Historical sights of Samarkand.

"Of the buildings outside the city, we will mention one palace Timur-ljanga. It is located in the northern part of the city and is called Khozreti-Shahi-Zinda. The remains of wall decorations, consisting mostly of porcelain mosaics, are striking in their beauty and magnificence. from the south, because then the eye embraces the whole perspective of palace buildings, among which there is a wide and magnificent staircase ... "

Nikolai Vladimirovich Khanykov.

Excursions to the architectural sights of the Shakhi-i-Zinda necropolis.

The construction of the necropolis reached its greatest prosperity in the last quarter of the XIVth century, when mausoleums began to be erected for members of the family of Timur, military commanders and nobles. Some constructions of the ensemble "Shah-i Zinda" belong to the first half of the XVth century, the time of Ulugbek.
These include a discreetly decorated portal (1434 - 1435) at the foot of the Afrosiab hill and a mausoleum with two highly raised turquoise domes, which is supposed to be above the grave of the astronomer Kaza-zade-Rumi, the teacher of Ulugbek.
The open space in front of the Kazy-zade-Rumi mausoleum is replaced by a narrow passage built up on both sides by Timur's time-tombs: Emir-zade, Tuglu-Tekin, Shadi-Mulk-aka (Turkan-aka) and "Shirin-bika-aka".
The greatest impression is made by the mausoleum of the famous astronomer Kaza-zade Rumi. Paying due respect to the scientist, Ulugbek ordered to build the building in such proportions that, despite the lower place of the tomb, its domes were on the same level as the domes of the mausoleum representatives of the royal family.
The building in 1434 - 1435 is connected with the name of Ulugbek. entrance portal. The uniqueness of Shahi Zinda lies not only in the architecture of buildings and the indescribable magnificence of their decor.

Enlightener:
Religious and spiritual monuments of Central Asia." Author M. Khashimov. Saga Publishing, 2001 Collection “Architectural and archeological monuments of Uzbekistan”, Saga, 2003. “Samarkand. Reference Guide ", Authors I.Umnyakov, Y. Alekserov. Arapov A.V. Samarkand "Masterpieces of Central Asia". Media-Asia San’at Publishing House 2008. Arapov A.V. “Samarkand. Guidebook Publishing house Media-Asia San’ath 2007.

Photos by
Alexander Petrov.