Samarkand is written about so much that one
wonders what else needs to be said. So I will let this be a visual experience for
your mind, your eyes and your heart. I shall make brief notings when and if
required.
We were on a tour of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and
I think Samarkand and Bukhara were the highlights for us. There is so much to
see in Samarkand and not wanting to rely on my travel agency as the
accompanying escort was immature and past experience with a local guide
arranged by them had not been good, I had already arranged my own city guide in
each of the main cities. When you are going on a long journey to such historic places,
you want perfection. You don’t want a guide who is doing it part time or as a hobby
or a sloppy job; so forewarned, its best
to be on your own. We got a local guide with Class 1 ratings – this is what I
liked about these countries. Official guides come with ratings based on knowledge,
length of guiding service, and sitting of regular exams. You are thus
guaranteed to get a good guide who is extremely knowledgeable.
In the Mausoleum square is a huge building, one of
many. Here lies a special copy of the Holy Koran, known as the Koran of Osman. Written
on buck skin, you can approach it at close quarters as it’s kept enclosed in a
glass case. The calligraphy is quite extraordinary. No photography is allowed
of the exhibit at all. It is quite large 53 x 68 cms or 20.8” x 26.77”...you
can clearly see the blood stains on the open page as it is rumoured that Caliph
Osman was murdered as he was reading it. There is an excellent explanation of
this book by the far side of the exhibit and taking permission, I was allowed
to photograph this panel.
You must accept that in all the erstwhile (in the past) Eastern European countries, all monuments were built on a grand scale; I mean vast and grand. They had space and few people in those days. So it was meant to impress the masses. The primary place in most of these cities was always known as the Registan. Translated from Uzbek, “registan” means a sand place. In ancient times, in this central square for the last six centuries in Samarkand, authorities gathered people on the square to announce the khan’s orders, held celebrations and public executions, and collected the army leaving to war. In the past, one could see many rows of trader’s shops around the square where artisans and farmers sold their goods. All main roads of Samarkand led to Registan where it was always noisy and lively. Various rulers during their reign would change the main significance of the square, but since those times and up to now, Registan has always been the centre of the city’s social fabric
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| The dome of the Gur - e - Amir mausoleum |
Samarkand has some particularly impressive sights
to see :
- The Registan,
a famous example of Islamic architecture. It consists of three separate
buildings:
- Madrasa of Ulugh Beg (1417–1420)
- Sher-Dor Madrasah (Lions Gate)
(1619–1635/36).
- Tilla-Kori Madrasah (1647–1659/60).
- Bibi-Khanym Mosque (replica)
- Gur-e Amir Mausoleum
(1404)
- Observatory of Ulugh Beg (1428–1429)
- Shah-i-Zinda necropolis
- Historical site of Afrasiyab (7th century BC – 13th
century)
- Siyob Bazaar
- Afrasiab Museum of Samarkand
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| Fruits abound in Samarkand and within the country. |
There are three madrassas on the
square: Ulughbek, Sherdor and Tilla-Kori that are the main sights of the city.
They were erected by two rulers at different times. The Soviet rulers had given
the order to restore the entire Registan and give it the status of the
significant historical monument on the Great Silk Road. Restoration work lasted
many years and finished just before the fall of the Soviet Union. Scientists
literally had to collect the whole interior and the exterior of the buildings
and smaller façade fragments, restoring all elements.
The look that we can see on the
Registan today is painstaking work of hundreds of restorers. If there was no
decision taken during the Soviet rule to restore the unique monument, this
beautiful ancient sight would never stand in front of our eyes.
Today events like concerts,
celebrations and other bright events of the city and the Republic are held on
the Registan Square. Thousands of tourists’ daily flow to the square in order
to see the grand beauty.
In the grounds at the back, in an
underground area, is this small shop which has various paintings and artefacts.
I liked the portraits.
The three madrassas are huge. I can’t
recollect which is which, as they are across each other and so similar in looks
and design; even after referring to Wikipedia.
I have put the photos here as the buildings are so beautiful with their inlay
work and precise architectural lines. In 1420, the construction of madrassa
ended. On the outside, the building, located on the western part of the square,
was done in the form of a rectangle; inside there is a square yard with
entrances to the student cells (approximately for 100 people) and learning
rooms. The façade of the madrassa looks out on the square, completed with two
tall minarets in the corners. Special attention should be given to an exquisite
interior of the building. Glazed bricks create beautiful ornaments on the
yellowish laying of the walls. The madrassa portal is adorned with patterns of
ten-pointed stars symbolizing the sky, and astronomy.
At that time, it was the largest scientific-educational
establishment in Samarkand. Here students were taught philosophy, astronomy,
mathematics, theology. Along with the madrassa, caravan-sarai and hanaqa of
Ulughbek were constructed as well. Two centuries later, they would build two
other madrassa on the place of the vendors’ shelter and hanaqa, and they would
complete the architectural ensemble that we can all see today.
Madrasah Tilla-Kori - The construction
of the Tilla-Kori Madrassah commenced in 1646 by the order of the Samarkand
ruler Yalangtush Bakhadur and was finished only in 1660. It is the final
building in the Registan architectural ensemble. It was built on the site of
caravan-saray which had been there for over two centuries. The name of the
Madrassah is derived from the rich golden decoration on the faсade.
“Tilla-Kori” is translated as “decorated with gold”. Square-shaped building of
the Madrassah fills the whole area between the Ulugbek Madrassah and the
Sher-Dor Madrassah. The façade, faced to the square is symmetrical and consists
of the high portal and two floors of arched niches, flanked with towers.
Khudjras (cells), intended for students, look on the large inner yard.
