About Samarkand

Samarkand is the city that is the bejewelled crown of the Silk Road, a rhapsody of ornate Islamic architecture with turquoise domes and soaring tiled minarets. It's one of the twin pillars of the Samarkand through Bukhara region of Uzbekistan, and a must-see destination. With a population of 585,000 in 2024 and as many again in the broader metropolis, much of Samarkand is blandly modern, but its extensive Old Town has been well-preserved, and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Source: Wikipedia

Essential Information

Currency

Uzbekistani soʻm (UZS)

Symbol: so'm

Language

Russian

Also: Uzbek

Phone Code

+998

International dialing code for Uzbekistan

Driving

Drive on the right

Standard for Uzbekistan

Region

Asia

Central Asia

Connectivity

As of Nov 2024, Samarkand and its approach highways have 4G from all Uzbek carriers, and city centre has 5G from Uzmobile.

How to Get to Samarkand

Transportation options and arrival information

39.696666.99091Samarkand Airport(SKDIATA),☏+998 66 232 3659.This has daily flights from Moscow (several airports), Saint Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi, less often from Almaty, Istanbul and Abu Dhabi.Uzbekistan Airwaysare the main carrier. Domestic flights have withered since the trains improved, but twice a week the flight between Nukus and Tashkent calls here. You can also fly with Centrum Air to Urgench (Khiva). The airport was rebuilt in 2021 so it's clean and spacious. It's only 6 km north of

Getting Around Samarkand

Local transportation and navigation tips

The main sights of Samarkand are in two nearby clusters: Gur-i Amir and the Registan, and Bibi-Khanym Mosque, Shah-i Zinda, and Afrosiyab. It's simplest to walk between all of these. Take a bus or taxi for sights further out, such as Ulugh-Beg Observatory 2 km beyond Afrosiyab.