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The third and smallest of the three active Orthodox churches. What is interesting here is the colorful free-standing bell tower at the entrance to this church. It has a modest but beautiful interior. Like the other Orthodox churches, it is part of the Tashkent-Uzbekistan diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
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The main Orthodox church, although slightly smaller than the cathedral mentioned above, and since the rector of this particular church is the main Orthodox priest in Samarkand. It was built in 1903, in the Russian style, originally for the Russian Empire's rifle regiment. After the establishment of Soviet power, the church was closed in 1930 and reopened in 1998, under the current name, in honor of the Feast of the Protection of the Holy Virgin (Intercession of the Theotokos). During its construction and until its closure, it was known as the Church of the Ascension of the Lord. According to some sources, during the Soviet era, this was the only active Orthodox church in the city, apart from a small chapel inside the Bratskoe cemetery. By 1998, the church had been reopened after restoration.
The second active local synagogue, built in the late 19th century and being rebuilt as of 2026 to include a mikvah, a Jewish Center, and classrooms.
The main football club in Samarkand is Dinamo Samarkand, which participates in the Uzbekistan Super League (the highest level of the country's leagues). The season runs from March to November. You can find the match schedule on the official website of the Uzbekistan PFL. Matches are played in the evening and tickets for matches are affordable. The stadium is located near the historical center of the city, and there is a so-called "Pub Street" (officialy Davlatabad Street) near the stadium, as well as the Samarkand Brewery, where you can try local (and non-local) beers and enjoy snacks. Local fans are not aggressive and are friendly to foreigners.
If for personal experience you want to see a performance in the Uzbek language, then in the center of Samarkand on the Theater Square, not far from the Ruhabad Mausoleum there is the main theater of Samarkand. The theater building was built in Soviet times, and somewhat resembles the building of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, but only without sculptures on the roof of the portal. In addition to performances in Uzbek, there are also performances in Russian and Tajik.
It houses a Museum of Religious and National Tolerance, as well as an art gallery. The building was constructed in 1882. During the Soviet era, the large bell tower and domes on the roof of the church were destroyed by communists and atheists. A small airplane was placed in place of the bell tower, and the building was used for various purposes, such as housing the paramilitary organization DOSAAF. After the collapse of the USSR, the church was no longer suitable for worship due to its destroyed bell tower, and was therefore turned into a museum. This is one of the 3-4 inactive former churches in Samarkand.
Samarkand is home to a small number of Bahais, who have their own official community spiritual center in the depths of a one-story residential area. The Bahais of Samarkand, like the so-called "non-traditional" Christian denominations, are multi-ethnic.