Tomb of Saint Daniel
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Afrasiab Museum and ancient city, Samarkand
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Photo: Bgag, CC0, Wikimedia CommonsFit in nearby today
The essentials in 10 seconds
- Ticket (foreign visitors)
- ≈ UZS 40,000–80,000
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From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Hours
- Monday–Saturday ≈ 9:00–17:00
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From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Time on site
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A typical visit without queueing. In high season add 15–30 minutes. - 1 h 15 min
- With kids
- Fine with kids
- Uzbek citizens and children
- Much cheaper; there is a child ticket
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From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Closed
- Sunday, according to most sources
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From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - The hills
- No separate ticket for a walk, unofficially — ask at the desk
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From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Payment
- Bring som in cash — the desk doesn’t always take foreign cards
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From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours for the museum and the hills
- Address
- 7 Islam Karimov Street, on the Tashkent road behind the Siab Bazaar
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From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - From the Registan
- ≈ 2.2 km as the crow flies: ≈ 10 min by taxi, ≈ 40 min on foot
Key facts
648–651 ADthe usual dating of the Ambassadors’ Painting, the museum’s star exhibit
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English Wikipedia, “Afrasiab murals” and “Samarkand”Orexca (7th century)1965the murals were found by accident while a road was being cut through the mound
2 sourcesi
English WikipediaWorld Society for the Study of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan (WOSCU)200+ hathe area of the mound — the ruins of ancient Samarkand
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Russian WikipediaEnglish Wikipedia (220 ha)1220Genghis Khan’s Mongols sacked the city and the hill was abandoned for good
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English and Russian Wikipedia, “Samarkand”Sputnik8329 BCAlexander the Great took the city the Greeks called Maracanda
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English and Russian Wikipedia, “Samarkand”1970the museum opened for Samarkand’s 2,500th anniversary
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English and Russian WikipediaVisit Silk RoadWikidataVarkhumanthe 7th-century king of Samarkand named in a Sogdian inscription on the murals
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English WikipediaRussian Wikipedia, “Varkhuman”OrexcaAzatyan and ArzumanyanShmavon Azatyan and Bagdasar Arzumanyan designed the building
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Russian WikipediaAdvantour (Arzumanyan)Visit Silk Road (Azatyan)8th–6th c. BCestimates for the founding of the city: Russian sources say the 8th century, English Wikipedia the 7th–6th
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Russian WikipediaOrexcaEnglish WikipediaAfrasiabthe mound is named after the mythical king of Turan in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh — a 17th-century name
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English WikipediaRussian Wikipedia (17th century)Goguryeoenvoys from this Korean kingdom appear among the ambassadors
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English WikipediaRussian Wikipedia, “Varkhuman”Afrasiab Museum tickets and opening hours
Entry is paid. The museum-reserve’s official price page wouldn’t load when we checked, so the fare is unofficial: foreign visitors pay about UZS 40,000–80,000 (Uzbek som), and older lists show 25,000. Uzbek citizens and children pay much less. Buy at the desk inside the entrance; there is no need to book.
Most guides give 9:00–17:00, Monday to Saturday, with Sunday closed. One guide lists 9:00–18:00 every day, so if Sunday is your only free slot, check with your hotel or guide first.
Payment: bring som in cash. A small museum desk may not take foreign cards — withdraw som in the centre before you come.
Is the Afrasiab Museum worth visiting?
Yes, if you are curious about Samarkand before Timur. The Ambassadors’ Painting is the finest Sogdian mural cycle you can see in the city, and it shows a Silk Road court in colour more than 750 years before the Registan was built. Plan on 30–40 minutes for the mural hall alone.
Be realistic about the rest. It is a small museum, labels are brief and not always in English, and the hills outside are mostly grassy loess with ditches rather than standing walls. On a one-day visit, put the Registan, Shah-i-Zinda and Gur-e-Amir first. On a second day, Afrasiab is an easy, rewarding hour.
The Afrasiab murals: what the Ambassadors’ Painting shows
The murals date from the middle of the 7th century, most often to 648–651 AD. They were found in 1965, when a road was being cut across the mound, and covered all four walls of one room, now called the Hall of the Ambassadors. The upper part of the paintings is lost.
On the west wall, envoys bring gifts to the ruler: Chinese officials with silk, men from the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo and from neighbouring Sogdian states, escorted by Turkic guards with long braids. A Sogdian inscription on one envoy’s robe names King Varkhuman of Samarkand and introduces the speaker as the chancellor of Chaganian.
