Samarkand and Bukhara: The Silk Road Cities That Survive

Uzbekistan opened significantly to tourism after 2016 when the government changed and visa restrictions eased. Since then the country has seen a substantial increase in visitors, 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 and early 2000s. They have good hotels, reliable restaurants, and improving transport connections. They have also, partially, been over-restored: some of the tilework in Samarkand in particular is so saturated and clean that it looks more like a film set than an ancient site.

None of this diminishes what these cities are. Samarkand is genuinely one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the architecture of Timur’s capital in the 14th century was deliberately designed to be the most impressive on earth. Bukhara’s old city is more intimate and more authentically inhabited than Samarkand’s restored showpieces. Together they make for one of the best ten days in Central Asia.

Samarkand

The city is 300 km west of Tashkent by the Afrosiyob high-speed train (2 hours, approximately $12-18 each way, book at uzrailpass.com or the station). The train passes through flat agricultural plain with the mountains appearing in the south as you approach.

Registan Square is the most photographed place in Uzbekistan. Three madrasahs face each other across a large open plaza: the Ulugbek Madrasah (1420), the Tilya-Kori Madrasah (1660), and the Sher-Dor Madrasah (1636). The scale and the quality of the mosaic tilework - geometric patterns in turquoise, cobalt, gold, and black - are extraordinary. Entry runs around $8-10 USD. The light is best in the morning; the square fills with tour groups from about 10:00 onward.

Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum (Tomb of Tamerlane) is where Timur himself is buried, alongside his sons and grandsons. The ribbed azure dome, restored to high gloss, is the architectural symbol of Timur’s Samarkand. The interior has an alabaster screen around the cenotaphs and carved walls covered in gold. The actual tombs are in a crypt below. Entry $5. Quieter than Registan and in some ways more atmospheric.

Shah-i-Zinda is a necropolis stretching up a slope at the northern edge of the old city: a narrow lane flanked by mausoleums from the 11th through 19th centuries, most with intact tilework of the highest quality. This is the site that most architecture students and art historians would rate highest in Samarkand - the variety and density of decorative approaches on adjacent buildings across different centuries is extraordinary. Entry $3. Go early morning; it fills up.

Bibi-Khanym Mosque, Timur’s grand congregational mosque, was partially ruined for centuries and has been heavily reconstructed. The scale is remarkable but the restoration is aggressive. Worth seeing for context but not the strongest architectural experience in the city.

One thing Samarkand does not have: a particularly authentic old city experience. The area around Registan was substantially cleared and reconstructed in the Soviet period. The fabric between the monuments is modern or reconstructed. For a genuine sense of a living old Islamic city, go to Bukhara.

Bukhara

Bukhara is 280 km west of Samarkand. Trains connect the two cities in about 3 hours. The old city here has been less aggressively restored than Samarkand and retains streets of inhabited merchant houses, workshops, and teahouses that give a sense of how the city has functioned continuously.

Kalon Minaret (1127) is the oldest major monument in Bukhara, a 45-metre brick tower with decorative brickwork bands. Genghis Khan reportedly spared it when he sacked the city in 1220 because he liked it. The Kalon Mosque beside it is active and entry is restricted around prayer times.

Lyab-i-Hauz is a pool surrounded by mulberry trees with three 16th-17th century buildings around it. The pool itself (lyab means “edge of” and hauz means “pool”) is one of the last remaining water reservoirs that once defined Bukhara’s urban landscape. It’s the social centre of the old city; locals play chess at tables beneath the trees in the afternoon.

Poi Kalon ensemble (the Kalon Mosque and adjacent Mir-i-Arab Madrasah) is a working religious complex; the madrasah still trains students. The exterior tilework of the madrasah, in pale blue and white, is quietly beautiful rather than overwhelming.

Ark Citadel, the ancient palace-fortress at the northwest edge of the old city, was mostly destroyed when the Russian Red Army bombarded it in 1920. What survives is the entrance gate section, a small museum inside, and the overall impression of what the structure was. Entry $3. The view from the gate section over the old city gives good context for the scale of the original settlement.

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

Where to Eat

Plov (pilaf) is the dish of Uzbekistan. In Samarkand, the best plov is traditionally served at lunch, cooked in massive cast-iron kazan pots over open fires. Osh Restaurant and several smaller teahouses near the old city serve plov for around 30,000-50,000 UZS ($2.50-4.50). The base: lamb, rice, carrots, onion, and fat. Variations include with quail eggs, dried fruit, or chickpeas.

Samsa (baked pastry filled with lamb, onion, and spices) and shashlik (lamb kebabs over charcoal) are available at every teahouse and from street grills throughout both cities. Budget $3-6 for a proper lunch at a teahouse.

In Bukhara, Lyab-i-Hauz restaurants (several line the pool) serve lagman (pulled noodle soup), mantu (steamed dumplings), and shurpa (lamb soup). Tourist-facing but reasonably priced at 60,000-100,000 UZS per person for a meal.

Where to Stay

Both cities have a growing number of good boutique hotels in restored merchant houses (called caravanserais). Hotel Orient Star in Samarkand, inside a 19th-century building near Registan, from around $80 per night. In Bukhara, Old City Hotel in a converted merchant house off Lyab-i-Hauz is from around $70. Both include breakfast.

Visas for most Western nationalities are either not required or processed on arrival/e-visa online. Check current requirements at mfa.uz before travelling.