Urgut

Urgut sits at the foot of the Zarafshan range south of Samarkand and holds one of the larger bazaars in the region, spreading over a hillside with sections for embroidery, carpets, hardware, produce and livestock, busiest on Saturdays and Sundays. Above the town, Chor-Chinor is a grove of plane trees several centuries old growing around a spring, one of them hollow enough to hold a small room used as a prayer space.

Background

Urgut is a city of the Samarqand Region and the administrative centre of Urgut District, set in mountainous country, and it had 65,300 residents in 2016. Almost 500,000 people describe themselves as coming from Urgut, and most of the population speaks Uzbek. Local livelihoods rest on trade and farming, and crafts have been kept up in the town over centuries. Some of the plane trees in the Chorchinor grove are more than 1000 years old. The main market offers a wide range of fairly cheap goods and draws shoppers even from Samarkand, the regional capital.

Source: Wikipedia, "Urgut"

The main sights

• The bazaar - a hillside market with embroidery, carpets and livestock sections.
• Chor-Chinor - the grove of plane trees several centuries old around a spring.
• The hollow tree - the plane with a chamber inside used as a prayer space.
• The suzani embroidery - the stitched textiles the town's market is known for.

When to go

Saturdays and Sundays are the main bazaar days. April to June and September to October are the comfortable months. Summer heat is severe.

Practical notes

The bazaar is chaotic and pickpocketing is a real risk in the crowds. Much of the embroidery sold as antique is new. The grove is small and half an hour covers it.

Nearby

Samarkand is north, and Konigil is on the way back.