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Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
If you don't mind dust and love archaeology, then in the historical center of Samarkand, there are the ruins of ancient Samarkand, now called Afrasiyab. The territory covers 200 hectares, and is located behind the Shahi Zinda Complex and the Hazret Khizr Mosque, behind the Jewish Cemetery. Here you can see a large number of excavations of different depths, and touch history. In the settlement, you can enter from any convenient part. The entrance is free and not controlled by anyone. But keep in mind that Afrasiyab is now in the form of faceless hills with huge layers of cultural layer, and there may be street dogs in the depths, and after sunset, there are snakes and scorpions. From the harmless, you will see shepherds with herds of sheep and cows, and only turtles and lizards.
Afrasiab is the king of Turan and the main antagonist of the Persian epic Shahnameh by Ferdowsi.
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This was the earlier site of Samarkand, occupied from 500 BC until 1220 AD when the Mongols smashed it. It's within a triangle of mud-brick walls, each over 1 km long, and most of it is a bare vista of ditches and hummocks. The museum displays murals, ceramics and other artifacts recovered from the site.
Khoja Daniyor Mausoleum
The Prophet Daniel is a mythical figure, and the Biblical Book of Daniel is thought to be a jibe against Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who persecuted the Jews in the 2nd century BC - with just enough disguise for its authors to escape imperial wrath. Six cities claim to have Daniel's tomb, and pride of place goes to Susa in Iran. The Samarkand tomb and shrine is along the north wall of Afrosiab but outside that ticketed area.
This was built from 1855 over much earlier foundations: first was a Zoroastrian temple, then a mosque built in 712 but destroyed in Genghis Khan's invasion of 1220. Since 2018 it's also held the mausoleum of Islam Karimov (1938-2016), First President of Uzbekistan.
Necropolis ranged over a small hill south of Afrosiab, named for the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. The best structures are 14th-16th century, such as the Kusam-ibn-Abbas complex, the Turkan Ago Mausoleum, and Kazi Zade Rumi mausoleum. It remained in use into the 19th century. It can feel crowded, as the area you can visit is along a staircase thronged with tour groups.
The mosque is named after the neighborhood, which is known as the birthplace of the famous Samarkand bread.
Named after the principal wife of Timur, this was erected after his capture of Delhi in 1399. But design was muddled and construction rushed, so for the next 150 years it had to be patched and mended as bits fell off, until it was given up as a lost cause. It actually stood for another 200 years before collapsing in 1897. It was rebuilt from 1974.