Bog'i Baland Tourism Neighbourhood

Among the fig trees

Bog'i Baland is a mahalla (neighbourhood) in north-eastern Samarkand. On 7 September 2023 it became the first in Uzbekistan to be designated a "tourism mahalla", under a presidential initiative launched that August to develop the tourism potential of 100 neighbourhoods and villages across Samarkand Region.

Its pride is a 40-hectare garden with more than 10,000 yellow and black fig trees. Visitors will find signposts, information panels and a garden map, 15 guesthouses and a tourist information centre. Dried figs and fig jam are sold here, and local crafts are put on show. The neighbourhood offers a different side of Samarkand from its famous monuments — everyday life among courtyards and orchards, and local hospitality up close.

The name recalls the celebrated Bagh-i Baland ("High Garden") laid out by Amir Temur. According to the sources, Temur created it north of Samarkand for his granddaughter, with a palace of white Tabriz marble at its centre surrounded by vineyards, fig and apple orchards. Officials describe today's garden as its successor, though no scholarly research confirms this.