Samarkand–Bukhara Silk Carpets Factory

Samarkand Bukhara Silk Carpets is a family workshop at 12A Hujum Street in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, near Shah-i-Zinda and the Bibi-Khanum Mosque. It is run by the Badghisi family under Haji Mohammad Ewaz Badghisi, a master weaver of Turkmen origin who at 103 remains a guiding presence, and his daughter Zainab Badghisi, who manages the workshop and handles orders and tours. The family moved to Afghanistan during the Soviet period and returned to Uzbekistan in 1992, and the workshop describes more than three centuries of carpet weaving in the family line. Visitors follow the whole process, from silk cultivation to dyeing and weaving. Dyes come from natural materials such as madder root for red, with walnut shells and onion skins as well as pomegranate skins, and threads are painted by hand so that no two hues repeat. Upstairs, women weavers work the looms in a large shared room. The showroom holds silk carpets and kilims. Suzani embroideries hang beside scarves and clothing, and souvenirs fill the smaller shelves, and the family states there is no pressure to buy. Orders are placed directly with Zainab by phone or messaging app. A video tour by travelling filmmakers Laura and Michael shows the factory floor and the weaving room.