Gur Emir
Shir-Dor Madrasah
Shakhi Zinda Necropolis
Samarkand, the capital of ancient Sogdiana, is one of the oldest cities in the world, of the same age as Rome, Athens and Babylon. It is 2750 centuries old. During those centuries the city has survived many great and dramatic events. Samarkand saw Sakas and Massagaetas, Persians and Greeks, Turks and Arab commanders and hordes of Genghis Khan. Under Amir Timur’s governing Samarkand became the capital of his huge Empire. The Great Silk Road went through the city. Famous scientists and poets of the Medieval Orient lived and created their masterpieces in Samarkand. The city is in the picturesque valley of the Zerafshan River and this geographical location gave Samarkand (formerly also known as Maracanda) an advantage over other cities of Central Asia.
The exact antiquity of Samarkand is hard to establish. Originally Samarkand occupied the Mount of Afrosiab that rises to the north of modern Samarkand. The city grew and expanded its borders. It was one of the flourishing satrapies of the Achaemenid Empire from about 6th century BC. Alexander the Great led his marching armies in 329-28 BC to assert his claim over the lost provinces of the Achaemenids. Passing through the remnant of Hellenic Dynasties, Samarkand was captured by the Sassanids under whom the arts and crafts flourished.
After the invasion of Arabs in the 7th century AD a new era of Samarkand began. Existence of Samarkand as one of the cultural centers of Islamic world gave a push to further development of culture and art in whole of the area of Movarounnahr. When the Mongols captured Samarkand the ancient water supply system was destroyed, and the life in the city collapsed. It took a whole century to recover from the after-effects of the Mongol invasion. The plundered and destroyed Samarkand was rebuilt on the site of one of its former suburbs.
During the reign of Amir Timur (Tamerlane) Samarkand enjoyed its best times as the capital of three continents. Timur’s successful campaigns to Persia brought master craftsmen and builders to the area, who contributed to the glorious era when Samarkand was beheld bedecked with the most beautiful monuments of finest architecture in the form of mosques, madrasahs, gardens and mausoleums. According to Timur’s idea, Samarkand was intended to overshadow all capitals of the world by its grandeur and beauty.
The grandson of Timur, Ulugbek, ruled there until 1449 and made Samarkand the intellectual centre. However, the rise of nomadic Uzbeks spelt the end of Timurid power and Samarkand’s prosperity. When the Uzbek Shaybanids moved their capital to Bukhara, Samarkand was left doomed to decline until the Bukhara Emir repopulated it in the 1770s.
In May 1868 Russian Tsarist army overtook the city and Samarkand was annexed to the Russian Empire. In 1924-1930 Samarkand was the capital of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic.
Sightseeing and excursion
Samarkand City Tour SK1 – half-day
Gur Emir, a mausoleum (1404-1420) in which rests Amir Timur and many other members of his dynasty, constitutes a perfect and fine sample of Timurid architecture; simplicity and harmony of shapes and sumptuously decorated interior (papier-mache painted in blue and gold).
Registan Square, known from the 13th century as a bazaar square was the centre of trade and cultural life in medieval Samarkand. It is surrounded by three madrasahs built in different periods: Ulugbek Madrasah, Shir-Dor Madrasah and Tillya-Kari Madrasah.
Ulugbek Madrasah was built between 1417-1420 by order of Ulugbek, a grandson of Timur. This monumental madrasah with portal decorated with five and ten-pointed stars and spirals of majolica was the greatest university of Central Asia in the 15th century.
Shir-Dor Madrasah is the mirror attraction of Ulugbek Madrasah. Portal is decorated with mosaic tigers and gazelles. It was built in the 17th century, 200 years after Ulugbek Madrasah was erected.
Tillya-Kari Madrasah (built 1660) is the third madrasah on Registan Square. It has a mosque with golden paintings inside. It was built by the order of ruler Bakhodir Yalangtush, 10 years after the Shir-Dor Madrasah.
Bibi Khanum Mosque, once the biggest mosque in Central Asia, it was erected by order of Tamerlane after his victorious Indian campaign in 1399. The architects, artists, craftsmen from all the countries conquered by Tamerlane took part in the construction of the mosque.
Bibi Khanum Mausoleum is the last resting-place of the eldest wife of Tamerlane – Saroy Mulk Khanum. It is situated opposite Bibi Khanum Mosque.
Code: SK1 – half-day Samarkand
Per Person US Dollar
Your private tours include: pick-up from your hotel, tour guide, enterance fees to museum.
Number of person
Medium car (Nexia)
Large car (Lacetti)
Minivan
Book now
1
$79
$85
–
Reserve
2
$48
$51
–
Reserve
5 to 10
–
–
$34
Reserve
Discount: 15% If you buy two half day tours on the same day.
Samarkand City Tour SK2 – half-day
Shakhi Zinda Necropolis, a site of pilgrimage visited since the 11th century and marked by holiness. It consists of about 20 mausoleums of different centuries built between 11th – 19th centuries. The complex appeared around the grave of Kusam ibn Abbas – the cousin of Prophet Muhammad who it is said to have come to Samarkand in the 8th century. There one can see the finest samples of majolica, mosaic and terracotta tile work.
