The title translates to "The Village of Samarkandek."

The village of Samarkandek is located in the Batken district of the same-named region of Kyrgyzstan

According to legends, the village of Samarkandek got its name from a woman named Samara, who escaped from hunger by gathering apricots.

This village is home to just under 13,000 Kyrgyzstani residents. Literally a hundred meters away is the territory of another state, the village of Chorku, which is an enclave of Vorukh in the Republic of Tajikistan. The process of demarcation and delimitation of borders between the two countries has been ongoing for several decades.

The houses and yards of local Kyrgyz and Tajiks often stand side by side, and on one street, you can hear speech in several languages at once. However, this neighborhood is not always peaceful. Water and land in the southern part of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are valued like gold. Therefore, despite the efforts of local authorities and international organizations, neighborly relations often escalate into direct conflicts between local residents.

Problems with drinking water and land at the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are the main reasons for conflicts among local residents.

Rivers in the Batken region often serve as a natural border between the two states.

In recent years, with the active cooperation of local authorities and the World Food Programme of the UN to reduce tensions and conflicts, 35 projects have been implemented, including: rehabilitation of irrigation canals, construction of water supply channels, strengthening riverbeds with gabion nets, and stabilizing mountain slopes against landslides and mudflows by planting fruit trees, among other initiatives.

In the border area with the jamoats of Chorkukh and Surkh, a ceremonial opening and commissioning of three rural infrastructure facilities took place in the village of Samarkandek, with the participation of the head of the Batken district, local elders, and guests from international organizations. These projects were carried out under the program "Cross-Border Cooperation for Sustainable Peace and Development" and aim to improve cooperation and reduce tensions in the border communities of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

As reported by Sarvar Turdiboev, a UNDP Kyrgyzstan employee, the first facility is the concrete lining of the cross-border Aktatyr canal. The canal starts on Kyrgyz territory and passes through the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan before returning to the Kyrgyz village of Samarkandek. The lack of irrigation water in this village led to frequent disputes with neighbors. The concrete lining and reconstruction of the canal improved its passability and reduced water losses due to filtration. As a result, the volume of water reaching Samarkandek increased. Thus, one of the reasons for mutual discontent among residents of the border communities was eliminated.

The second facility is the bank reinforcement and repair of the canal in the village of Pasky Aryk. The irrigation canal was built in 1951-1952 when the land of the village of Pasky Aryk began to be developed. The main goal was to provide residents with irrigation water. However, residents of the Chorkukh and Surkh jamoats of the Isfara district also use water from this canal. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the condition of this canal deteriorated due to the lack of funds for the maintenance of the Samarkandek AO. About 100 meters of this canal runs very close to the mudflow riverbed and crosses the riverbed through a large pipe. Annual mudflow streams have eroded the banks to such an extent that the pipe was on the verge of collapse. If that happened, both Tajiks and Kyrgyz would have been left without water. Now, the bank has been reinforced, and the pipe is securely fixed. This has allowed the canal to be preserved and to provide irrigation water to about 2,500 residents of the villages of Pasky and Aryk (Kyrgyz Republic) and up to 200 residents of the Chorku and Surkh jamoats (Republic of Tajikistan).

The third facility is a market in the village of Samarkandek. Within the framework of the project, a canopy and stalls for 200 trading places and a meat pavilion were built. This was done to improve the conditions for cross-border trade. The market is located very close to the border, and Tajik entrepreneurs are frequent visitors. The number of Tajik entrepreneurs can indicate the level of interethnic relations. If relations are better, there are more sellers from Tajikistan; if conflicts occur, the number of Tajiks at the market sharply decreases. Currently, about a hundred Tajiks trade here every Saturday.

The border market in the Batken village of Samarkandek unites both Kyrgyz and Tajiks living on both sides of the interstate border. The market, which operates on weekends, attracts visitors from nearby border villages. International trade occurs only on weekends.

Residents of six settlements from the neighboring Isfara district of Tajikistan and the Batken villages of Ak-Sai, Ak-Tatyr, Kok-Tash, and Ravat use the services of the border market in the village of Samarkandek.