10/9: Samarkand, Uzbekistan's Spectacular Shah-i-Zindah Necropolis & Afrosiab Museum

We had just had a glorious morning touring the Bibi Khanum Mosque and Mausoleum, shopping in the neighboring Siob Bazaar and then walking around one of the most revered sights in Samarkand. There was still more we wanted to see before calling it a day, though! One was Shah-i-Zindah, a necropolis that was described as one of the great masterpieces of Timurid art. On the way, we passed this vendor selling puffed rice by the bag! The only people I know that like it are Steven and my father who was also a big fan but he liked it with milk and sugar, not just plain like Steven was content to eat it. 

Steven's bag only cost him 5,000 som or .60, a cheap and healthy snack certainly. 

We weren't quite sure what Shah-i-Zinda would look like so ventured in this cemetery first before realizing we still had a ways to go before coming to the 'street of tombs.' 

I went up these steps, thinking this might be the place but realized  it was just more of the city cemetery.

We should have known one of Timur's great works would have a suitably commanding entrance as this. The Shah-i-Zindah dated from 1372 to 1460 and housed a veritable 'Who's Who' of Timurid aristocracy. The name Shah-i-Zinda, meaning 'the living king,' relates to the legend that Kusam ibn Abbas, the cousin of the holy prophet Muhammad who brought Islam to the area in the 7th century, was buried there. A legend tells how when ibn Abbas was beheaded by raiding Zoroastrians, he tucked his head under his arm and escaped into a well to return on an appointed future date. 

Out front were the ruins of a 15th century hammam or bathhouse. 

Just inside the entrance was the ayvan, an open prayer space, built to honor the mother of Amir Hussein in 1910.

I was glad we were in decent shape as otherwise the daunting flight of stairs would be quite a mission for the unfit. I read that legend has it that if you count the stairs going up and then later going down, and the number is equal, you are considered pure and can ask and pray for what you desire. If not, you have to repeat the climb and down again reciting short Koranic sentences until you get it correct. P.S. We were too tired when walking down to remember to count the steps!

As we trudged up the stairs, we heard a holy man or possibly an imam praying to a a group of Muslim faithful in the ayvan.

When we caught our first glimpse of the street of tombs, I looked at Steven and we both said, "Wow!" From the lower grouping, to the middle grouping, to the upper grouping, there was eye candy everywhere with stunning tile work, compressed in a relatively small area. Though more low key than the Registan, this avenue of mausoleums showed off the best tile work of any Islamic architecture anywhere else in the world.

The Tuglu Tekin Mausoleum was built in 1376 and dedicated to Amir Hussein's mother although he was later buried here. Hussein was one of Timur's commanders. The gorgeous portal was decorated with glazed terracotta. The plain white graves were conspicuous in their simplicity against glittering backgrounds of infinite blues, greens and yellows. 

Steven tends to zip through museums and galleries at a faster clip than I because I take photos and like to read more of the information. Here he was patiently waiting for me in front of Amir Zoda Mausoleum that was built in 1386.

The tiny doorways to the mausoleums ensured by design that bowing to Allah was compulsory. 

The Shirin Beka Oka Mausoleum was built by Timur at the end of the 14th century for his sister of the same name. On the portal was listed the year of her death, 1385. The interior was far more sumptuous than some of the others had been.

One of the most beautiful buildings at Shah-i-Zindah was the Shodi Mulk Oko Mausoleum built in honor of Timur's sister, Turkon Oko, and her daughter, Shodi Mulk Oko. It was completed in 1372.

I could certainly understand how for some people the profusion of turquoise tile work would now be passé for those who have already toured the similarly exquisite Bibi Khanum Mosque and Mausoleum or the Registan before coming to Shah-i-Zinda. But the mosaic work was so exemplary and delightful here we weren't complaining when faced with even more such beauty. 

The exquisite majolica and terracotta work was of such exceptional quality that it merited almost no restoration. I read that after remarkably surviving more than seven centuries with only minor touch-up work, many of the tombs were aggressively and controversially restored in 2005. As a result, much of the brilliant mosaic, majolica and terracotta work we saw wasn't original.

I noticed quite a few pilgrims had left money on gravestones for comfort in the afterlife even though that was strictly discouraged at other Muslim sites.

I will forever associate these intense blue tones with all the outstanding Muslim religious institutions we were so lucky to see in Uzbekistan's Silk Road cities of Khiva, Bukhara and finally here in Samarkand.

This mausoleum stood out because of its exterior simplicity amid the richness of the others. Built in the second half of the 14th century, the identity of the person buried within was unknown. Some of its majolica tiles were partially preserved.