Ulugbek’s Observatory. On the outskirts of Samarkand on the hill of Kuhak there were discovered the remains of Ulugbek’s Observatory (the 15th century), with astronomical instrument, the sextant. In this observatory Ulugbek and other scholars had compiled the famous astronomical catalogue “Tables of Kuragany” with description of 1018 stars and planets.
Afrosiab Site & Museum. It is the area of 220 hectares mostly hilly surrounded by a moat. Here was situated ancient Afrosiab (old name of Samarkand). It had existed from the 8th century BC till the 13th AD. Now archaeologists continuously conduct here excavations. The museum displays the model of ancient city and fortress walls, pottery, weaponry, coinage, altars and most of all the mural painting of the 7th century.
Code: SK2 – half-day Samarkand
Per Person US Dollar
Your private tours include: pick-up from your hotel, tour guide, enterance fees to museum.
Number of person
Medium car (Nexia)
Large car (Lacetti)
Minivan
Book now
1
$79
$85
–
Reserve
2
$48
$51
–
Reserve
5 to 10
–
–
$34
Reserve
Discount: 15% If you buy two half day tours on the same day.
Samarkand City Tour SK3 – half-day
Museum of local studies. The collection established in 1874 is extensive and well displayed. The ground floor houses modern paintings and early Soviet posters. Archaeological exhibits on the first floor include vessels and ossuaries (clay boxes for bones) from Afrosiab, plus fully painted copies of its fragmented murals and replicas of finds from ancient Bactria, such as the Kushan Ayrtam frieze, a limestone sculpture of an Indo-European culture. Other treasures are Tamerlane’s wooden coffin and the 19th-century Koran.
Museum of Regional Studies is in the former house of Bukharan Jewish millionaire Abraham Kalantarov. Museum houses exhibits from Palaeolithic age to Sovietization period. Other halls display flora and fauna. The highlight is a richly coloured reception hall decorated in Islamic style.
Khodja Abdi Darun and Birun Mausoleums. Shrine complex is associated with the name of the 9th-century Arab jurist Abd al-Mazeddin. Seljuk Sultan Sanjar erected this mausoleum in the 12th century, rebuilt by Ulugbek in the 15th century.
Khodja Akhrar Complex consists of Nodir Devanbegi madrasah (1630-1635) and Khodja Akhrar Mosque(17th-20th cc) built around the grave of Sheikh Khodja Akhrar(1404-1490), leader of Nakshbandi dervish order and dominant political figure after death of Ulugbek.
Ishrat Khana Mausoleum. Legend suggests one of the wives of Tamerlane built it as her tomb, but the construction was so beautiful that it became a palace. The name of mausoleum means the House of Joy.
Tomb of Daniel. The remains of the Hebrew saint were brought from Persia by Tamerlane and buried in Samarkand allegedly for protection of the city from different misfortunes. Above the grave there is a massive tombstone and it was believed that even in death Daniel grew half an inch every year (he will rise again when he reaches a certain size) and thus his grave was enlarged annually.
Code: SK3 – half-day Samarkand
Per Person US Dollar
Your private tours include: pick-up from your hotel, tour guide, enterance fees to museum.
Number of person
Medium car (Nexia)
Large car (Lacetti)
Minivan
Book now
1
$79
$85
–
Reserve
2
$48
$51
–
Reserve
5 to 10
–
–
$34
Reserve
Discount: 15% If you buy two half day tours on the same day.
Samarkand City Tour SK4 – half-day
Imam Ismail Al-Bukhari Memorial Complex. Highly respected scientist of the Islamic world, mukhaddis (collector of sayings of prophet Mokhammed and stories about him) Imam Ismail Al-Bukhari was born in Bukhara in 810 and died in 870 in the village of Khartang and was buried at the same place (Chelak district of the present Samarkand province located 30 km from Samarkand). Since then the burial place has been one of the most sacred sites of worship for Moslems.
The Memorial Complex was created in 1998 to commemorate the 1225th anniversary (according to the Moslem calendar) of Imam Al-Bukhari.
Carpet Factory is situated in the old quarter of Samarkand and run by Turkmens. Factory was built in the beginning of the 20th century and was named Khudjum (attack), symbolizing new way of women’s life of Bolshevik regime. Now several hundred girls make handknotted natural silk and wool carpets of famous “Bukhara” and other Eastern designs, using only natural dyes.
Code: SK4 – half-day Samarkand
Per Person US Dollar
Your private tours include: pick-up from your hotel, tour guide, enterance fees to museum.
Number of person
Medium car (Nexia)
Large car (Lacetti)
Minivan
Book now
1
$79
$85
–
Reserve
2
$48
$51
–
Reserve
5 to 10
–
–
$34
Reserve
Discount: 15% If you buy two half day tours on the same day.
