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Samarkand

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UZBEKISTAN - 1993/01/01: Uzbekistan, Samarkand, Registan Square, Ulugbek Mosque, 15th Century, Detail. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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Overview

No name is as evocative of the Silk Road as Samarkand (Samarqand). For most people it has the mythical resonance of Zanzibar or Timbuktu, fixed in the Western popular imagination by imaginative poets and playwrights, few of whom saw the city in the flesh.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Registan square in Samarkand.

    Registan

    Samarkand

    This ensemble of majestic, tilting medressas – a near-overload of majolica, azure mosaics and vast, well-proportioned spaces – is the centrepiece of the…

  • SAMARKAND, UZBEKISTAN - AUGUST 28, 2016: Gur-E Amir Mausoleum, the tomb of the Asian conqueror Tamerlane or Timur, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan 571103800 amir, amir timur, ancient, architecture, art, asia, attraction, building, central asia, ceramic, city, culture, cupola, decoration, detail, dome, gur-e, gur-e amir, heritage, historic, holy, islam, islamic, landmark, madrasa, madrasah, majolica, mausoleum, minaret, monument, mosaic, mosque, muslim, old, oriental, ornament, pattern, religion, samarkand, samarqand, tamerlane, tile, timur, tomb, tourism, town, travel, unesco, uzbek, uzbekistan

    Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum

    Samarkand

    The beautiful portal and trademark fluted azure dome of the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum marks the final resting place of Timur (Tamerlane), along with two sons…

  • Decorative features of a mausoleum in the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis complex. 541333459 Decoration, Uzbekistan, Tile, Horizontal, Turquoise Colored, Tomb, Mausoleum, Samarkand, Close-up, Photography

    Shah-i-Zinda

    Samarkand

    Samarkand’s most moving and beloved site is this stunning avenue of mausoleums, which contains some of the richest tilework in the Muslim world. The name,…

  • Bibi-Khanym Mosque

    Bibi-Khanym Mosque

    Samarkand

    The enormous congregational Bibi-Khanym Mosque, northeast of the Registan, was financed from the spoils of Timur's invasion of India and must have been…

  • SAMARKAND, UZBEKISTAN - AUGUST 28, 2016: Detail of gold mosaic in Tilya Kori Madrasah in Samarkand, Uzbekistan; Shutterstock ID 567517564; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other: 567517564

    Tilla-Kari Medressa

    Samarkand

    On the northern side of the Registan is the Tilla-Kari (Gold-Covered) Medressa, completed in 1660, with a pleasant, gardenlike courtyard. The highlight…

  • Ulugbek Madrasa, Bukhara, Uzbekista, HDR Image; Shutterstock ID 1544294381; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other: 1544294381

    Ulugbek Medressa

    Samarkand

    The Ulugbek Medressa, on the western side of the Registan, is the square's original medressa, finished in 1420 under Ulugbek who is said to have taught…

  • View of Sher Dor Medressa - Registan - Samarkand - Uzbekistan; Shutterstock ID 189546986; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other: 189546986

    Sher Dor Medressa

    Samarkand

    The entrance portal of the Registan's Sher Dor (Lion) Medressa, opposite the Ulugbek Medressa and finished in 1636, is decorated with roaring felines that…

  • Afrosiab Museum

    Afrosiab Museum

    Samarkand

    The Afrosiab Museum was built around one of Samarkand’s more important archaeological finds, a chipped 7th-century fresco of the Sogdian King Varkhuman (r…

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