Chor-Chinor garden near Samarkand

There are magic, even mystical, places around the world surrounded by ancient legends and stories. Moreover, they are surrounded by facts, and the modern science is still trying to find explanation to it.

One of these places is a sycamore garden Chor-Chinor, translated from Tajik as ‘four sycamore trees’, located in a small ancient city of Urgut, only 50 km to the south-east of Samarkand. The place outstands with unusual sycamores, the age of the oldest one is more than 1160 years, and the youngest one is 600 years old. It is to mention a giant tree, a real titan, 16 meters in girth. The most interesting is inside the tree hollow; the carved door reveals a hidden room with minimalistic collection of furniture. Nevertheless, the sycamore is alive and continues to grow. Once there was a Sufi school inside the tree, and served as a haunting place for few generations of the dervish.

Entering the garden, you will find yourself in a magic world with unique aura, as if in another dimension. The first you will feel is tranquility that gifts the atmosphere of this holy place. Remembering thousands of prayers said here during its history of existence, we can only imagine how this special energy appeared. Many people from across Central Asia pay a visit to this place seeking penance and healing. People come here with their problems searching for peace and wisdom. Moreover, visitors belong to different religions and social status.

There is a brook starting from an unusual spring with a small pond. It is unusual because the spring comes from the middle of the stone similar to millstone. Here is the mystic that has been mentioned earlier. A group of geologists decided to study the underground waters of this place. For these purposes, it was agreed to extract a clod, and it turned out in the morning that the spring has ended, and the pond dried out over the night. This phenomenon is beyond scientific explanation.

There are different legends related to the Chor-Chinor garden; one of them says that the founder of the garden is a mighty batir (hero) who had stolen magic stone from evil spirits and built it on this very spot. As soon as he placed the cobble stone, the spring waters came out. The hero decided to plant four cuttings of sycamore that were brought to him by four beautiful birds. These sycamore trees outlived the centuries, and turned into a wonderful grove.

In the beginning of the 20th century a mosque was erected on the territory of the park. Initially, the building was conceived and served as madrassah, educational institution. Today visitors enjoy exquisite walls of the building adorned with a grand dome. The mosque attracts attention with the fact that it stands not on the ground, but on a little slope, still having ideal proportions and without any inaccuracies.

Thousands of tourists daily arrive in Samarkand, enjoy its ancient sights, but only few visit Urgut. We recommend you take this trip to the garden, away from city fuss, listen to the music of nature as it is all around: in the creek flow, birds’ talk, rustle of leaves and wind blow. Relax and meditate, leave the burden of your troubles, and maybe then you will hear quiet voice of sycamores.