Samarkand, Slowly
High-speed rail, a planned luxury train and a push from the trade: Uzbekistan wants the traveller who stays for the tilework, not the photo.
Uzbekistan’s pitch to wealthy travellers rests on a simple fact: few places offer architecture of this order with so little crowding. The Registan’s three madrasas, begun in 1417, remain one of the great urban ensembles of the Islamic world.
Getting there has become easier. The Afrosiyob high-speed train links Tashkent with Samarkand in roughly two hours and continues to Bukhara. A luxury rail project developed with Italy’s Arsenale, working title The Samarkand Express, is planned to connect Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva.
“The traveller who stays for the tilework, not the photo.”ÉPURE
The trade is investing in the story too. In May, Kazin DMC hosted a luxury familiarisation trip with Uzbekistan Airways and JW Marriott Tashkent, designed to show international agents the country’s high-end offer.
Our suggestion: go in autumn, stay in Samarkand for at least three nights, and be at the Registan before eight.
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