Paikend

Paikend stood on the route from Bukhara towards Merv and the Amu Darya, and medieval writers called it a city of merchants. It had a citadel, a walled inner town and suburbs, and was known for its many caravanserais. The city declined in the medieval period, apparently as the river that fed it shifted, and it was never rebuilt.

Archaeologists have worked here for decades and uncovered streets, houses, a mosque, a minaret base and fortifications. Walking the site gives a good sense of an early Silk Road town. A small museum at the entrance shows pottery, coins and other finds.