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On the southeast slope of Afrosiab one of the famous ancient architectural ensembles of Samarkand is situated - the burial vault Shahi Zinda. It consists of eleven mausoleums, which were built one after another in the 14-15th c. Some of these buildings with blue cupolas, majolica on high portals, ornamented stone arches, ornaments of piles have been restored by the architects and folk foremen.
The entrance portal of Shahi Zinda, which crowns the whole ensemble, is the latest construction. The inscription on the portal says: "This majestic building is founded by Abdulazazkhan, son of Ulugbek-Guragan, son of Shakhrukh, son of Amir Timur - Guragan in 883" (1434 AD). Having mounted thirty-six steps of the ancient stairway, the visitor finds himself in an open gallery. Here on the left and on the right are situated the burial vault - mausoleums of Timur's close relatives, including his wife Tuman-aka and sister Shirin - bika-aka. The gallery finishes with a round yard with a vaulted arch.
Under it on the right there is an ancient carved door, which leads to the most ancient construction of Shahi Zinda ensemble - mausoleum Kussam ibn-Abbas. He was declared "saint" for the sermon and setting up of Islam in Samarkand after its seizure by Arabs. The keepers of Shahi Zinda will for sure tell the tourists the ancient legend that Kussam ibn-Abbas who lived here, one day, after finishing the sermon, removed his own head from shoulders, took it in his arm-pits and hid through a narrow slot in a cave, where he is still living ostensibly nowadays. That is where the name "Shahi Zinda" which means "A Living King" comes.
As a whole, the architectural ensemble Shahi Zinda represents a unique museum of glazed decor of the 14-15th c. One can find here glazed and carved terracotta, wonderful samples of the set mosaic, large mosaic made of glazed bricks. |
