Samarkand and Bukhara: The Silk Road Cities That Survive

Uzbekistan opened significantly to tourism after 2016 when the government changed and visa restrictions eased. The country has seen substantial visitor growth since then, and the infrastructure in both Samarkand and Bukhara has developed accordingly. These cities are no longer the challenging off-the-beaten-path destinations they were in the 1990s. They have good hotels, reliable restaurants, and the Afrosiyob high-speed train connecting Tashkent-Samarkand-Bukhara at reasonable prices.

Some of the restoration work, particularly on Samarkand’s tilework, has been so thorough that certain monuments look more like reconstructions than ancient sites. This is a legitimate criticism. It does not change what these cities are fundamentally: Samarkand was one of the great capitals of the medieval world, and Bukhara’s old city is the most intact example of a traditional Central Asian Islamic urban fabric still in existence.

Samarkand

From Tashkent: the Afrosiyob high-speed train covers the 300km in about 2 hours for approximately $12-18 each way. Book at uzrailpass.com or at the station.

Registan Square is the most photographed place in Uzbekistan. Three madrasahs face each other across a large plaza: the Ulugbek Madrasah (1420), the Sher-Dor Madrasah (1636), and the Tilya-Kori Madrasah (1660). The geometric mosaic tilework in turquoise, cobalt, gold, and black is extraordinary in scale and quality. Entry around $8-10 USD. Light is best before 10am; tour groups arrive from 10am onward.

Shah-i-Zinda, a necropolis at the northern edge of the old city with a lane of mausoleums spanning the 11th through 19th centuries, is the site most architects and art historians would rate highest in Samarkand. The variety of decorative approaches in adjacent buildings from different centuries is remarkable. Entry $3. Go early.

Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum: Timur is buried here under a ribbed azure dome. The interior has carved alabaster screens around the cenotaphs and gold-worked walls. Entry $5. Quieter than Registan and more atmospheric.

What Samarkand does not have: an authentic old city experience between the monuments. The Soviet period cleared much of the historic fabric. For a genuine Islamic old city, go to Bukhara.

Bukhara

280km west of Samarkand, about 3 hours by train.

Kalon Minaret (1127): a 45-metre brick tower with decorative bands. Genghis Khan reportedly spared it in 1220 because he admired it. The oldest major monument in Bukhara and the most visually direct.

Lyab-i-Hauz: a pool surrounded by mulberry trees with 16th-17th century buildings on three sides. One of the last surviving water reservoirs that defined Bukhara’s urban landscape; the others were filled in. Locals play chess at tables under the trees in the afternoon. This is the social centre of the old city and the most pleasant place in Bukhara to spend an hour.

Shah-i-Zinda’s counterpart here is the Poi Kalon ensemble: the Kalon Mosque and adjacent Mir-i-Arab Madrasah, a working religious complex that still trains students. The pale blue and white tilework of the madrasah exterior is quietly beautiful.

Chor Minor (Four Minarets, 1807): a small portal building with four corner towers in different tile patterns, eccentric and charming, 10 minutes from Lyab-i-Hauz in a quieter part of the old city.

Where to Eat

Plov (pilaf) is the dish of Uzbekistan: lamb, rice, carrots, onion, and fat cooked in cast-iron kazan pots. In Samarkand, plov is traditionally served at lunch. Around 30,000-50,000 UZS ($2.50-4.50) at local teahouses near the old city.

Shashlik (lamb kebabs over charcoal) and samsa (baked lamb pastry) are available from street grills and teahouses throughout both cities at $1-2 per piece. Budget $3-6 for a proper teahouse lunch.

Where to Stay

Hotel Orient Star in Samarkand, in a 19th-century building near Registan, runs around $80 per night with breakfast. In Bukhara, Old City Hotel in a converted merchant house off Lyab-i-Hauz is from around $70. Both are boutique properties in restored historic buildings rather than international chain hotels, which is the correct choice here.

Visas for most Western nationalities are either not required or available as e-visas online. Check current requirements at mfa.uz before travelling.