Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ak-Saray¨Mausoleum¨
MAUSoLeUM
(Shohruh Mirzo ko'chasi; admission 3000S;
h
9am-
6pm)
Behind the ugly new wall surrounding
Gur-e-Amir is the little Ak-Saray Mausole-
um, with some bright frescoes and majolica
tilework inside. The frescoes were barely
visible before being restored in 2008.
Rukhobod¨Mausoleum¨
MAUSoLeUM
(Registan;
h
9am-6pm)
Rukhobod Mausole-
um, dated 1380 and possibly the city's old-
est surviving monument, now serves as a
souvenir and craft shop.
1
Russian Town
Gur-E-Amir¨Mausoleum¨
&¨Around¨
MAUSoLeUM
(Bo'stonsaroy ko'chasi; admission 9000S;
h
8am-
7pm Apr-oct, 9am-5pm Nov-Mar)
Timur, along
with two sons and two grandsons (includ-
ing Ulugbek), lies beneath the surprisingly
modest Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum and its
trademark fluted azure dome.
Timur had built a simple crypt for him-
self at Shakhrisabz, and had this one built
in 1404 for his grandson and proposed heir,
Mohammed Sultan, who had died the pre-
vious year. But the story goes that when
Timur died unexpectedly of pneumonia in
Kazakhstan (in the course of planning an
expedition against the Chinese) in the win-
ter of 1405, the passes back to Shakhrisabz
were snowed in and he was interred here
instead.
As with other Muslim mausoleums, the
stones are just markers; the actual crypts
are in a chamber beneath. In the centre is
Timur's stone, once a single block of dark-
green jade. In 1740 the warlord Nadir Shah
carried it off to Persia, where it was acci-
dentally broken in two - from which time
Nadir Shah is said to have had a run of very
bad luck, including the near death of his
son. At the urging of his religious advisers
he returned the stone to Samarkand and, of
course, his son recovered.
The plain marble marker to the left of
Timur's is that of Ulugbek; to the right is that
of Mersaid Baraka, one of Timur's teachers.
In front lies Mohammed Sultan. The stones
behind Timur's mark the graves of his sons
Shah Rukh (the father of Ulugbek) and Mi-
ran Shah. Behind these lies Sheikh Seyid
Umar, the most revered of Timur's teachers,
said to be a descendent of the Prophet Mo-
hammed. Timur ordered Gur-e-Amir built
around Umar's tomb.
Soviet anthropologist Mikhail Gerasimov
opened the crypts in 1941 and among other
things confirmed that Timur was tall for the
era (1.7m) and lame in his right leg and arm
(from injuries suffered when he was 25) -
and that Ulugbek died from being beheaded.
According to every tour guide's favourite an-
ecdote, he found on Timur's grave an inscrip-
tion to the effect that 'whoever opens this will
be defeated by an enemy more fearsome than
I'. The next day, 22 June, Hitler attacked the
Soviet Union.
1
Ancient Samarkand (Afrosiab)
At a 2.2-sq-km site called Afrosiab, northeast
of Siob Bazaar, excavations of Marakanda
(early Samarkand) lie more or less aban-
doned to the elements.
If it's not too hot, the best way to reach
Afrosiab is on foot. Cross the intersection
north of Bibi-Khanym and follow Toshkent
yo'li for about 1km to the Afrosiab Museum.
Ulugbek's Observatory is 1.5km beyond that.
Alternatively, take bus 70 to the Ulugbek
marshrutka stop from Usto Umar ko'chasi
opposite Shah-i-Zinda, or any bus sign-
posted Bulungur or Jambay from the new
Shahizinda bus station, 200m east of Shah-
i-Zinda.
Afrosiab¨Museum¨
MUSeUM
(Toshkent yo'li; admission 9000S;
h
9am-5pm)
The Afrosiab Museum was built around one
of Samarkand's more important archaeo-
logical finds, a chipped 7th-century fresco
of the Sogdian King Varkhouman receiving
ranks of foreign dignitaries astride ranks of
elephants, camels and horses. You'll see re-
productions of this iconic fresco throughout
the country. It was only discovered in 1965
during the construction of Toshkent yo'li.
The 2nd floor of the museum leads the visi-
tor on a chronological tour of the 11 layers of
civilisation that is Afrosiab. There's passable
signage in English upstairs, but the fresco
itself is only signed in French, so a guided
tour can be useful.
Tomb¨of¨the¨Old¨Testament¨¨
Prophet¨Daniel¨
MAUSoLeUM
(admission 5000S;
h
9am-8.30pm Apr-oct, to 5pm
Nov-Mar)
The restored Tomb of the Old Testa-
ment Prophet Daniel lies on the banks of the
Siob River (turn left off Toshkent yo'li 400m
northeast of the Afrosiab Museum). The
building is a long, low structure topped with
