Samarkand is a monumental city of history and food that played a major
role along the Silk Road, in between China and the Mediterranean. It’s a
city of fascinating history, giant plates of plov, and incredible
kebabs.

Gur-e Amir Сomplex - To begin this full tour of Samarkand, we started in
the morning at Gur-e Amir Сomplex, the tomb and mausoleum of Amir
Timur, the founding father of Samarkand, responsible for building much
of the ancient remains of the city. The tomb complex from the outside is
impressive, but the inside will blow you away.

Registan - There’s no square more monumental and grand in scale than
Registan, the center of the ancient city. You’ll find madrasas and
mosques, all of which are intricately decorated and magnificent.

Siab Bazaar - A short walk from Registan is Siab Bazaar, right outside
Bibi-Khanym Mosque. At the market we stopped to have tea with one of
Bekruz’s friends and tasted some nuts and dried fruit. The apricot seeds
were new for me, and the dried apricots were spectacular.

Osh Markazi - There’s no better place to eat plov, the national dish of
Uzbekistan, when you’re in Samarkand than Osh Markazi. Samarkand plov is
notable for the rice being cooked in flax-seed oil with yellow carrots
and beef. It was one of the best meals and dishes I had in my entire
trip to Uzbekistan.
Total price - 140,000 UZS ($17.17)

Ulugh Beg Observatory - At its time of being built by Ulugh Beg, it was
one of the most advanced and important astronomy observatories in the
world.

Domashnii Restaurant - We didn’t stay long at the observatory because
right behind it you’ll find Domashnii Restaurant, a local restaurant
that specializes in chickpeas and lamb. The dish is so comforting and
both the lamb and chickpeas melt in your mouth.
Price - 74,00 UZS ($9.08)

Ikrom Shashlik - Next we went to eat Samarkand kebabs, again some of the
best kebabs I had on my entire trip to Uzbekistan. The bull testicles
and minced meat kebabs were great, but the highlight was the skewer of
alternating thin lamb meat and fat. As I was leaving they told me their
grill was 21 meters long and the grillmaster had been grilling there for
over 20 years.
Price - 7,000 UZS ($0.86) per kebab

Shah-i-Zinda - At about 5 pm we arrived to Shah-i-Zinda, another
masterful tomb complex that includes one of the top sights of Samarkand:
the turquoise alley of tombs. The turquoise and blue mosaic will make
your jaw-drop.

Home-cooked dinner - Finally to end this incredible food and sights tour
of Samarkand we went to a family home restaurant where we enjoyed a
simple local meal in a family home courtyard. It was the perfect ending
to an incredible day in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.