Samarkand

Uzbekistan

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

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

LightRocket via Getty Images

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.

Must-see attractions

Explore all

Get a book. Get inspired. Get exploring.

Explore all books