Sightseeing in Samarkand: historical places of greatest interest
Samarkand is the open-air museum: there is much to see and many places to visit. It is divided into old and modern pars of the city. And of course if you are visiting Samarkand, you should first pay your attention to the old city. This place is full of mysteries, filling every corner of every building.
Let’s start our walk from the Registan – the heart of Samarkand city. The name of this world famous square means “sand place” and was given to it because the square is standing on the earth where the river dried out many years ago. Ensemble of the Registan square includes three beautiful madrasahs (centers of education for Muslims): they are the 15th century Ulugbek Madrasah, 17th century Sher Dor Madrassah and Tilla-Kari madrasah. All three madrasahs together in one great graceful amazing ensemble will impress you a lot.
The next stop is mysterious Gur-Emir (the meaning is “grave of Emir”). This is actually a mausoleum for Muhammad Sultan who was a grandson of Great Tamerlane. Since the time it had been built, many Timurids (members of Tamerlane dynasty) were buried there. Gur-Emir ensemble includes several parts, but not all of them were saved from the relentless time. Some of them were reconstructed later, on Samarkand’s 660 anniversaries). Marble headstones and Tamerlane’s headstone (the only one that is made from nephritis) in the upper part of the mausoleum are in the great condition. There is an interesting exciting story regarding this place: the scientists, disobeyed the old men who told them not to disturb the ashes of Tamerlane by opening his grave (they told it will waken the spirit of war). The scientists opened and examined Tamerlane’s and Ulugbek’s graves. Some say this was the reason of many wars.
Another famous place is the Observatory of Ulugbek, one of the most interesting places during your sightseeing in Samarkand. It was constructed and built in 1428-1429 by Ulugbek. For those times this observatory was absolutely priceless and unique; it was the real breakthrough in the science of astronomy. It is hard to believe that this and all other observatories in Samarkand were built without using special optical instruments.
If you want to know and see more: Afrosiab museum, Shakhi-Zinda Burial Vault, Bibi Hanim and other historical places of Samarkand, you should go there and see everything with your own eyes. Historical and cultural heritage of this city will not leave you indifferent.
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