Writer: Helena Bergström
When you visit Uzbekistan, you won’t want to miss Samarkand – the city of fairytales and one of the country’s biggest attractions. We got here on the Afrosiyob high-speed train and had just under two days to explore the city.
Arrived in Samarkand – the city of fairy tales
We arrived by train from Zomin National Park and the train journey from Dashtobod station took no more than an hour. If we had gone all the way from Tashkent, we would have expected a 2.5 hour round trip.
Samarkand welcomed us – with a local festival
We visited Uzbekistan on a press trip and when we arrived in Samarkand there were eight writers from Sweden, Norway and France. When we jumped into the minivan that drove up, there were twelve of us. To our surprise, four Spanish writers were waiting in the car.
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Our local guides took us straight to a local festival. We didn’t know what to expect, but when a fellow traveler asked at the end of the trip what we liked most about the whole week, it was actually this festival that I immediately mentioned…
The local festival, usually organized once a year, was held on the outskirts of the city and, as we understood, it was intended to showcase products from local producers, along with music and dancing. The small stalls displayed, among other things, vegetables, clothes, wine and cognac (or perhaps rather “cognac”) – a drink that turned out to be very tasty and of which we bought a bottle a little later in the trip.
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We were probably the only outcasts at this local little festival, and the most amazing thing happened as we approached the tables of people dressed up and partying. They immediately welcomed us by offering us nuts, dried fruits and other goodies, and immediately invited us to dance. This was a wonderful moment, full of joy and laughter, that we will soon forget.
Registan – Samarkand’s main attraction
Once we felt like we were done with the festival, we spent two days exploring the amazing sights of Samarkand, several of which are included in the UNESCO Heritage Site “Samarkand – Crossroads of Cultures”.
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Registan, the historic square in Samarkand, is the city’s biggest attraction. There are three so-called “madrasas”, i.e. historic Islamic educational institutions, and the area is incredibly grand and beautiful.
You can stroll through the different courtyards and be fascinated by the architecture, mosaics and colors.
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Registan in the evening – with a spectacular light show
If you want to have an extraordinary experience, you can go to Registan in the evening. In high season, a light show is shown here every evening at 8 p.m. For 50 minutes, the buildings are illuminated and different stories come to life, using both visual effects and dramatic storytelling.
Shakh-i-Zinda – “The Living King”
Another interesting place to visit in Samarkand is Shakh-i-Zinda, which means ‘the living king’. The complex, which was built from the 11th to the 19th century, includes more than twenty mighty mausoleums. Several important people are buried here, such as the preacher Kusam ibn Abbas and several relatives of Timur Lenk.
Besides being a sacred and historically important place, it is also an incredibly beautiful setting, and it’s hard to stop taking photos when you’re here.
The mausoleum of Amir Timur
Another important place to visit in Samarkand is the mausoleum of Amir Timur. Amir Temur, or Timur Lenk as he is commonly called in Swedish, was born in 1336 in what is now Uzbekistan and was a successful yet ruthless Turko-Mongol warlord. During his time in power, he expanded Timurid territory so that it reached from modern-day Turkey to India, in an attempt to recreate Genghis Khan’s former empire.
On the way to China, Amir Timur died of pneumonia and was taken back to Samarkand, where he was buried. And yes, today this is both an interesting and beautiful sight!
More sights in Samarkand
In addition to these sights, there is much more to see in Samarkand and we were able to visit the Ulug Beg observatory, among other things. Ulug Beg, born in 1394, was known as the most important astronomer of his time and compiled a star catalog with no fewer than 1018 stars.
We also explored St. Daniel’s Mausoleum. Saint Daniel, who is also called Khoja Daniyar or Dānīyyēʾl depending on religion, is buried on the outskirts of Samarkand, next to a holy water spring.
Samarkand Bukhara silk carpets
We also went to the Samarkand Bukhara Silk Carpets – a visit that was greatly appreciated by everyone in the group. Once located along the famous Silk Road, Samarkand is known for its carpets and silk products. At Samarkand Bukhara Silk Carpets, visitors are given an introduction to the production process and techniques, which is very interesting.
Anyone who wants can also shop, and some of our group left with beautiful shawls.
Turistbyn Konigil
We also had time to visit the tourist village of Konigil, where, among other things, it is shown how paper was made in the past. Paper is still made by hand to some extent today for craft products such as postcards, decorations and dolls.
Konigil is located relatively centrally in Samarkand and is at the same time picturesque with rippling water and greenery. When we were there, a little while later they were preparing for a show, which meant we saw lots of people dressed in beautiful traditional clothing, and eager to pose for photos!
Restaurant visit in Samarkand
During our two days in Samarkand we had two lunches and two dinners. As we described earlier, restaurants in Uzbekistan are somewhat different from restaurants in our part of the world: the buildings are often large and often generously furnished, and the groups that visit the restaurants are often large. It seems that people like to go to restaurants in groups – and dancing is very popular too!
Shashlik UZ
A restaurant that we found very cozy was Shashlik UZ, where you can sit both outside and inside.
Here we ate a salad with vegetables and meat and a dish with zucchini as a starter. Lamb, beef and chicken were served as the main course.
Ashkand
On another occasion we ate at Oshqand restaurant, and here we all tried the national dish plov. This immensely popular dish is common must you eat at least once when you visit Uzbekistan. The dish consists of rice along with oil, meat and vegetables, such as carrots and chickpeas.
Manhattan
One evening we had dinner at the Manhattan restaurant in Samarkand.
As usual, the meal started with several tasty salads.
We ordered beer to drink, which is usually fine in Uzbekistan, although it may not be clearly marked and not always on the menus. In this case we were served the beer in large plastic bottles, as it is sold from kegs, through vendors around town. For the main course there was a large communal tray of beef, lamb, chicken and minced beef patties.
Afro-white
The very last meal in Samarkand, before we had to rush to catch a late evening train, was enjoyed at the Afrosiyob restaurant. Here there was a Greek salad as a starter and a brothy soup with meatballs and noodles, before a shared tray of meat was brought in.
Do you think there is a lot of meat served in Uzbekistan? Yes, that is an accurate representation. Uzbeks Love meat. If you are a vegetarian, you will find vegetarian salads, vegetable or lentil soups, bread, pierogies, dumplings and fried dumplings filled with, for example, spinach or pumpkin. However, keep in mind that there is often meat in everything (including soups, salads and pies), so be clear when ordering.
Where did we stay in Samarkand?
During our visit to Samarkand we stayed at the De Villa Hotel, a nice hotel that is central and well located.
The train continued towards… Bukhara!
We spent just two days in Samarkand and we can highly recommend this historically interesting and fabulously beautiful city! From our side the train now continued, from Samarkand to Bukhara. To be continued!
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