Gur Emir
Shir-Dor Madrasah
Shakhi Zinda Necropolis
Samarkand, the capital of ancient Sogdiana, is one of the oldest cities in the world, of the same age as Rome, Athens and Babylon. It is 2750 centuries old. During those centuries the city has survived many great and dramatic events. Samarkand saw Sakas and Massagaetas,
Ak-Sarai
Shakhrisabz (Green town) is a small town to the south of Samarkand, lying across the hills in Kashka-Darya province. This is Timur’s hometown and once upon a time it had probably put Samarkand itself in the shadow.
In the early 7th century Chinese Buddhist traveller Huen Tsang visited the Sogdian town of Kesh (Shakhrisabz). This city saw the Arab and Mongol invasions. By 1336, the year of Timur’s birth, Kesh and its dependencies were his father’s patrimony (the Barlas clan). As Timur rose to power he gave it its present name and turned it into an extended family monument. In the reign of Timur Shakhrisabz became his residence.
But in the late 16th century the Ruler of Bukhara destroyed much of the Timurid legacy. Shakhrisabz retained semi-independence from Bukhara till the 19th century. In 1870 the Tsarist army stormed the town. While the Soviet era brought great change to the appearance of Shakhrisabz, the town has preserved a rich store of history in legends and architecture. One enjoys a relaxed Uzbek atmosphere in its mosques, teahouses and traditional homes.
Sightseeing and excursion
Shakhrisabz City Tour SZ1 – half-day
Ak-Sarai (literally the “White Palace”, built in 1379-1409) is the greatest palace of Tamerlane built by artisans of Khorezm after he destroyed Kunya Urgench and dispatched its masters in 1379. Of this grandiose palace, there remain only the ruins of the 50 metre-high portal, flanked by two 50 metre-high towers covered with glazed bricks.
Dorut Tilovat (the House of meditation) is the 14th century complex of Kok Gumboz mosque (1437), madrasah and mausoleums of Shamsiddin Kulol (1374) – a Sufi master, Amir Taraghay – Tamerlane’s father and four Termez Sayeds – descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. Kok Gumboz Mosque (Blue Dome) was completed by Ulugbek in 1437 in honour of his father Shah Rukh (Timur’s son).
Dorus Siodat (Seat of Power and Might) is the family crypt of the Timurids with the graves of two sons of Tamerlane (Jehangir and Umar Sheikh) and Khazrati Imam Mosque of the 19th century.
Code: SZ1 – half-day Shakhrisabz
Per Person US Dollar
Your private tours include: pick-up from your hotel, tour guide, enterance fees to museum.
Number of person
Medium car (Nexia)
Large car (Lacetti)
Book now
1
$68
$74
Reserve
2
$37
$40
Reserve
Discount: 15% If you buy two half day tours on the same day.
Shakhrisabz City Tour SZ2 – full-day
Ak-Sarai (literally the “White Palace”, built in 1379-1409) is the greatest palace of Tamerlane built by artisans of Khorezm after he destroyed Kunya Urgench and dispatched its masters in 1379. Of this grandiose palace, there remain only the ruins of the 50 metre-high portal, flanked by two 50 metre-high towers covered with glazed bricks. Above the entry of the Ak-Saray are big letters saying: “If you challenge our power – look at our buildings!”
Dorut Tilovat (the House of meditation) is the 14th century complex of Kok Gumboz mosque (1437), madrasah and mausoleums of Shamsiddin Kulol (1374) – a Sufi master, Amir Taraghay – Tamerlane’s father and four Termez Sayeds – descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. Kok Gumboz Mosque (Blue Dome) was completed by Ulugbek in 1437 in honour of his father Shah Rukh (Timur’s son).
Dorus Siodat (Seat of Power and Might) is the family crypt of the Timurids with the graves of two sons of Tamerlane (Jehangir and Umar Sheikh) and Khazrati Imam Mosque of the 19th century.
“Tomb of Timur” Behind the Hazrat-i Imam Emsemble is a bunker with a door leading to an underground chamber, discovered by archaeologists in 1943. The room is nearly filled with a single stone casket, on which inscriptions indicate that it was intended for Timur. However, the conqueror was buried in Samarkand, not at Shahrisabz, and mysteriously, his tomb in Shahrisabz contained two unidentified corpses.
“Khudjum” Souvenir Factory is specialised mainly on the famous colorful cross-stitch Iroki embroidery of Shakhrisabz.
Also of interest are medieval baths and an 18th century bazaar.
“Katta Langar” – It’s a village on foothills of Hissar range with untouched nature. There is a Friday Mosque built in 1520 and restored in 1807. There is a Langar Ata Mazar – mausoleum of famous local sheik Mohammed Sadyk (d. 1545). Picturesque view of this place will provide unforgettable impressions.
Code: SZ2 – full-day Shakhrisabz
Per Person US Dollar
Your private tours include: pick-up from your hotel, tour guide, enterance fees to museum.
Number of person
Medium car (Nexia)
Large car (Lacetti)
Book now
1
$104
$117
Reserve
2
$55
$61
Reserve
Ak-Sarai
Shakhrisabz (Green town) is a small town to the south of Samarkand, lying across the hills in Kashka-Darya province. This is Timur’s hometown and once upon a time it had probably put Samarkand itself in the shadow.
In the early 7th century Chinese Buddhist traveller Huen Tsang visited the Sogdian town
