Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Another interesting picture gallery is the
Ulugbek Medressa's mosque. Many of the
medressas' former dormitory rooms are
now art and souvenir shops. In the high
season mock weddings are put on for tour-
ists in the Sher Dor courtyard, while tacky
sound-and-light shows take place in the
square.
From dawn until opening time police
guards offer to clandestinely escort visitors
to the top of a minaret for 10,000S or more,
but this is negotiable. If you come during
the day, note that your ticket is valid all day,
allowing you to come back and photograph
the complex at the various times of day
needed for the sunlight to be coming from
the right direction. However, tell the com-
plex security guards if you'd like to do this,
otherwise they will tear your ticket and you
won't be able to reuse it.
Bibi-Khanym¨Mosque¨
MoSQUe
(Toshkent yo'li; admission 9000S;
h
8am-7pm Apr-
oct, 9am-5pm Nov-Mar)
The enormous congre-
gational Bibi-Khanym Mosque, northeast
of the Registan, was finished shortly be-
fore Timur's death and must have been the
jewel of his empire. Once one of the Islamic
world's biggest mosques (the cupola of the
main mosque is 41m high and the
pishtak
38m), it pushed contemporary construction
techniques to the limit.
Slowly crumbling over the years, the
mosque partially collapsed in an earthquake
in 1897 before being rebuilt in the 1970s.
Today it's badly in need of further restora-
tion work, especially on its façade, while the
mosque itself looks as though it may fall in
on itself at any moment, although the souve-
nir sellers inside continue to ply their trade
without an apparent worry in the world.
Legend says that Bibi-Khanym, Timur's
Chinese wife, ordered the mosque built as
a surprise while he was away. The architect
fell madly in love with her and refused to
finish the job unless he could give her a kiss.
The smooch left a mark and Timur, on see-
ing it, executed the architect and decreed
that women should henceforth wear veils so
as not to tempt other men.
The interior courtyard contains an enor-
mous marble Quran stand that lends some
scale to the place. Local lore has it that any
woman who crawls under the stand will
have lots of children. The courtyard also
contains two smaller mosques. The one on
the left as you enter through the enormous
main gate has an impressive unrestored
interior festooned with Arabic calligraphy.
Bibi-Khanym¨Mausoleum¨
MAUSoLeUM
(Toshkent yo'li; admission 7000S;
h
8am-6pm)
Across Toshkent yo'li is Bibi-Khanym's own
compact 14th-century mausoleum, brightly
restored in 2007. It's rather overpriced for
what it is, given the impressive mosque
across the road only costs slightly more.
Shah-i-Zinda¨
CeMeTeRY
(Avenue of Mausoleums; Shahizinda; admission
6000S;
h
7am-8pm Apr-oct, 9am-5pm Nov-Mar)
Samarkand's most moving and beloved site
is this stunning avenue of mausoleums,
which contains some of the richest tilework
in the Muslim world. The name, which
means 'Tomb of the Living King', refers to
its original, innermost and holiest shrine -
a complex of cool, quiet rooms around
what is probably the grave of Qusam ibn-
Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Mohammed
who is said to have brought Islam to this
area in the 7th century.
A shrine to Qusam existed here on the
edge of Afrosiab long before the Mongols
ransacked it in the 13th century. Shah-i-
Zinda began to assume its current form in
the 14th century as Timur and later Ulugbek
buried their family and favourites near the
Living King.
After remarkably surviving more than
seven centuries with only minor touch-up
work, many of the tombs were aggressively
and controversially restored in 2005. As
a result, much of the brilliant mosaic, ma-
jolica and terracotta work you see today is
not original.
The most beautiful tomb is the Shodi
Mulk Oko Mausoleum (1372), resting place
of a sister and niece of Timur, second on
the left after the entry stairs. The exquisite
majolica and terracotta work here - notice
the minuscule amount of space between
the tiles - was of such exceptional quality
that it merited almost no restoration.
Shah-i-Zinda is an important place of
pilgrimage, so enter with respect and dress
conservatively. At the end of the pathway
between the mausoleums, the complex
opens up into Samarkand's main cemetery,
which is a fascinating place to walk.