With every step we took, we encountered another remarkable turquoise and blue tiled tomb, each one worth exploring. The Usto Ali Nesefi Mausoleum, built in the latter half of the 14th century, differed from the others by its elegant geometric form.

The eight-pointed Islamic star, not to be confused with the six-pointed Jewish star:

How many more ways can you describe something so beautiful? I am at a loss. 

The tombs formed three quite distinct building eras; this was the second with the sandstone construction.

The Amir Burunduk Mausoleum was built over the grave of one of Timur's generals near the end of the 14th century. Five graves were in its simple interior.

At the very top and far end of the lane of tombs was the crypt of Shah-i- Zinda or ibn Abbas, the cousin of the Holy Prophet of Islam, Mohammed, that I described earlier. For devout Muslims, this mausoleum was an important religious stop. 

The prophet Muhammad was quoted as saying his cousin "Kusam ibn Abbas more than any other person looks like me in appearance and character." It was only appropriate a prayer space was the first thing we saw.

The colors in the ibn Abbas room were much greener than the others. Every couple of minutes the holy man would begin praying as a new group of Muslims entered and sat down on benches around the room.

More money for the afterlife:

On the right side of the doors that were made in 1404 was an inscription in Arabic that said," The doors to paradise are open to the faithful."

Beyond the Shah-i-Zindah mausoleum was the Tuman Oko complex built for Timur's wife in the 15th century. It consisted of a mosque and mausoleum.

Another mausoleum, built in 1360, likely carried the remains of another of Timur's wives, Kutlug Oko.

A view beginning to walk back down the street of tombs toward the entrance:

Even though we’d seen many mosaic-decorated madrassas, mosques and mausoleums, we hadn't seen anything quite like Shah-i-Zindah in terms of pattern, artistic style and monumental size. I think it was the most stunning sight in Samarkand, a city of stunning sights, even though the city's most heralded location is normally considered to be the Registan for most tourists.

From Shah-i-Zindah we walked a long ways to Afrosiab, the site of ancient Samarkand. It had not been subjected to restoration, and was a lovely bucolic spot, with great views over the modern city and distant mountains, and with a few sheep and cattle placidly grazing. The city of Afrosiab flourished from the 6th century BC until it was destroyed by Genghis Khan in 1220 and was then deserted.

The small Soviet-era museum at the site was surprisingly interesting, particularly the beautifully preserved large wall paintings that documented the king receiving foreign emissaries in the 7th century to Afrosiab. 

In this segment, two dignitaries were depicted bringing clubs for the sacrifice in the reception hall which took place on the first day of the year on March 31. Also included in the scene were King Varxuman's 'second-rank wives!'

On another wall, we heard a guide point out the ancient Sogdian language written on the skirts of the men.

On another wall, we could see, again with help from a guide, that the emissaries bringing gifts to the king were Chinese, Korean, etc from the clothing they wore. Even though we could only see indistinct shapes of people and not the details, the colors were remarkably bright and we still got a real sense of the tremendous find these murals must have been when they were discovered in the 1960s.

This segment showed Chinese envoys bringing 'silk cocoons, hanks and rolls.'

Figures of animals weren't allowed to be painted so they were crossed out. 

Chamberlains and interpreters introduced Tibetan messengers in this part. 

The surviving frescoes from that long ago era were incredible and I could only imagine what they must have looked like in their prime. 

A team of Uzbek and French archaeologists have been working on Afrosiab since 1989. They have studied the fortifications of the ancient city and discovered a 'powerful raising platform of the king's citadel.' A residential district from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD was studied as was the ancient Bukharian gate that functioned from the middle of the 1st century BC until the Mongol invasion.

Ceramic plates from the 4th to the 6th centuries:

Large vessel for keeping grain:

Even I was willing to admit the Afrosiab Museum, encompassing over two millennia of history, was a bit of a welcome change after the Timur-centric time we'd spent in Samarkand by that point! 

Excavations of the 300 acre site behind the museum have revealed Zoroastrian temples and a cult center dedicated to the local god Anahita though we weren't able to detect anything except dusty trenches and low excavated walls. 

On the long walk back to town, we passed the Jewish Cemetery. Having seen so much that day, we only peeked in through these gates and didn't look for the main entrance.

I hope by now after reading some of my posts on Uzbekistan, you'll agree the country has been one of those hidden gems travelers love to talk about. This Shah-i-Zindah mausoleum was just one example, an amazing walk past a series of well preserved, gigantic and Uzbek turquoise colored tombs. If you ever want to get off the beaten tourist track to see a country that will delight you at almost every turn, Uzbekistan is the place to go in my mind!

Next post: Traveling to the Urgut Bazaar the way locals do.

Posted on November 5th, 2018, from Lourdes, France.