The Registan
The centrepiece of the city and one of Central Asia's most awe-inspiring sights is the Registan, an ensemble of majestic, tilting medressas offering an overload of majolica, azure mosaics and vast, beautifully proportioned spaces.
Restored in its original splendour the artwork on the Registan is one of the most important monuments of Islamic arts. The ensemle consists of Ulughbek Madrassah to the west side of the square, memorial to the ruler dating back from 1417-20 and accommodating at least 100 students of Islamic and secular sciences at the time in its two storey dormitory cells. Almost like a mirror stands the Shaybanid Emir Yanangtush's Sher Dor Madrassah (1619-35), with its roaring felines, characterising the name (Lion Medresse) and a, for Islamic arts unusual, depiction of live animals. The third building inbetween is the Tillya Kari Madrassah, (gold-covered) completed by the Emir in 1660.
Bibi Khanym Mosque
The gigantic congregational Bibi-Khanym Mosque nearby the Registan is powerful and shapely, even in ruin, and was the jewel of Timur's empire. It's a victim of its own grandeur, since it was once one of the Islamic world's biggest mosques and pushed construction techniques to the limit; slowly crumbling for centuries, it finally collapsed in an earthquake in 1897.
Bibi Khanum being Timur's Chinese wife, the Mosque is one of Timur's most ambitious projects and was to exceed anything he had encountered on his campaigns and was built between 1399 and 1404.
There is a giant marble Quran stand in the open courtyard
Shahr-i-Zindar Monuments
The most moving of Samarkand's sights is Shahr-i-Zindar, a street of tombs mostly belonging to Timur and Ulughbek's family and favourites, including one said to be that of a much revered cousin of the prophet Muhammad. Though disfigured by donation boxes, the tombs are decorated with some of the city's finest majolica tilework.
Shahr-i-Zindar stands for 'The living King', and refers to the holiest Mausoleum of this place of pilgrimage, probably the grave of Qusam ibn-Abbas, a cousin of Prophet Mohammed who is said to have brought Islam to the area. Also adorned with exceptional tilework the other tombs belong to Timur's and Ulughbek's family and friends.
Gur Emir Mausoleum
Timur's favourite grandson erected this Madrassah and Khanagha 1400-1401, Timur erected the adjectant mausoleum. Although Timur had built himself a separate crypt at Shahrisabz, he was buried at Gur Emir (Tomb of the Emir) in 1405. Two of his sons and grandsons including Ulughbek also lie buried in the crypt underneath the inner room.
See the story on the Samarkand region page for more information.
Afrosiab
Closeby the Observatory, Afrosiab are the excavations of early Marakanda, a.o. the restored tomb of Prophet Daniel. Together with the fine Sogdian arts examples the 7th century frescoes at the nearby Afrosiab Museum are one of the most interesting points of the site.
There are daily flights between Tashkent and Samarkand. Otherwise it's a five hour bus or train ride across the flat, dry 'Hungry Steppe'. Buses run between Samarkand and Tashkent, Bukhara, Dushanbe and Almaty.
Ulughbek Observatory
Ulughbek (1394-1449) has built this initially 30 m, three storey observatory for his astronomic work in the 1420s. The remains include the instrument's track ecavated in 1908. Following Ulughbek's achievements Samarkand was to become one of the world's scientific centres in the Middle Ages.