The south wall shows a grand procession with a figure on a white elephant, women on horseback and men on camels — read either as a wedding or as a procession honouring the ancestors. The north wall has Chinese scenes: a hunt and an empress in a boat. The east wall is mostly gone. A few fragments are kept in Tashkent.
What to see inside
- The Ambassadors’ Painting in its reconstructed hall — take time over the faces, fabrics and braids.
- The Sogdian inscription naming King Varkhuman, on an envoy’s robe.
- Ossuaries — clay chests for bones, used in pre-Islamic Sogdiana, where most people were Zoroastrians.
- Sword and knife fragments and arrowheads from the excavations.
- Coins, glass and painted pottery from the early city to the Timurid period.
- Carved terracotta from 11th–12th-century Karakhanid buildings.
Ancient Afrasiyab: Samarkand before the Mongols
Afrasiyab is the site of old Samarkand — more than 200 hectares of loess hills on the city’s northern edge. People lived here for over two thousand years. Alexander the Great took the city, which the Greeks called Maracanda, in 329 BC; later it was the seat of Sogdian kings, then of the Samanids and Karakhanids.
In 1220 Genghis Khan’s army sacked the city. Samarkand was rebuilt further south and the hill was never lived on again. The name Afrasiab came only in the 17th century, after the mythical king of Turan in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh.
Archaeologists have dug here since the 1870s: paved streets, quarters, thick defensive walls around a citadel, workshops and painted houses. The museum opened in 1970 for the city’s 2,500th anniversary, in a Soviet-modernist building by Shmavon Azatyan and Bagdasar Arzumanyan.
How to get to the Afrasiab Museum
Tap a route to highlight it on the map.
Where are you starting from?
We’ll draw it on the map on foot and by taxi; metro and buses open in your maps app. Your location isn’t stored.
On foot
- Tomb of Saint Daniel is about 13 min away on foot.
- Shah-i-Zinda is about 16 min away on foot.
- Hazrat Khizr Mosque is about 16 min away on foot.
More tips
- From the Registan it is ≈ 2.2 km as the crow flies. Easiest: a Yandex Go taxi, about 10 minutes, with the fare shown in the app before you ride. Paying the driver in cash som always works.
- On foot it takes about 40 minutes: walk the pedestrian Tashkent Street past Bibi-Khanym Mosque to the Siab Bazaar.
- From the bazaar, head north along Islam Karimov Street (the Tashkent road), past Hazrat Khizr Mosque on its hill and the entrance to Shah-i-Zinda.
- Keep going for about 15 minutes alongside the mounds. The museum is a two-storey building with reliefs on the façade and a wide staircase.
- City buses and marshrutka minibuses also run north along this road — check the number in Yandex Go or ask the driver.
- Afterwards, walk about 8 minutes to the Tomb of Saint Daniel by the river, on the northern edge of the same mound.
Before you go: checklist
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You are ready for the visit
Afrasiab, Shah-i-Zinda or the Ulugh Beg Observatory?
| Afrasiabyou are here | Ruins of the ancient city and a museum with 7th-century murals | Before the Mongols, up to 1220 | 1–1.5 h | Anything, plus sturdy shoes | — |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shah-i-Zinda | A lane of 11th–19th-century mausoleums | Karakhanid to Timurid and later | 1–1.5 h | Covered — a working shrine | ≈ 15 min on foot |
| Ulugh Beg Observatory | Remains of a 15th-century observatory and a small museum | Timurid, Ulugh Beg | 45 min – 1 hour | Anything | ≈ 20 min on foot |
With one day in Samarkand, Shah-i-Zinda matters more. On day two, Afrasiab, the observatory and Daniel’s tomb make one short walk around the north of the city, each 5–20 minutes from the next.
Samarkand’s historic sights compared
Every historic sight in Samarkand rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.
| Gur-e-Amir | 59 | 45 min | ≈ UZS 75,000, unofficial | 3.1 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registan | 57 | 1 h 30 min | 100,000 UZS for foreign visitors | 39 min walk |
| Bibi-Khanym Mosque | 49 | 40 min | ≈ UZS 75,000, unofficial | 26 min walk |
| Shah-i-Zinda | 46 | 1 h 15 min | ≈ 50,000 som for foreigners | 15 min walk |
| Amir Timur Monument | 44 | 15 min | Free | 3.2 km |
| Tomb of Saint Daniel | 41 | 40 min | ≈ UZS 30,000–40,000, unofficial | 8 min walk |
| Ulugh Beg Observatory | 40 | 45 min | UZS 40,000–75,000 (unofficial) | 21 min walk |
| Hazrat Khizr Mosque | 38 | 30 min | Free | 19 min walk |
| Afrasiab Museumyou are here | 35 | 1 h 15 min | ≈ UZS 40,000–80,000 (unofficial) | — |
Northern Samarkand in half a day
The avenue of mausoleums, the ancient city and its murals, Daniel’s tomb by the river and the observatory on its hill — one line, 10–20 minutes between stops. YesGo sets the timings and transfers.
