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Samarkand is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia, a crossroads of the Silk Road that flourished under many rulers. Its golden age came in the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when Timur, also known as Tamerlane, made it his capital and filled it with monumental architecture of turquoise tile and soaring domes.
The Registan, a vast square framed by three madrasas covered in intricate tilework, is the city's showpiece and is striking both by day and when lit at night. Gur-e-Amir, the ribbed-dome mausoleum where Timur is buried, sits a short walk away. The enormous Bibi-Khanym Mosque rises beside Siyob Bazaar, where locals shop for bread, dried fruit and nuts. Shah-i-Zinda, an avenue of tiled tombs climbing a hillside, is often considered the most beautiful site in the city. On the ancient settlement of Afrosiab, the museum displays fragments of seventh-century murals, while the remains of Ulugh Beg Observatory recall the astronomer-ruler who was Timur's grandson. The Khoja Daniyar Shrine is a revered pilgrimage site, and the Eternal City is a recently built complex recreating historic crafts and streets. Shahrisabz, Timur's birthplace, makes a rewarding day trip over the mountains.
The city suits history and architecture lovers, and the center is easy to cover on foot. Summers are hot, so mornings and evenings are best.
WiserMap travel guideSamarkand Uzbekistan Registan Shah-i-Zinda and PlovPlan a trip to Samarkand with this guide to the Registan, Shah-i-Zinda, Gur-e-Amir, Silk Road bazaars, plov, easy day trips and the best seasons to go.Read the guide
Samarkand's grand central square framed by three madrasas, Ulugh Beg, Sher-Dor with its tiger mosaics, and Tilya-Kori with its gilded mosque, all covered in blue tilework. Inside are courtyards and craft shops. Visit at golden hour and again after dark, when the facades are lit and sometimes a light show runs.
The mausoleum of the conqueror Timur, or Tamerlane, with a ribbed turquoise dome and a gilded interior where his dark green jade tombstone lies beside those of his descendants, including Ulugh Beg. It is a short walk from the Registan. Visit in the evening when it is lit, and dress modestly.
An avenue of mausoleums climbing a hillside, built from the 11th to the 19th centuries around the shrine said to hold a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, with the finest glazed tilework in Samarkand. It is an active pilgrimage site. Dress modestly, go early morning for soft light, and walk quietly.
A shrine on the Afrosiab hill above the Siab stream, holding a sarcophagus about 18 meters long said to contain the relics of the Prophet Daniel, revered by Muslims, Christians and Jews. A spring with holy water flows below. It is peaceful and green; dress modestly and remove shoes where asked.
A simple 14th-century brick mausoleum near Gur-e-Amir, one of the oldest surviving buildings in Samarkand, built over the grave of a Sufi sheikh and said to hold hairs of the Prophet. Its plain dome contrasts with the tiled monuments nearby. It now houses craft shops and takes only a few minutes to see.
A huge mosque built by Timur in the early 15th century after his India campaign, once among the largest in the Islamic world, with soaring portals and domes partly restored after earthquakes. A giant marble Quran stand stands in the courtyard. It sits next to the Siyob Bazaar, so combine the two.
A small working mosque on a hill between Shah-i-Zinda and the Siyob Bazaar, with a carved wooden porch and painted ceilings, and the mausoleum of Uzbekistan's first president Islam Karimov next to it. The terrace gives views over Bibi-Khanym. Dress modestly and visit outside prayer times.
Samarkand's main market beside Bibi-Khanym, with halls of dried fruit, nuts, spices, sweets, fresh produce and the round Samarkand flatbread stamped with patterns. Vendors offer tastes freely. Bargain gently, try the dried apricots and halva, and come in the morning when it is busiest.
A museum on the site of ancient Samarkand, the city of Afrasiab destroyed by Genghis Khan, showing 7th-century Sogdian wall paintings of a royal procession with foreign ambassadors, along with ceramics and coins. The excavated hills lie around it. Allow an hour and walk part of the old city mounds.
The remains of the 15th-century observatory of the astronomer ruler Ulugh Beg, with the curved underground track of a giant meridian arc used to measure star positions with great accuracy, plus a small museum about his work. It is on a hill on the northeast side of the city and takes about an hour.
A recreated historic town within the modern Samarkand tourist complex, with streets of craft workshops, food stalls, performers and buildings in old Central Asian styles. It is lively in the evening with music and light shows. It is a touristy but fun outing; check opening hours and any entry fee locally.
A craft workshop in the village of Konigil just outside Samarkand, reviving traditional silk paper made from mulberry bark by water-powered wheels, set in a shaded garden by a stream. Visitors watch every step and can buy paper goods. It is a short taxi ride from the center and makes a calm half-day trip.
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