Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TRAIN
The brand new, super fast 'Afrosoiyob' bullet
train to Tashkent departs daily during the week
at 5pm (economy/business 51,000/68,000S,
2½ hours) and at 6pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Meanwhile the far cheaper 'Sharq' train leaves
Samarkand at 11.20am daily (economy/
business 27,000/41,000S, 3hrs 40 mins).
if you're heading to Bukhara (economy/
business 25,000/40,000S, 3hrs), the 'Sharq'
train originating in Tashkent rolls through Sa-
markand's station daily and departs at 11:55am.
There's also a cheaper but far slower and less
convenient overnight train to Bukhara (
plat-
skartny/kupeyny
12,000/20,000S) leaving at
2.11am each day, and arriving in Bukhara
at 7.15am.
The trains from Tashkent to Urgench, Termiz
and Kungrad via Nukus go via Samarkand.
The
train station
(
%
229 15 32; Rudaki) is
5km northwest of Navoi Park. Take any bus or
marshrutka that says '
Вокзал
', such as bus
22 or marshrutkas 3, 27, 35 or 72, from the
Registan
or
Bulvar stops
. You can buy train
tickets for a small commission at the Tourist
information Centre (p180) on Toshkent.
even further. Arrive at the crack of dawn for
the best selection.
While the bazaar is open every day, the
textile and jewellery section, located at the
back of the main bazaar, only happens on
Sunday and Wednesday, and to a lesser
extent on Saturday too. To get here from
Samarkand, take a shared taxi (5000S) or
marshrutka (3000S) from the Registan stop
(45 minutes).
Shakhrisabz (Shahrisabz)
%
75 / POP 75,000
Shakhrisabz is a small, un-Russified town
south of Samarkand, across the hills in the
Kashkadarya province, and is a lovely drive
from Samarkand with some spectacular
views. The town is a pleasant Uzbek back-
water and seems to be nothing special - un-
til you start bumping into the ruins dotted
around its backstreets, and the megaloma-
niac ghosts of a wholly different place mate-
rialise. This is Timur's hometown, and once
upon a time it probably put Samarkand it-
self in the shade. It's an interesting day trip
from Samarkand, and a good base for hiking
in the mountains.
Timur was born on 9 April 1336 into the
Barlas clan of local aristocrats, at the village
of Hoja Ilghar, 13km to the south. Ancient
even then, Shakhrisabz (called Kesh at the
time) was a kind of family seat. As he rose
to power, Timur gave it its present name
(Tajik for 'Green Town') and turned it into
an extended family monument. Most of its
current attractions were built here by Timur
(including a tomb intended for himself) or
his grandson Ulugbek.
1
¨Sights
Ak-Saray¨Palace¨
RUiN
(White Palace; admission free, access to staircase
3000S;
h
9am-6pm)
Just north of the centre,
Timur's summer palace has as much gran-
deur per square centimetre as anything in
Samarkand. There's actually nothing left of
it except bits of the gigantic, 38m-high
pis-
htak,
covered with gorgeous, unrestored
filigree-like mosaics. This crumbling relic,
blending seamlessly with everyday life,
will thrill critics of Samarkand's zealous
restoration efforts: indeed, coming here
will give you some idea of how Samarkand
would have looked a century ago.
Ak-Saray was probably Timur's most am-
bitious project - work began in 1380 and
8
Getting¨Around
TO/FROM THE AIRPORT
Marshrutka 56 goes from the airport to the
Registan marshrutka stop, while marshrutkas 10
and 60 and bus 45 go to the
Bulvar (
Бульвар
)
stop
near hotel Samarkand. A taxi from the
airport to the Registan will cost about 5000S, or
walk 500m out to the main road and pay 3000S.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Marshrutkas (600S) and buses (400S) run from
about 6am until 8pm or 9pm. To get between
the Registan stop and Navoi in the heart of the
downtown area take any vehicle marked
ГУМ
(gUM), such as bus 3, 22 or 32, or marshrutka 6
or 35. A taxi between the old town and new town
should cost 3000S, the minimum charge for
cabs in Samarkand.
Around Samarkand
Urgut
This town's
bazaar
is one of the best places
in the country to buy jewellery,
suzani
and
antique clothing. Prices are lower and the
quality is on par with anything sold in Sa-
markand and Bukhara, but you'll have to
negotiate hard. It overflows with tourists
in the high season - go in the low season
when tourists are scarce and prices drop
