Samarkand Things to Do

Like the much larger Sher Dor medressa at the Registan, and built at the same time, the portal of the Khodja Akrar ensemble features the most-unIslamic lion/tigers (maned and striped - you choose) and...

Lady Bibi was the beloved wife of Timur.Bibi Hatun Mosque (15th century)was the largest structure of its time in the world.Tamerlane's idea was to to build the most beautiful mosque of the world and...

As I told you apart from the classical subjects in this Madrasah you could learn about Astrology and Astronomy and it became an important center for this subjects. You can see from right to left two...

This is one of the most important buildings of the world history. Ulug bey decide to build this observatory in 1428-1429 on one of the hills . In the main hall huge instrument was placed for...

Timur means “clever, talented”.Tamerlane, two sons and two grandsons, including Ulug bey, lie beneath the modest Gur Emir Mausoleum. As with other muslim mausoleums, the stones are just markers; the...

The entrance stairway at the Shah-i-Zinda leads the visitor up to a narrow street lined on both sides with mausolea. They are in varying states of repair and restoration and by the time you have...

Afrosiab is one of the few ancient places remaining somewhat untouched. While there is a museum exhibiting some of the past artifacts found onsight, the whole of the grounds have not been fully...

The decoration on the portal of the Sher Dor medressa poses perhaps the greatest puzzle of anything you will see in Uzbekistan. That it should feature not only animals ( tiger-like beasts that are...

That's the translation of the local name - Rukhabad - for the mausoleum built by Timur in 1380 for the mystic, Sheikh Burhan al-Din Sagarji. It's said that Timur used to walk around the mausoleum...

There was a bazaar on this site near the Bibi Khanum mosque long before the mosque was built, and no doubt much of what was for sale here was the same then as it is now - mini-mountains of fresh and...

Hazreti Hizir mosque was built in the 18th century on the entrance to Samarkand. Hazreti Hizir (Saint Hizir) is very important for us "travellers" because we believe that he is the protector of...

Buried in back yards just southeast of the Gur emir is another Timurid mausoleum, known as the White Palace , built around 1470. Still elegant even in ruin, the building is of cruciform chamber, arch...