Unesco-listed Sarazm is a 5500-year-old site 15km west of Penjikent. One of the oldest city-sites in Central Asia, finds here include a fire temple and the grave of a wealthy woman whose lapis beads and seashell bracelets from around the 4th century BC are now on show in Dushanbe's National Museum.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
27.76 MILES
This ensemble of majestic, tilting medressas – a near-overload of majolica, azure mosaics and vast, well-proportioned spaces – is the centrepiece of the…
27.93 MILES
The beautiful portal and trademark fluted azure dome of the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum marks the final resting place of Timur (Tamerlane), along with two sons…
27.35 MILES
Samarkand’s most moving and beloved site is this stunning avenue of mausoleums, which contains some of the richest tilework in the Muslim world. The name,…
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27.69 MILES
The enormous congregational Bibi-Khanym Mosque, northeast of the Registan, was financed from the spoils of Timur's invasion of India and must have been…
27.8 MILES
On the northern side of the Registan is the Tilla-Kari (Gold-Covered) Medressa, completed in 1660, with a pleasant, gardenlike courtyard. The highlight…
27.81 MILES
The Ulugbek Medressa, on the western side of the Registan, is the square's original medressa, finished in 1420 under Ulugbek who is said to have taught…
27.74 MILES
The entrance portal of the Registan's Sher Dor (Lion) Medressa, opposite the Ulugbek Medressa and finished in 1636, is decorated with roaring felines that…
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8.75 MILES
On a terrace above the banks of River Zerafshan, 1.5km southeast of today's Penjikent, the ruins of a major Sogdian town slowly bake to dust. Looking…
Nearby Tajikistan attractions
7.05 MILES
A statue of Devastich, the area's last Sogdian leader, dominates the roundabout at the western end of town.
7.35 MILES
This elegant single-storey museum, with its white Doric columns and fine floral display, assigns a room to its namesake, Abu Abdullah Rudaki (858–941),…
7.79 MILES
Modern-day poet Loik Sherali was born in Mazari Sharif near Penjikent in 1941. He earned the title 'People's Poet of Tajikistan' and when he died in 2000…
7.97 MILES
A rather stolid horseback version of the nation's favourite statue sits alongside Rudaki, in front of the TCell building.
8.35 MILES
Opening up behind a fanciful traditional archway at the corner of the bend in Rudaki, this bazaar is a perfect place to buy fruit (cherries, mulberries,…
8.41 MILES
On cold Friday lunchtimes, dozens of older men with flowing white beards, turbans, upturned boots and swishing purple/green iridescent joma robes make…
8.75 MILES
On a terrace above the banks of River Zerafshan, 1.5km southeast of today's Penjikent, the ruins of a major Sogdian town slowly bake to dust. Looking…