Registondan bir necha qadam narida hovlili uy

The courtyard makes the trip

We came for the monuments and remember the breakfasts. Rustam met us at the airport at 3am without being asked twice, and the room stayed cool through a 38-degree day.

Ten minutes from the Registan on foot but completely quiet at night. The hosts organised train tickets to Bukhara when the website would not take my card.

Small, honest, well run

Eleven rooms and someone always at the desk. The Thursday plov is worth planning your week around, and they let us keep the room until the evening train.

Ota-onamni Navro‘zga olib keldim. Haqiqiy samarqandcha mehmondo‘stlik, hovlidagi konsert esa ular hamon eslaydigan qism bo‘ldi.

Travelling alone as a woman I felt completely at ease. Good wifi, laundry back the same day, and the walking tour with Aziz was better than anything I booked online.

A real house, not a hotel imitating one. Breakfast on the low table, apricots from the bazaar, and hosts who speak four languages between them.