Samarkand Travel Guide

Samarkand is a dazzling historic city in the Zerafshan Valley of eastern Uzbekistan, on the Silk Road, with over 2,500 years of history. It was the glorious capital of the Trans-Eurasian Timurid Empire, and its many grand Islamic buildings adorned with blue domes and gorgeous mosaic tiles are listed as a World Heritage Site. The climate is most pleasant in spring (Apr–May) and autumn (Sep–Oct), while midsummer is scorching. It reached its zenith in the 14th–15th centuries under Timur and Ulugh Beg. The core is Registan Square, the pinnacle of Central Asian architecture — three grand madrasahs facing one another, entirely covered in blue, gold and green mosaic tiles, with towering arches and minarets, resplendent. There is also Timur's ribbed blue-domed Gur-e Amir Mausoleum, the Bibi-Khanym Mosque, the blue-domed Shah-i-Zinda necropolis and Ulugh Beg's Observatory. Mosques and mausoleums are solemn, so dress modestly.