Samarkand District

Setting and landscape

The district wraps around the regional capital on several sides, bordering Oqdaryo, Jomboy, Toyloq, Urgut, Nurobod and Pastdargom districts and, to the south, Qashqadaryo Region. Samarkand city lies within its territory but is not part of it. The district covers 430 km². Its centre is Gulobod, an urban-type settlement about 11 km south of the city on the Great Uzbek Highway to Shahrisabz.

In the north stretches the irrigated plain of the Zarafshan valley; southwards it rises into foothills and then the modest Agalyk and Mirankul mountains. Fields are watered from the Dargom and Eski Anhor canals. The climate is dry and continental, with an average annual temperature of about +13.4 °C and 300–320 mm of rain, falling mostly in spring and autumn. Juniper, wild walnut, pistachio, almond, barberry and a wealth of medicinal herbs grow on the slopes.

History

Under the Russian Empire this land belonged to the Zarafshan Okrug and, from 1887, to Samarkand Uyezd. The district was created on 29 September 1926; first known as Upper Dargom, it later took the name Samarkand District. Its most revered site is the grave of Khoja Ahrar Vali (1404–1490), the great Naqshbandi sheikh and a powerful statesman of his day. A mosque and madrasa rose beside it in the 17th century, and the neighbouring settlement is still called Khoja Ahrori Vali.

Economy and people

The district is the regional capital’s larder. It has some 17,800 hectares of irrigated land under grain, cotton and vegetables, plus orchards, vineyards, livestock and beekeeping. Regional statistics put its industrial output per head above the regional average. On 1 January 2026 it had 283,600 residents, only 17,600 of them in its two settlements, organised into 74 mahallas.

2026: the decision to abolish

On 8 August 2026 the Senate of Uzbekistan’s parliament approved a resolution abolishing Samarkand District and redrawing neighbouring boundaries. Of its land, 13,308 hectares pass to Samarkand city and the remaining 28,295 hectares to Toyloq District; 6,263 hectares of farmland absorbed by the city keep their agricultural status. Together with land from Oqdaryo, Pastdargom and Toyloq districts, the city gains 17,226.5 hectares in all. The reform is very recent, so the figures on this page therefore describe the district before abolition.

What to see and getting there

The main draw for visitors is the Khoja Ahrar complex, 4–5 km south of the Registan, a 10–15-minute taxi ride. In spring and autumn the Agalyk foothills are pleasant for walks. Gulobod is 11 km from Samarkand, 15–20 minutes by car, and since 2026 city buses have been allowed to run up to 12 km beyond the city limits.