of 1903 and is now a hollow ruin. Free.
- 12 Abdi Darun Complex. Daily 08:00-20:00. Abd-al Maziddin was a notable Islamic judge who died around 861 AD - "darun" means his burial plot was outside the city wall. A small mausoleum was built in the 12th century, then a larger version in the 15th, replaced by another in the 19th then the version you see today in the early 20th.
- 13 Khodja Ahrar Complex (6 km south of Registan). 24 hours. This ornately tiled mausoleum with mosque and medressa was erected from 15th to 17th century. This would be a major attraction elsewhere but is overshadowed by the Registan and other central sights, and few tourists come this far out. Free.
- 14 Al-Bukhari Mausoleum, Xoʻja Ismoil (13 km north of city). Closed until 2026. Al-Bukhari or Buxori (810-870 AD) compiled a Hadith, a huge collection of the sayings of the Prophet Mohammed, and related commentary. A grand mausoleum was built over his tomb in 1997. Since 2021 this has been closed for reconstruction.
Do
[edit]- Football: FC Dinamo Samarqand play soccer in Super League, the top tier. Dinamo Stadium (capacity 13,800) is on Mirzo Ulugbek 2 km west of Registan. The playing season is March-Nov.
- Samarkand Concert Hall is on Mirzo Ulughbek St, 4 km west of Registan.
- Hamams: half-a-dozen traditional Turkish-style baths around city centre. One of the most central is Hammomi Dovudi on Hujum, 200 m south of Shah-i-Zinda, open daily 08:00-23:00.
- Yoshlik Attraction Park is an amusement park on Beruni St, 1 km south of the railway station.
Buy
[edit]- Cash: lots of ATMs ("bankomats") in city centre accepting most western credit cards. The mark-up for drawing cash is modest, say 1.5%, but your bank will pile on extra.
- Samarkand rugs actually originated in Xinjiang in the far west of China, and Samarkand simply traded these. Look carefully before you buy.
- Siyob Bazaar is 100 m north of Bibi-Khanym Mosque, open Tu-Su 07:00-19:00.
Eat
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- Plov is the staple dish, rice stewed with meat and veg. The local version uses more oil and yellow carrots than elsewhere, sometimes enlivened by an otherwise useless horse.
- Samarkand Non, the local bread, is almost a bowl or cake.
Budget
[edit]- 1 Historikal, Suzangaron, ☏ +998 98 573 2111. Daily 08:00-22:00. Great local restaurant in a side street only a few meters from the Registan. They offer good shashlik and other Uzbek food, plus beer and vodka.
- 2 Cafe Magistr, 30/45 Buston Saroy, ☏ +998 66 250 1551. M-Sa 08:00-23:00, Su 12:00-23:00. Slick central place with veggie choices, staff speak good English.
- Old City Restaurant, Abdurakhmon Jomiy (opposite Zarafshon Parkside Hotel), ☏ +998 93 346 8020. Daily 10:00-23:00. Good choice for trad Uzbek cuisine.
Mid-range
[edit]- 3 Karim Bek, Gagarin 194, ☏ +998 66 237 7739. Hearty portions of Uzbek specialties.
- Istiqlol, Amir Temur 157 (next to Karim Bek), ☏ +998 90 505 8111. Daily 06:00-23:00. Family-friendly place serving trad dishes.
- 4 Merci, Orzi Makhmudov 14, ☏ +998 95 508 0002. Daily 08:00-23:00. This gets mixed reviews.
Drink
[edit]Bars in city centre include Sam Craft outside Registan, Blues Bar on Amir Temur St, Green Bear at Bazarova 11, and Botchka nearby.
Sleep
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Budget
[edit]- Old Station Hotel (100 m east of station), ☏ +998 95 412 7575. Small modern hotel right by the railway station. B&B double $50.
- Rayyan Hotel, Navoi St (100 m south of station), ☏ +998 99 271 0086. Clean modern chain hotel very near the railway station. B&B double $50.
- Registan Hostel, Registan 38 (southwest side of Registan), ☏ +998 94 675 5701. Friendly comfy hostel in a great central spot. Dorm $25 ppn.
- Hostel Nabi next door gets poor reviews.
- 1 Bahodir Hotel, Mullokandov 134 (200 m northeast of Registan), ☏ +998 93 340 2817. Backpacker place around a courtyard, with dorm and private rooms. Friendly and mostly clean, very central. B&B double $40.
- Sandhill Hotel is within the same building at Mullokandov 136.
- 2 Jahongir Hotel, Chirokchi 4 (500 m south of Registan), ☏ +998 91 555 0808. Comfortable modern rooms near the historic centre. B&B double US$50.
- Jahongir Premium Hotel is close by at Chirokchi 11.
- 3 Uyut Hotel, Tursunova 67 (1 km northwest of Registan), ☏ +998 88 395 3312. Friendly small B&B in a quiet neighbourhood. B&B double US$50.
- 4 Zarafshon Parkside Hotel, Abdurakhmon Jomiy 65 (1.5 km southeast of Registan), ☏ +998 55 703 0003. Slick modern hotel by the park. B&B double US$150.
- 5 Amir Hostel, Abdurakhmon Jomiy 45 (1.5 km west of Registan), ☏ +998 97 916 8899. Basic but clean, friendly and in good repair. Dorm $30.
Mid-range
[edit]- 6 Konstantin Plaza, Ibn Kholdun 7 (1 km south of railway station), ☏ +998 78 210 0100. Clean and comfy, good service. B&B double US$150.
- 7 Mövenpick Hotel, Shokhrukh 53, ☏ +998 55 703 0808. Big glassy place, mostly good reviews, but cleanliness and service erratic for this price band. B&B double US$200.
- Hotel Malika Prime, Universitetskiy Blvd Y, Okhunboboyev St (opposite Mövenpick), ☏ +998 66 239 1333. Pleasant inexpensive hotel in a central location. B&B double US$50.
- 8 Hotel Malika Classic, Khamraev 37 (3 km southwest of Registan), ☏ +998 66 239 1333, [email protected]. Clean quiet hotel ranged around a peaceful courtyard.
- 9 Orient Star Hotel, Dakhbed Yuli 33 (2 km north of Registan), ☏ +998 66 232 1019. Comfy enough but no lift to upper floors. B&B double $80.
Airport
[edit]- Qadim Hotel, Vohid Abdullaev 2 (100 m from Terminal), ☏ +998 94 669 9415. Efficient and convenient. B&B double $60.
- Tiny Art House Hotel is 200 m from the terminal.
Connect
[edit]As of Nov 2024, Samarkand and its approach highways have 4G from all Uzbek carriers, and city centre has 5G from Uzmobile.
Go next
[edit]- Shakhrisabz 100 km south has the tomb intended for Timur, but he never reached it. So whose are the two bodies interred there?
- Bukhara 270 km west is a must-see for its old town grouped around hauz, ancient communal pools.
- Tashkent the capital is 310 km northeast. It's modern but with many mausoleums, museums and national monuments.
- Panjakent 60 km east is the first town you come to across the border in Tajikistan. Most of its antiquities have ended up in museums in Dushanbe the capital.