Jizzakh: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Jizzakh is a road town on the way from Tashkent to Samarkand, and most travellers see only its bypass. Its centre, though, holds three stories the whole country knows: a pair of poets, a revolt against the Tsar and the man who ruled Soviet Uzbekistan for a quarter of a century. All of it is within a short walk. About an hour and a half; the museums close early, so come in the morning or early afternoon.
A short history of Jizzakh
Jizzakh lies in the narrow pass between the Nuratau Mountains and the ranges to the south, "Tamerlane's Gates", through which caravans travelled between Tashkent and Samarkand. In the Middle Ages it was a town of the Ustrushana region. In 1866 the Russians captured it, and in July 1916 the great revolt against the conscription of local men for forced labour behind the front broke out here and was brutally suppressed. In 1917 Sharof Rashidov, who led Soviet Uzbekistan for more than twenty years, was born in the city. In 1973 Jizzakh became a regional capital.
The ten best sights in Jizzakh
1Hamid Olimjon and Zulfiya MuseumA small museum to the town's two poets; half an hour
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2Sharof Rashidov Museum
The story of the man who ran Soviet Uzbekistan for 24 years
3Olimjon and Zulfiya MonumentThe two poets in bronze, a few steps from the museum
41916 Uprising MonumentRemembers the revolt against the Tsar that broke out here
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5Qassoblik Mosque
Neighbourhood mosque in the old town; modest dress
6St Nicholas ChurchSmall Orthodox church in the southern, Soviet-built part of town
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7O'rda Park
Shade and benches near the old centre
8Tamerlane's GateA narrow gorge on the Samarkand road with inscriptions cut in the rock
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9Jizzakh Reservoir
A big lake in the steppe 20 minutes south-east
10G'allaorolGrain-country town west on the Samarkand road
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Jizzakh →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Jizzakh:
Free walking tours in Jizzakh
Poets, rebels and a party boss
Jizzakh is a road town on the way from Tashkent to Samarkand, and most travellers see only its bypass. Its centre, though, holds three stories the whole country knows: a pair of poets, a revolt against the Tsar and the man who ruled Soviet Uzbekistan for a quarter of a century. All of it is within a short walk. About an hour and a half; the museums close early, so come in the morning or early afternoon.
- Olimjon and Zulfiya Monument · Hamid Olimjon, born in Jizzakh in 1909, was killed in a car accident in 1944. His wife Zulfiya, also a poet, lived another 52 years and wrote about him for the rest of her life; Uzbekistan's state prize for young women is named after her.
- Hamid Olimjon and Zulfiya Museum · Olimjon was one of the founders of modern Uzbek poetry, and he also translated Pushkin into Uzbek. The museum keeps manuscripts, photographs and the personal things of both poets.
- Sharof Rashidov Museum · Rashidov, born in Jizzakh in 1917, led Soviet Uzbekistan from 1959 until his death in 1983. Soon after, Moscow's 'cotton affair' accused his republic of faking cotton harvests on a huge scale; after independence he was rehabilitated, and his home town honours him here.
- 1916 Uprising Monument · In summer 1916 the Tsar ordered Central Asian men to be drafted as labourers behind the front of the First World War. Jizzakh rose in one of the fiercest revolts against the decree, and the Russian army crushed it with heavy loss of life.
- Qassoblik Mosque · Qassob means butcher, and the mosque takes its name from the butchers' quarter around it. Old Uzbek towns were divided into mahallas by trade, and each had its own mosque, teahouse and elders.
- St Nicholas Church · The southern part of Jizzakh was built in Soviet times around the railway, and Russian families settled there. The Orthodox church stands in that newer town, a long way from the old mahallas to the north.
Somsa and teahouses
Ask anyone in Uzbekistan what Jizzakh is known for and the answer is somsa: big, juicy meat pastries baked in a tandoor. This route is a slow lunch, moving from the bazaar to the somsa bakeries and the teahouses, the choyxonas, where men sit for hours over green tea. It covers about three kilometres; do it by taxi in summer. Come hungry and before two in the afternoon, when the first batches are gone.
- Old Town Farmers' Bazaar · The name Jizzakh comes from the Sogdian word for a small fortress; the old town stood here, on the caravan road between Samarkand and Tashkent. The bazaar still sits in the old quarter, which the locals call Eski Shahar, 'old town'.
- G'ani Xoji Somsa House · Jizzakh somsa is larger than the usual kind, filled with chunks of knife-cut mutton and tail fat rather than mince. It is eaten as a whole meal with tea, and people drive from other towns for it.
- Tandir Somsa · The tandoor is a clay oven heated from below; the baker slaps the somsa onto its hot inner wall and lifts it out with a hook. In the countryside the traditional fuel was dry cotton stalks, which burn fast and very hot.
- Yagona Choyxona · A choyxona is the men's club of an Uzbek town. Guests sit cross-legged on a tapchan, a raised wooden platform with a low table, and green tea is the default drink all year, even in summer heat.
