Samarkand

Samarkand in Uzbekistan is the crossroads of the Old Silk Road and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. If you’re in Uzbekistan and Tashkent hasn’t satisfied your appetite for Old Silk Road architecture, and colossal structures with blue domes and intricate blue tiles, then Samarkand should be on the cards. There are so many hues of blues from azure to turquoise and it’s a feast for the eyes. Samarkand has lots of Muslims, Madrasahs, mausoleums and the odd mosque which are quite mesmerizing.

Samarkand is worthy as a stopover for a few days, or you can speed date Samarkand as a day trip from Tashkent.

Where is Samarkand?

The city of Samarkand is located in southeastern Uzbekistan, in Central Asia, approximately 300km southwest of Tashkent.

You can travel to Samarkand by taking the high-speed Afrosiuob train from Tashkent that takes about 2:15 hours, or Bukhara which takes about 1:40 hours.

Or you can fly into the Samarkand International Airport which receives flights from other Central Asian cities, Dubai, Istanbul, Russia and Tel Aviv.

To get around the city of Samarkand you can use the Yandex Go app for affordable transport. Or considering the many attractions of the city are quite spread out, it may be easiest to go on a guided tour of the city.

Samarkand Accommodation

You may wish to stay in the historic centre of Samarkand, within walking distance of attractions such as the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum or Registan Square. The Old City of Samarkand also has various attractions and ancient architecture, and Central Asian clay-brick buildings.

The New City/Russian zone was built in the 19th and 20th centuries and has European style street grids and modern housing blocks. Staying here gives you easy access to a good range of restaurants and bars. As the city is quite spread out, wherever you stay, you’ll need to use a vehicle to get around to see the classic sights.

Samarkand Hotel Listings

Samarkand Activities

Samarkand has a vibrant history and there are lots of Samarkand attractions, with highlights being the impressive Islamic architecture of this ancient Silk Road city, including madrasah/madrasa (Islamic or secular schools) and mausoleums (monuments for the deceased with above-ground burial chambers).

You may wish to go on a guided tour of Samarkand with an English speaking guide, so as to gain insights into the history of Samarkand, as well as the practicalities of planning and transport logistics taken care of. Or you can do a day trip tour to Samarkand from Tashkent which includes the train trip.

Samarkand City Tours  

Here’s just a handful of Samarkand attractions.

A classic example of big scale historic architecture is Registan Square which is a major landmark of Samarkand. It has various visually stunning madrasahs, some gorgeous blue domes, and plenty of intricate tile work in gold and hues of blues. Some of the buildings have Leaning Tower of Pisa look-alikes.

The Gur-e-Amir mausoleum, built circa 1400, is the burial place of Timur the Turkic conqueror. If you didn’t get a sore neck looking at the pretty ceilings of Registan Square, you certainly will here.

The mosque of Bībī-Khānom was built around the same time and was one of the largest and grandest Islamic mosques of its era. It fell into ruin and was partially restored in more recent times and is worth seeing just for its scale. a building that was commissioned by Timur’s favourite Chinese wife. In the 15th century, it was one of the largest and most magnificent mosques in the Islamic world. only a grandiose ruin of it still survived, but major parts of the mosque were restored. It’s unknown if it was commissioned by Timur or his key wife, Saray Mulk Khanum also known as Bibi-Khanym.

Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis Samarkand has an abundance of smaller mausoleums, and is a favourite for the Muslims to visit. The burial site of the Islamic prophet Daniel also seems to be a popular pilgrimage for Muslims.