Shopping · Samarkand · Uzbekistan
Shopping in Samarkand
Shopping streets, markets and souvenirs worth the suitcase space.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Registan_-_Gusjer.jpg : Gustavo Jeronimo from Aranjuez, Spain derivative work: MrPanyGoff, CC BY 2.0
Quick answer
Samarkand is a good place to buy Uzbek crafts: suzani embroidery, ikat silk, ceramics, silk carpets and the city's own mulberry-bark paper. The madrasa courtyards and Tashkent Street concentrate souvenir shops, while the Siab Bazaar is for food and everyday goods. Best souvenirs: Suzani embroidery, Ikat silk and Samarkand silk paper.
Key facts
- Shopping areas
- 3
- Markets
- 2
- Top souvenir
- Suzani embroidery
Where to shop
Registan madrasa courtyards
Former student cells in the Sher-Dor and Tilya-Kori madrasas house craft shops selling embroidery, miniatures, ceramics and textiles.
Tashkent Street
The pedestrian street between the Registan and Bibi-Khanym is lined with shops selling suzani, ikat, skullcaps, knives and ceramics.
Konigil workshop
Mulberry-bark paper, notebooks and paper dolls are sold where they are made, in the garden of the Konigil workshop.
Markets
Siab Bazaar
The city's main food market beside Bibi-Khanym, best for bread, dried fruit, nuts, spices and sweets.
Urgut bazaar
A large weekend market about 40 km south-east, known for its stalls of old and new suzani embroidery.
What to buy
Suzani embroidery
Hand-embroidered cotton or silk panels with large floral and sun motifs, made as wall hangings and bedspreads.
Ikat silk
Atlas and adras fabrics with blurred, dyed-thread patterns, sold by the metre or as scarves and clothing.
Samarkand silk paper
Handmade paper from mulberry bark, sold as sheets, notebooks and painted miniatures.
Dried fruit and nuts
Dried apricots, raisins, almonds and roasted apricot kernels from the Siab Bazaar pack well for travel.
Ceramics
Glazed plates and bowls in blue, green and ochre patterns, including Rishtan-style pottery from the Fergana Valley.
Embroidered skullcaps
The doppi skullcap, with white pepper-pod patterns on black, is worn by Uzbek men and makes a light gift.
Streets and markets worth a wander
Market · Siab Bazaar and Bibi-Khanym
Siab Bazaar
The city's main bazaar sits beside Bibi-Khanym and is where locals buy Samarkand bread, dried apricots, raisins, almonds, spices, halva and crystallised sugar (navat).
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Food
- Shopping
- Free
- Photo spot
- Kids
Street · Registan and Old Town
Tashkent Street
This pedestrianised street runs from the Registan to Bibi-Khanym and the Siab Bazaar, lined with souvenir shops selling suzani embroidery, ceramics, ikat silk and carpets.
- Time needed
- 30–60 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Shopping
- After dark
Experience · Konigil
Konigil silk paper workshop
In Konigil village about 10 km east of the centre, a craft workshop has revived Samarkand's medieval paper-making from mulberry bark, using a mill wheel turned by a stream.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Off the beaten path
- Outdoors
- Shopping
Street · Russian New Town
University Boulevard and Amir Timur statue
The main avenue of the Russian new town is a long shaded promenade under old plane trees, lined with 19th- and early 20th-century buildings and the university.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Architecture
Experience · Silk Road Samarkand
Eternal City at Silk Road Samarkand
Inside the Silk Road Samarkand complex, the Eternal City is a recreated walled old town with craft workshops, small museums, tea houses and costumed performances in the evenings.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- After dark
- Shopping
Food and drink to take home
Edible souvenirs travel best when they are dry or sealed: consider Samarkand bread, Dried fruit and nuts, Navat and halva and Green tea. The bread rows of the Siab Bazaar, or any neighbourhood tandir bakery early in the morning. Check your home country's rules on bringing food and drink back.
Shopping by neighbourhood
| Area | Price level | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Siab Bazaar and Bibi-Khanym | $ | Market stalls, bread sellers and the giant mosque at the north end of Tashkent Street |
| Russian New Town | $$ | Plane-tree boulevards, larger hotels and cafés west of the old city |
| Old Jewish Mahalla | $ | Narrow lanes and family homes east of the Registan |
| Silk Road Samarkand | $$$ | Resort hotels, a rowing canal and the Eternal City complex on the eastern edge |
Paying and bargaining
Prices are in UZS. Restaurants usually add a service charge of about 10–15%. Where it is not included, rounding up or leaving about 10% is appreciated; guides and drivers are commonly tipped at the end of a tour.
- Carry cash in som for bazaars, taxis and small teahouses; cards are mainly accepted in hotels and larger restaurants.
- Bargain politely for souvenirs on Tashkent Street and in the madrasa shops; first prices are often high.
When to shop
Shops and markets are quietest in December–February; the busiest months are September–October.
- August: Sharq Taronalari — international music festival on the Registan (held in some years, usually late August)
Staying near the shops
Questions travellers ask
+What should I buy in Samarkand?
Suzani embroidery, Ikat silk, Samarkand silk paper and Dried fruit and nuts.
+Where is the best shopping in Samarkand?
Registan madrasa courtyards: Former student cells in the Sher-Dor and Tilya-Kori madrasas house craft shops selling embroidery, miniatures, ceramics and textiles.
+What are the best markets in Samarkand?
Siab Bazaar and Urgut bazaar.