Samarkand - City in Samarkand Vilayat, Uzbekistan

"Samarkand, also known as Samarqand and Markanda, is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. There is evidence of human activity in the area of the city from the late Paleolithic Era, though there is no direct evidence of when Samarkand was founded; some theories propose that it was founded between the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Prospering from its location on the Silk Road between China and the Mediterranean, at times Samarkand was one of the largest cities of Central Asia. - Wikipedia"