Looking at the places on my "to visit" list, Samarkand is the one that made the list first and stayed there the longest. My late aunt sometime in the 80s (or 90s?), had been to Uzbekistan and told me some mythical stories about her visit to Samarkand. I can't remember many details, but I think she was a bit challenged regarding customs and hygiene. In any case, I got Fernweh for the place: Wanting to go to Samarkand has stayed with me ever since.

I had planned to visit in 2020 but then Covid hit. Now, in 2022, I felt was the time to follow up.

Samarkand is a bustling city. It's not frozen in time, but modern Uzbekistan's second largest city. There are plenty of mosques, madrasahs and mausoleums spread across the city, with the Registan as the centre piece. But there is no old town to see.

The main tourist axis runs from the Registan via the Bibi-Khanum Mosque to the Schahi-Sinda complex. These are the highlights of any visit to Samarkand. There is a nice pedestrian zone connecting all sites and this is where most tourists congregate. Unlike Bukhara, Samarkand very much feels like an Uzbek city with locals being in the majority.

Other main components of the site are:

• Ulug Begs Observatory: You can take a cab or just walk from the Schahi-Sinda complex. Personally, I found that too little remains to appreciate the site much. When walking you can also visit the Chodscha-Doniyor-Mausoleum dedicated to the Prophet Daniel. Not sure how he ventured this far East, though.
• Afrasiyab Archaeological Area: The ruins of the predecessor city of Samarkand burnt down by the Mongols. State of preservation and presentation is poor. I was walking across scrubs and had no idea where to. I feel this should not (yet) be on the list and if this should be a separate inscription. The onsite museum shows original painting found on the site. Views of Samarkand were nice, though.
• Gur-Emir-Mausoleum: Timur's mausoleum, a bit south of the Registan. The burial room is splendid. While Uzbeks celebrate Timur's success as a conqueror, it has to be said that he murdered in the millions and that Samarkand was built on the spoils of horrific wars.

Two more components are listed, but seemingly nobody made the effort previously to visit: the Hodscha-Abd-ad-Darun-Mausoleum and the Namazgah mosque. Me neither, so I can't comment.

In addition, the inscription refers to 19th century buildings in the abstract. Check the map to get a feeling how much of the city is inscribed. When I went looking for drinks (there are several pubs behind the Dynamo football stadium), I saw Mirzo Ulugbek Street, but wasn't much impressed. Indeed, the nomination itself does not refer in detail to any building from the 19th century of note.

I think this is the type of nomination that could have used some streamlining. I think it should have focussed on the Timurid heyday. Afrasiyab in its current state should not have been included. If this ever gets improved, I think it would make a nice separate site. The 19th century buildings are laughable and should simply be struck.

Getting There

There are some international flights to Samarkand, but the connections are limited. Most visitors will enter Uzbekistan via Tashkent. From Tashkent you can take a bullet train to Samarkand (around 2h) or a slower train (4h). Note that the train station in Samarkand is on the outskirts of town and due to security, you need to arrive early. Also, you should reserve a train ticket early. One week prior the bullet train was already fully booked.

To travel on to Bukhara you can also take a bullet train. But my recommendation would be to get a driver and tick off Shakhrisyabz along the way.

While You Are There

Shakhrisyabz is nearby and an easy half day trip or (even better) a good stop when travelling to Bukhara. Several Silk Roads (T) sites are nearby, the closest being the Kafirkala settlement just on the outskirts of town, but don't expect much. With a little more time I would have made the trip to see the Nestorian temple ruins at Suleimantepa.

Crossing into Tajikistan as a day trip is possible with most western passports, so you can visit Sarazm. I took a cab to the border, then crossed, exchanged 5$ and walked to the site.