The entire
building is lavishly decorated with various herbal ornaments and linear
patterns. The major part of decoration was lost, but due to efforts of
restorers it was recovered in the second half of XX century. In 2001 this
beautiful monument of the Central-Asian architecture was included in the UNESCO
World Heritage List.
In the western
part of the Madrassah there is the mosque, crowned with the big glazed dome.
Its inner decoration amazes by the quality of the gold, applied by the method
of “kyndal”. For a long time this mosque was the main mosque in Samarkand.
Shakhi-Zinda Ensemble. Another
point of interest is the ancient necropolis Shakh-i-Zinda (9-14, 19 centuries)
situated on southeastern mound of Afrosiab. This architectural complex consists
of 44 tombs in more than 20 mausoleums. The greatest significance of Shah E
Zinda is that he was the first cousin of the Prophet Muhammad and resembles the
Prophet the most.
By sheer coincidence whilst we were enjoying a walk
in the city, we came across Tashkent Street and there was this rather large bridling
with various art galleries and shops. All very well designed and filled with
high quality items. We spent a lot of time appreciating the artists at work.
GUR EMIR MAUSOLEUM (Gur-e
Amir Mausoleum) on Akhunbabayev St. 8-19. (aka Amir Temur
Mausoeum) As a conqueror there are few that are Tamerlane equal, both in
territory and lives taken. It is said that he made pyramids out of the skulls
of his vanquished. Today one can visit his tomb in the beautifully
reconstructed Gur-Emir Mausoleum (1404-1405, 15-17 centuries) and reflect on
his life while looking at the largest piece of jade (greenstone) in the world.
One of the most significant
architectural ensembles of medieval East – the Gur Emir was built in the south western
part of Samarkand at the beginning of the XV century. This majestic complex
consisted of a khanaka, the madrasah of Muhammad Sultan - grandson of Amir
Timur, and, later, tombs of Amir Timur himself and his descendants.
The madrasah, a small building with a typical yard composition was meant to teach the children of Samarkand nobility. Opposite to the madrasah, there is located a khanaka with a central hall and cells - hudjras. Both buildings were erected by Mukhammad Sultan’s order to be become a center of Islamic education. But Muhammad sudden death in 1403 led to a change in an intended use of the complex.
After the death of Muhammad Sultan, Amir Timur was inconsolable: he ordered to put temporarily the remains of his beloved grandson in a madrasah’s corner room – darskhana, and immediately started the construction of the mausoleum which closed the ensemble from the south.
The complex courtyard was decorated with a single decorative wall with four minarets located at its corners, while from the north it was decorated with a magnificent entrance portal containing a name of the architecture – Muhammad ibn Mahmud Isfahani.
However, Tamerlane did not live to see the mausoleum finished, he died in winter 1405. The construction was completed by another Tamerlane grandson – Ulugbek. Although Amir Timur already prepared a mausoleum for himself in his native Shakhrisabz, it was Gur Emir that became his tomb and a burial place of his descendants. There rest his two sons – Shahrukh and Miranshah, beloved grandsons – Muhammad Sultan and Ulugbek as well as Timur’s spiritual mentor - Mir Said Baraka.
Today, the burial places in Gur Emir Mausoleum are marked with gravestones. The Timur’s gravestone, made of a single piece of jade, is located in the center of the tomb. The burials themselves are located below, in the mausoleum basement. The graves are located just in the same way as the gravestones in the hall upstairs. The Timurid tombs were opened only once in 1941, this event generated a famous legend.
The mausoleum is a fine example of medieval architectural craftsmanship. The contemporaries still admire the harmony of its proportions. The ribbed dome and vault walls are completely covered with a mosaic of light and dark blue glazed bricks, gilding and painting. The relief rosettes on the dome imitate a starry sky. The interior is enriched with bar tracery grids in the windows, marble and onyx panels covered with paintings, carving and inlaid with semiprecious stones.
Subsequently, Gur Emir was a prototype for famous samples of architecture of the Great Mughal: Humayun’s Mausoleum in Delhi and the Taj Mahal in Agra, built by Timur’s descendants who ruled northern India.
Today Gur Emir Mausoleum and its entrance portal are renovated by the restorers, but the khanaka and madrasahs, unfortunately, are left only ruins.
one such is the Mausoleum to Timur which occupies a huge square and within which lie many large buildings. 
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BIBI-KHANYM MOSQUE, Tashkent kochasi (street). The restored Mosque
Bibi-Khonym (named after Temur’s wife 1399-1404) is one of best known
architectural attractions of Central Asia. The Mosque was erected on Timur's
order after his raid of Delhi. The Minaret of the Mosque was supposed to be the
tallest. The majestic blue domes of the Bibi-Khanym Mosque are an unusual
sight. It takes one’s breath even from understanding the scale of construction
of this monument. In antiquity the dome of this mosque was compared with the
dome of heaven and the arch of portal; in fact with the Milky Way.
According to legend, the formidable
ruler built the mosque in honour of his favourite wife Bibi Khanym. After
successful campaign to India, Temur decided to build the biggest building of
the East – the mosque – which should have exceeded all mosques of the world by
its size. Hundreds of architects, painters and builders were taken to
Samarkand. The construction lasted for five years (1399-1404) and when Temur
came back from another campaign, it was ready. The yard of the mosque was
surrounded by luxurious galleries, the arches of which were on more than 300
marble columns, minarets towered on each side of it.
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| Courtyard of the Bibi Khanym mosque |
I had finished
writing the blog when I realised that I had left out the market and the city’s
famous “non” or “nan”. So here it is in full glory along with the photo of a
guy who wears his wealth right up front.
Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com
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Text and photographs are copyright of the author. No part of any article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com