Samarkand, of all the historic cities in the world, has always had a very special appeal due to the city's pivotal position along the fabled Silk Route, an early and major crossroads between East and West. Merchants, monks and diplomatic envoys from the courts of Europe visited the Central Asian empires from the thirteenth century, and left fascinating accounts of meetings between two accomplished but very different peer civilisations. Over the centuries, Samarkand has been able to conserve the heritage from its Timurid heyday, a period which has gained new significance in the context of the recent resurgence of Uzbekistan s national identity. The re-shaping of this identity is coupled with its opening up to the world at large, facilitated by easier communications and matched by a rising interest in Uzbekistan's current development on the part of foreign countries, institutions and individuals.

On the premise of such renewed cultural exchange, the Aga Khan Trust For Culture, based on an understanding between His Excellency Mr. Islam Karimov, the President of Uzbekistan, and His Highness the Aga Khan, started a number of initiatives in Samarkand in close co-operation with national and local authorities. The first product of this involvement was the 1991 international idea competition for re-structuring the historic city centre between the Registan and Timur s citadel, followed in 1992 by the prize-giving ceremony of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in the Registan. Two years later, the Trust's Historic Cities Support Programme joined the Municipality of Samarkand in a long-term co-operative effort to review and update the 1980 masterplan vis à vis the historic city, and prepare more detailed rehabilitation proposals for certain key areas in the old centre.

The intention of this initiative, carried out with the help of two international consultants, is to set up a deeprooted co-operative institutional structure, involving the technical offices of the Municipality and key staff within the State Institute for Planning and the State Institute for Restoration, drawing on the resources of the Samarkand School of Architecture, and providing new opportunities for young Uzbek architects and planners.