Eternal City (Boqiy Shahar) in Silk Road Samarkand

In the early 2020s Uzbekistan built a new tourist district on the eastern side of Samarkand, beside the Siab and a new rowing canal. Called Silk Road Samarkand, it includes a congress centre, several large hotels, a sports and rowing area, landscaped promenades and the Eternal City. It hosted the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in September 2022, which was the deadline for its opening.

The district is designed for conference visitors, families and evening entertainment. It is clean, modern, walkable and well lit, with boats on the canal and fountains, quite different in atmosphere from the historic centre around the Registan.

The Eternal City is a walled ensemble in the complex built to look like an old town. Its domes, gates, lanes and courtyards draw on the architecture of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, using traditional materials and decorative styles. Inside there are workshops where craftsmen work and sell: ceramics, suzani embroidery, silk, carpets, wood carving, metalwork, miniature painting and musical instruments. Restaurants and cafés serve Uzbek and international food, and costumed performers stage street scenes, music and dance, especially in the evening.

The place is clearly a modern creation, but it is done with care, and for families or first-time visitors it offers an easy introduction to Uzbek crafts and food in one place.

It depends on what you like. If you have limited time in Samarkand, prioritise the real monuments: the Registan, Gur-Emir, Shah-i-Zinda, Bibi-Khanym and Afrasiyab. The Eternal City is a good evening addition, after the historic sites have closed, for a walk, dinner and a show. It is particularly popular with families with children and with travellers who enjoy shopping for crafts in a relaxed setting.

Architecture purists may find it artificial, and prices in shops and restaurants are higher than in the bazaar. Visitors staying in the complex’s hotels will find it on their doorstep.

Silk Road Samarkand is about 15 minutes by taxi from the Registan. The Eternal City usually charges an entrance fee, and opening hours run into the evening, which is when it is most lively. Performance schedules and some workshops vary by season, so ask at the entrance what is on. The promenades along the canal are free to walk and pleasant at sunset. Several restaurants in the complex have terraces facing the water.

A good plan for one day in Samarkand: morning at Shah-i-Zinda and Bibi-Khanym, midday at Siab Bazaar and Gur-Emir, late afternoon at the Registan, then a taxi to Silk Road Samarkand for a walk along the canal, dinner and the Eternal City in the evening. If you stay longer, return to the Registan another evening for the illuminated facades and the light show.

The workshops are the most rewarding part of the Eternal City. Look for potters working in the blue and turquoise style of Rishtan and the brown and yellow of Gijduvan, embroiderers stitching suzani by hand, weavers of ikat silk from the Fergana Valley, and woodcarvers making the lattice screens and carved columns seen in old mosques. Many craftsmen are happy to demonstrate and explain their technique even if you do not buy. Compare quality and prices with what you see in the madrasah shops of the Registan and at Siab Bazaar before deciding.