Good afternoon, are there any shops in Bukhara/Samarkand with an interesting selection of yarn (not Turkish, not Italian)? Maybe it’s possible to buy silk on cones somewhere?
Good afternoon, yarn was sold at the covered market in Bukhara, on the 2nd floor, but I don’t know exactly what kind — in 4 years I still haven’t managed to go there myself.
Maybe someone else can suggest shops with fabrics — I need the best silk that can be obtained in this country, fabric cuts, not finished products made from it.
A lot of fabrics are sold at the Bukhara Kolkhoz bazaar and across the road from it. There used to be good fabrics at the Caravan bazaar area, but it was temporarily closed a few days ago because of fire safety violations.
@elena_che Then you need to go to Margilan — the silk in Bukhara comes from there. There are factories there, and one of them has a Telegram account.
The silk factory in Margilan is simply WONDERFUL. We were there in October — I wrote a report and review about it here earlier. I highly recommend it. Entry is free, but I strongly advise taking a guide — young guys work there, polite and competent. It costs 50,000 soums. It’s absolutely worth it: they show everything in detail, explain every little thing. They demonstrate how all the machines work and even show the dyeing of a piece of fabric right in front of you. We even bought that piece as a souvenir.
Here’s the factory phone number: +998 99 757 85 50.
It’s better to stay in Fergana — all the infrastructure is there. And you can get to Margilan by taxi in 30 minutes. I wouldn’t recommend staying in Margilan itself.
And yes, you’ll rarely find real silk anywhere else.
At the factory itself the prices bite a little and there is no bargaining, but you probably won’t find it much cheaper anywhere — it’s silk, an export material.
Here’s a life hack for you:
About 100 meters from the factory there is a small shop called Silk & Craft Shop. They sell silk produced by local home artisan workshops. Very knowledgeable sellers, a huge selection, and prices slightly lower than at the factory.
Here is the location of the shop
In that shop we even bought small scarves as gifts for 70,000 soums — natural silk, machine-woven (the lightest kind).
Handmade silk is a bit rougher and more expensive.
There are also scarves for 100–200 thousand soums with plant prints — absolutely top in terms of design. Any outerwear made from blended silk even in Margilan costs at least about one and a half million soums, like a jacket. Cheaper probably only in China and India.
Just yesterday I tried on a velvet jacket (bakhmal) in my city for 20,000 rubles. I wonder how much something like that would cost in Uzbekistan and whether it’s even possible to find such beauty there. Because people say all the good stuff is exported.
Where is it? I know that the one I mentioned is from Bukhara, but the fabric comes from Margilan. No matter how you look at it, everything I learned says the fabrics are still brought from Margilan. It’s located not far from Shah-i-Zinda, within walking distance. By the way, they have their own guide there and you can enter for free.
The Samarkand Carpet Factory. They have everything there — bags, carpets, scarves, shawls and other things, all handmade. For different budgets.
@swetlana Wow, thank you for such a detailed answer. I’m going to study all of this now, saved it to my notes. Thanks again!
In Bukhara there is the Tokki Sarrafon market — the covered domes. In the reviews I read that there is a shop with elite fabrics run by Feruza. Try visiting her.
In Tashkent there is a shop Adraschi Amaki near the Chorsu market. They also have a huge selection of fabrics. They have a Telegram group and run it actively, and they offer worldwide delivery.