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Photo: Bobyrr, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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.
Khoja Doniyor mausoleum is an architectural monument in Samarkand. It is located in the east side of the Afrosiyab fortress along the Siyob stream. It was built on the grave of Wali Khoja Doniyor. It consists of a rectangular room with a gable and five domes. The pediment and the domed, cup-shaped patterns on both sides of it were decorated with ganch carving, and the sides are decorated with arches. There is an oblong hut inside the mausoleum. The spring near the mausoleum is considered a blessing among the people. According to Abu Tahirkhoja's work "Samaria", Khoja Doniyor (Doniyol) was one of the companions of Kusam Ibn Abbas.
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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.
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.
The mosque is named after the neighborhood, which is known as the birthplace of the famous Samarkand bread.
Ulughbek (1394 – 1449) was grandson of Timur, and at age 16 he was appointed governor of Samarkand. A cultured talented fellow, he built the Ulughbek Madressa in Registan, and then this observatory. Astronomy in that era was by naked eye, but you could improve observation with a big sighting-line, and he built a whopper, the Fakhri sextant of radius of 36 m. He catalogued over 1000 stars and computed the earth's rotations and tilt with unprecedented accuracy. Meanwhile his 13 wives were busy discussing his shortcomings, the region rebelled, and he was defeated in battle by his oldest son Abdal-Latif Mirza. He was graciously permitted to leave for pilgrimage to Mecca, but Abdal-Latif made sure he didn't get far. The observatory was destroyed at the same time, and its underground portion was only re-discovered in 1908.
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.
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.