Konigil: the Samarkand paper workshop

Paper reached the Islamic world through Samarkand. According to a widely repeated tradition, Chinese papermakers taken prisoner after the Battle of Talas in 751, where Arab and Chinese armies met in the Tien Shan foothills, taught the craft to the people of Samarkand. Historians debate the details, but Samarkand certainly became famous for its paper in the following centuries, and the technique spread from there to Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo and eventually to Europe.

Samarkand paper was prized for its smooth, durable surface, which took ink well and was polished to a soft sheen. It was used for manuscripts, official documents and calligraphy across the Islamic world. With the arrival of industrial paper in the 19th century the craft died out completely.

In the 1990s and 2000s a group of local craftsmen, led by the master Zarif Mukhtarov, set out to revive the old method. Working from historical descriptions and experiments, they rebuilt a water-powered mill on a channel of the Siab and began making paper again. The workshop, often called Meros (“heritage”), received international support and is now one of the most popular craft visits around Samarkand.

The raw material is the young bark of mulberry branches, the same trees whose leaves feed silkworms. A visit usually follows the process:

1. Stripping and boiling. The inner bark is separated from the outer skin and boiled for hours until soft.
2. Pounding. The boiled fibres are beaten into pulp by heavy wooden hammers driven by the water wheel, a rhythmic sound that fills the workshop.
3. Forming sheets. The pulp is mixed with water in a vat, and a craftsman lifts it out on a fine mesh frame, shaking it to spread the fibres evenly.
4. Pressing and drying. The wet sheets are pressed to remove water and dried on boards in the sun.
5. Polishing. Each sheet is rubbed with a smooth stone or shell to give it the characteristic glossy surface that resists ink spreading.

The finished paper is strong, slightly textured and, the makers say, can last for centuries.

The Konigil complex has grown into a small open-air crafts village. Depending on the season you may also see a traditional oil press, pottery, a carpenter’s workshop, and artists painting miniatures on the paper. There is often a shop selling notebooks, cards, paper dolls and paintings, and a garden café on the bank of the stream. The shady setting under trees and by the water makes it a pleasant break from the heat of the city.

Konigil is about 15–20 minutes by car or taxi from the centre of Samarkand. A small entrance fee is usually charged, and a guide on site explains the process, often in English or Russian. The workshop is most interesting when the mill and craftsmen are working, typically during daytime working hours; it is worth checking in advance on Sundays and holidays. The visit combines well with a morning at Afrasiyab, the Tomb of Daniel or the Ulugbek observatory, which are on the same side of the city.

Samarkand paper makes a light, original souvenir. Notebooks bound in paper or leather, single sheets for calligraphy or painting, and small miniatures painted on the paper are available at the workshop. Prices are fixed in the shop. If you want larger sheets or a specific size for calligraphy, ask the craftsmen; they can sometimes prepare paper to order.