Fabulous Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan

This city is almost the same age as Samarkand. He recently turned 2700 years old. If to ask the average resident of the former Soviet Union about the sights of Uzbekistan they most likely will remember Samarkand with its Registan, Bukhara with its Ark and Khiva with its Ichan-Kala. And that's right, these cities are the three main whales on which the tourism industry of Uzbekistan is kept. I draw these conclusions on the basis of communication with my friends from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus. I also asked similar questions to friends from America and Korea - the same result.

Few will remember about Shakhrisabz. And here in vain! This small city, located 80 km from Samarkand, played a very big role in the life of countries that occupied the territory of modern Uzbekistan and the peoples who inhabited them.

Long time ago, long before our era Shakhrisabz (by the way, translated as "Green City") was known as Kesh. Today it is a small clean and green town and before that it was for some time the capital of ancient Sogdiana. Kesh (Shakhrisabz) was a part of the Achaemenid empire. And then in the empire of Alexander the Great. After the capture of the city in 329 BC. The city was influenced by Hellenistic culture. Ancient Greek cults have spread here - for example, the cults of Hercules, Dionysius and Athens. Unfortunately, traces of that era are almost gone - the ruins of the walls and the ancient citadel of the city.

When the Arabs invaded the territory of modern Uzbekistan in the VIIIth century, it was Kesh (Shahrisabz) that was the main center of anti-Arab and anti-Islamic resistance. This resistance led to the decline of the city and the loss of its importance.

The bulk of the historical monuments are during the reign of Tamerlane. By the way about Tamerlane - he was born on the outskirts of Shakhrisabz and for some time was his residence. By his order, a large palace was built - Ak-Sarai - the White Palace, from which only fragments of the entrance gate remained. In Shakhrisabz, Tamerlane's father and two of his eldest sons are buried. Moreover, a tomb was prepared for Tamerlane himself, but it is empty - the formidable ruler was buried in Gur Emir ("The Tomb of the Kings") in Samarkand

"Ak-Saray" can be considered a visiting card of Shahrisabz. In the courtyard of the former palace there is a monument to Tamerlane:

The view of the monument to Tamerlan on the background of the Ak-Sarai gates is imprinted on our 50-soms coin

Source

Tamerlane has monuments in three cities of the country - in Shakhrisabz, the commander is depicted standing on a pedestal. In Samarkand, he sits on the throne and in Tashkent he sits on a horse.

AK-SARAI
According to legend, Ak-Saray was a huge building. Some of its gates are worth! The height of the main portal reached 70 meters. The arch of the entrance portal collapsed about 300 years ago, and before that it was the largest construction in Central Asia.

By the way, in the pylons of the tower are laid spiral staircases, according to which the soldiers could climb up. Together with other tourists, I somehow scrambled to the top of the left tower - from there a picturesque view was opened. Unfortunately, I forgot the camera in the car - and I did not have time to re-climb again ...

There is a beautiful legend about the construction of this palace. Tamerlane called on the best architect in the world. He started the construction, but at some point it stopped, and the architect himself disappeared, after hanging the chain between the pylons of the entrance gate. Tamerlane impatiently hurried the builders to finish the decoration of the palace with majolica as quickly as possible. However, the builders could not continue working without the architect. Angry Tamerlane ordered to search his entire empire in search of the missing architect, but to no avail. And there was no other so skilful architect.

After some time, the architect himself appeared. First of all, he went to the construction site and checked the distance of the chain he had hung up to the ground. He, of course, was seized and dragged to Tamerlane. Tamerlane asked why he did not proceed to finish the building, where the architect disappeared and what is the manipulation of the chain? The architect replied that he hid because, on the one hand, he could not disobey Tamerlane's order and had to finish the building. If he had not done this, but at the same time he stayed in the city, he would have been executed. On the other hand, he could not continue finishing, since such a colossal structure had to shrink first and with the help of a chain he checked its level. If he began to finish, without waiting for shrinkage, then all majolica collapsed and he would be executed. Tamerlane praised him for his resourcefulness and forgave.

The construction of the palace took almost 25 years. At furnish various styles and colors were used. In the ornament there are lines from the Koran.

Dor-ut Tilovat complex
Ak-Saray is not the only sight of Shakhrisabz. Also there is the memorial complex Dor-ut Tilovat ("The Reading Place of the Holy Quran") dedicated to the outstanding religious figure Shamsiddin Kulalu, the spiritual mentor of Tamerlane.

On the territory of the complex are the tombs of Shamsiddin Kulal himself, Emir Taragay (father of Tamerlane) and other important officials of his era.

In addition, the tombstones of some Seyids (the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad) were transferred here - this gave the structure the second name of Gumbazi Seyidon (the Seyid Dome).

Also on the territory of the complex is a large cathedral mosque Kok-Gumbaz ("Blue Dome"), built in the XV century by the order of the learned ruler Ulugbek. Around the dome terracotta ornaments are laid out phrases praising Allah.

The interior of the mosque has four niches, oriented to the sides of the world, plastered with white ganch and painted with the finest blue and blue patterns.

The complex Dor-us Saodat. Mausoleum of Jahongir and Omar Sheikh

This funeral complex was intended for the repose of the Timurid dynasty. The name "Do-Us Saodat " is translated as "The storehouse of power". Here are buried the remains of Tamerlane's favorite son, Jahongir, who suddenly died during one of his campaigns.

In addition, the mausoleum of Omar-Sheikh, another son of Tamerlane, who was killed during the siege of one of the fortresses in Iran, was also on the territory of the complex, but to this day it has not survived.

The complex also includes the crypt of Tamerlane, prepared for the great ruler. The crypt was found accidentally in 1943. The child played in this place with the ball and fell into the ground. The adults who took it out found a crypt in which there is a marble sarcophagus covered with a huge monolithic marble slab, 11 cm thick.

On this our trip to Shakhrisabz came to an end. I want to add that the central part of the city is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Today Shakhrisabz is famous for its artisans and vintage wines, which have repeatedly won in international competitions. Also, through Shakhrisabz passes the Great Uzbek highway, which repeats the route of the famous traveler Marco Polo.

And finally, I offer a song about the city of Shakhrisabz in the performance of the Yalla band - our singing heritage!

!steemitworldmap 39.058517 lat 66.829319 long Fabulous Shakhrisabz - the bitrhlace of great governor Tamerlane d3scr