- Majnuntol Choyxona · Majnuntol is the Uzbek name for the weeping willow — the tree of Majnun, the lover driven mad in the Persian story of Layla and Majnun, its branches hanging like his grief. Teahouses were traditionally built under willows beside water channels for shade.
- Ergash Ota Choyxona · Ota, 'father', is the respectful title for an elder. Groups of friends called a gap meet at a choyxona every week or month, taking turns to pay, and the plov at these meetings is cooked by the men themselves.
Through Tamerlane's Gate
West of Jizzakh the road to Samarkand squeezes through a gorge between two ridges, the only easy passage for armies and caravans for thousands of years. Beyond it lie the grain and apple country of the foothills, and to the east, the first forested slopes of the Turkestan range. This is a car route of about 150 km in total, best split into a western and an eastern half. Bring water and a hat; there is little shade on the steppe.
- Tamerlane's Gate · Two inscriptions are cut into the rock walls of the gorge. One records the passage of Ulugh Beg's army in 1425 on its way back from a campaign, the other a victory of Abdullah Khan of Bukhara in 1571.
- Sangzor · The village takes its name from the Sanzar river, which cut the gorge of Tamerlane's Gate. Its water is used up by the fields long before it could reach any lake or sea.
- G'allaorol · The name means 'grain island': the rain-fed hills around the town grow wheat without irrigation, rare in Uzbekistan. In June the slopes turn gold.
- Baxmal · The Bakhmal district in the foothills is known across Uzbekistan for its apples, grown on slopes cooler than the plains. In autumn the roadside stalls sell them by the bucket.
- Jizzakh Reservoir · The lakes and canals of the Jizzakh steppe are fed by water taken from the Syr Darya and lifted uphill by a chain of large pumping stations. Without them the fields around the town would still be desert.
- Zomin · Above Zomin lie the juniper forests of the Turkestan range, protected as a reserve since 1926 — the oldest in Uzbekistan — and later as a national park. The juniper air is the reason for the sanatoria in the hills.
Getting to Jizzakh and getting around
- Jizzakh Station · South of the centre; Afrosiyob trains between Tashkent and Samarkand stop here
- Jizzakh Bus Station · On the bypass east of town; buses and shared taxis to Samarkand and Tashkent
Cheap eats in Jizzakh
Jizzakh is a somsa town: the large tandoor-baked meat pastry here is famous throughout Uzbekistan, and the bakeries that make it are the main reason travellers leave the bypass. Lunch is plov in a choyxona, the teahouse; everything is cheap, and cash in som is the norm.
- G'ani Xoji Somsa House · A big Jizzakh somsa about 12,000-18,000 som, tea 3,000 som
- Kichik Somsa · Smaller somsa for a quick stop, about 6,000-8,000 som
- Tandir Somsa · Tandoor somsa straight from the wall, about 10,000-15,000 som
- Yagona Choyxona · Plov at lunch around 30,000 som, a pot of tea 3,000-5,000 som
- KabobUz · Shashlik skewers near the museums, about 10,000-15,000 som each
- Shukur Bobo Somsa House · Somsa on the eastern side of town, about 10,000-15,000 som
Museums in Jizzakh
- Hamid Olimjon and Zulfiya Museum · Manuscripts and photographs; half an hour
- Sharof Rashidov Museum · Photographs and documents of the Soviet era
- 1916 Uprising Monument · A short stop on the way to the park
- Qassoblik Mosque · Outside prayer times; women cover their hair
- St Nicholas Church · Small Orthodox church in the south of town
Nature and day trips near Jizzakh
- Tamerlane's Gate · Pull over at the gorge and look for the inscriptions
- Zomin · About an hour east; the start of the road to the juniper forests
- Jizzakh Reservoir · Open water and fishermen 20 minutes away
- Baxmal · Apple orchards in the foothills; best in autumn
Things to do in Jizzakh with kids
- O'rda Park · Shade, rides and ice cream near the centre
- So'g'diyona Park · Large park in the south of town
- Istiqlol Children's Park · Playground and rides for younger children
Where to eat in Jizzakh
- Said Baliqchi · Fried fish, a good change from mutton
- Milliy Taomlar · The name means "national dishes"; a full Uzbek menu
- Amir Restoran · Large dining hall for a sit-down dinner
- Shoxsaroy · Uzbek dishes and grills
- Bo'ston · Central and simple, near the museums
Frequently asked questions about Jizzakh
What is there to see in Jizzakh?
The top sights in Jizzakh are Hamid Olimjon and Zulfiya Museum, Sharof Rashidov Museum and Olimjon and Zulfiya Monument. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Jizzakh?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Jizzakh without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Jizzakh?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Jizzakh, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Poets, rebels and a party boss.
How do you get to Jizzakh and get around?
The main ways are Jizzakh Station and Jizzakh Bus Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Jizzakh, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Jizzakh that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Jizzakh for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.