- Shah-i-Zinda1 h 15 min · ≈ 50,000 som for foreigners
- 15 min walk from the previous stopAfrasiab Museumyou are here1 h 15 min · ≈ UZS 40,000–80,000 (unofficial)
- 8 min walk from the previous stopTomb of Saint Daniel40 min · ≈ UZS 30,000–40,000, unofficial
- 17 min walk from the previous stopUlugh Beg Observatory45 min · UZS 40,000–75,000 (unofficial)
4 places · about 4 h 35 min with walks · 40 min on foot in total
Nearby — add to your day
Shah-i-Zinda
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Hazrat Khizr Mosque
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Ulugh Beg Observatory
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
How to do it right
- Pair it with Shah-i-Zinda: the walk from the necropolis to the museum takes about 15 minutes along the mounds.
- Hot day? Don’t spend more than half an hour on the hills — the nearest rises by the museum give you the view.
- The labels are short, so a guide or tour pays off if you want the murals explained scene by scene.
- Go on to the Tomb of Saint Daniel and the Ulugh Beg Observatory for a half-day in the north.
- Come in the morning: the loess hills heat up by midday and there is no shade.
Questions
How much is the Afrasiab Museum entrance fee?
Unofficially, about UZS 40,000–80,000 for foreign visitors; Uzbek citizens and children pay less. Pay in som cash at the desk.
What are the Afrasiab Museum opening hours?
Most sources give 9:00–17:00, Monday to Saturday. The official timetable wasn’t available when we checked, and one guide lists 9:00–18:00 daily.
Is the Afrasiab Museum open on Sunday?
Probably not — most sources list Sunday as the closing day. If Sunday is your only option, check with your hotel or guide before you go.
What are the Afrasiab murals?
Sogdian wall paintings from about 648–651 AD, found in 1965. They show envoys from China, Korea and Central Asia before King Varkhuman of Samarkand, a procession with a white elephant, and Chinese hunting and boat scenes.
Is the Afrasiab Museum worth it?
Yes, for the murals and for anyone curious about Samarkand before Timur. The rest of the museum is modest; on a one-day trip, see the Registan, Shah-i-Zinda and Gur-e-Amir first.
How do I get to Afrasiab from the Registan?
A Yandex Go taxi takes about 10 minutes. Walking takes about 40 minutes via Tashkent Street, the Siab Bazaar and the Tashkent road past Shah-i-Zinda.
How long do you need at Afrasiab?
About an hour for the museum and half an hour for the hills. If you only want the murals, 30–40 minutes is enough.
What was Afrasiyab?
The original city of Samarkand, known to the Greeks as Maracanda. It covered more than 200 hectares and was abandoned after the Mongols sacked it in 1220.
Can you walk around the Afrasiab ruins?
Yes. Paths lead over the mounds from near the museum; unofficially no extra ticket is needed. Wear closed shoes — the ground is uneven, with ditches and drops.
Have you been? Was it worth your time?
1 — no, 5 — absolutely
Your vote counts towards the YesGo score.
Sources and fact-check
- English Wikipedia: “Afrasiab Museum of Samarkand”, “Afrasiab murals”, “Afrasiyab (Samarkand)”, “Samarkand”
- Russian Wikipedia: “Afrasiab (museum)”, “Afrasiab (settlement)”, “Samarkand”, “Varkhuman”; Wikidata Q4306302 and Q2167520
- World Society for the Study of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan (WOSCU, society.uz): “Wall paintings found on Afrasiab hill”, 2023
- Visit Silk Road; Advantour; Orexca — museum history, architects, collection, hours
- Afisha.uz: “Museums of Samarkand”, May 2025 — address, hours, collection
- UzDaily, February 2024 — renovation of the museum halls
- Sputnik8; Travel Cost Calculator (2026); Mind of a Hitchhiker (2024) — unofficial fares and hours
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