Visited this site in September 2018 as part of weekend trip to Tajikistan. It took approximately 3 hours to cover 250 km through picturesque Zaravshan river valley (nomination for 2020 as part of Silk Roads: Zarafshan Corridor) to the site. Sarazm was already inhabited over 5,000 years ago (and this lasted for 1,500 years) and is one of the most ancient cultural place on the earth. It doesn’t look much remarkably: there are five covered archeological digs with clay structures. I was trying to identify the place with round structure looking very similar to small Roman theatre located in Excavation V (this view is featured in a number of old photos as the postcard of the site), but currently there is nothing left resembling this structure, probably it was covered with clay for preservation purpose somehow. The site was discovered only in 1976. Tiny on-site museum has some basic finds and photos of presidential visits to the site. Going back to Dushanbe I also visited ancient Penjinkent ruins, where many Sogdian frescos were found (and moved to Saint Petersburg’s Hermitage). As per the guide, more frescos were identified on-site by the recent dig-outs; they have been conserved and will be unearthed during next season.