As we reached the top of the stairs, the stunning Avenue of Mausoleums was right before us. We couldn’t believe our eyes. In front of us was a narrow walkway bordered on each side by the bright blue tiled walls of four historic mausoleums. It is one of the most amazing entrances to a site you could ask for.
There are so many incredible sites in Samarkand that we decided to present them in three separate posts. Click on the following links to read about Registan Square or Amir Temur Mausoleum.
Shah-i-Zinda Mausoleum
Our favourite site in Samarkand is also its most beautiful. Its nickname is Avenue of Mausoleums and it is a display of some of Samarkand’s finest tile masonry. From the street its beauty is hidden by a rather ‘common’ look in this city of exemplary architecture.
After entering through the decorated gates, a set of stone steps leads you to the first of two breathtaking moments in the complex. At the top of the stairs four bright blue mausoleums stand within a few feet of each other. In fact they are so close, you can’t step back enough from one to see the other in its entirety. The amount of bright blue tile is almost overwhelming.
A couple of these first four mausoleums have interiors to match their exterior brilliance. Decorated in white, gold and blue tiles, they are magnificent tributes to their occupants.
After finally tearing ourselves away from these buildings we realized we has only seen the first section in this complex of eleven tombs. They were built for royalty, nobility and relatives of Amir Temur. One of our favourite views was of three domes in a tight arrangement near the beginning of the site.
Looking from one end of the complex to the other we could see why it is called Avenue of Mausoleums. It is a long row of beautiful mausoleums. Built between the 14th and 15th centuries, the entire necropolis is a stunning work of art.
The second jaw-dropping scene is at the end of the complex where three bright blue mausoleums form the boundary for a small square. There are so many details in the tilework that it’s difficult to focus on just one spot. Every inch of wall or ceiling space is decorated with elaborate tile designs that blend together perfectly.
Inside, more elaborate designs decorate the ceilings and walls of these tombs.
A nearby walkway leads to a mysterious room. Legend says it is the grave of Kusam ibn Abbas, a relative of Prophet Mohammed. In reality, it was built to honour him and is not his actual grave. Because of this it has the name Shah-i-Zinda or grave of ‘The Living King’ and is often a pilgrimage site. We saw many Uzbeks, mostly women, visiting the site on a pilgrimage.
Entrance fee – 40,000 UZS ($3.50 USD), Hours – 8 am – 7 pm
Getting to Shah-i-Zinda – The mausoleum complex is a little further away from the main sites, but can easily reached by foot. Google Maps doesn’t know that you can walk from Islam Karimov Mausoleum to Shah-i-Zinda in just a few blocks. Don’t follow its suggestion to take the long way around.
Ulugh Beg Observatory
Ulugh Beg was a brilliant mathematician and astronomer who made remarkable discoveries in the early 1400s. Building a large sextant he was able to catalogue 1018 stars. In addition, he predicted the length of a year to within 25 seconds.
On a hill outside of Old Town are the remains of his observatory. The site has a museum explaining his discoveries and how they were used by others around the world. The most interesting part is the underground section of his sextant. You can only view it from above and are not able to get too close, but it is a fascinating part of the history of this area.
The observatory is quite far from the other sites in Samarkand and other than the sextant it really doesn’t have much to see so if you’re rushed for time, it can be missed.
Entrance Fee – 30,000 UZS ($2.60 USD), Hours 9am – 6pm
Islam Karimov Mausoleum
Not far from Bibi-Khanym Mosque is the mausoleum for Uzbekistan’s first president and man to declare Uzbekistan as an independent state from the Soviet Union. From the outside, Islam Karimov Mausoleum is impressive sitting atop a small hill. Inside, it is quite pretty with colourful ceilings and decorative patterns on the walls. Compared to other places in Samarkand though, it’s not nearly as grand so if you’re short on time, you can leave this one out.
The best part are the views of the city from its hilltop location.
Entrance fee – Free
Daniel Mausoleum
Down the road from the Observatory is the tomb of Prophet Daniel (Daniyar). He was a saint in Christianity, Islam considered him a prophet and he was an important figure in Judaism. Therefore, his mausoleum is a pilgrimage site for all three religions. The mausoleum is very small and only has the sarcophagus on display. It is an extremely long sarcophagus though. According to the legend, after the tomb was built, the sarcophagus continued to grow until it reached a remarkable 18 metres.
Entrance Fee – 25,000 UZS ($2.20 USD); Hours – 9am – 8 pm
Samarkand is a large city of 614,000. Outside of these historical monuments there is not much for the visitor to see. We stayed in Old Town hoping to see historic homes and narrow alleyways. Instead they are mostly newer buildings with no interesting features.
Note – There are many different spellings of Uzbek cities and points of interest. Instead of listing every variation, we chose to use the most common and/or the spelling used on signage at a site.
Getting to Samarkand
It is very easy to reach Samarkand. Aefroib (Fast trains) travel regularly between Samarkand and both Tashkent and Bukhara. There is also an international airport in Samarkand, but most international flights will land in Tashkent.
Getting around in Samarkand
The rideshare app Yandex is available in Samarkand and is an easy and economical way to get around. Many of the sights are within walking distance so once you get to Old Town, you may not need a taxi.
Where to stay in Samarkand
There are many options to chose from for guesthouses and hotels in Samarkand. Try to stay as close as you can to Registan. We stayed in the family run Fayz_Xan_Saray Guesthouse on Booking.com and can’t say enough good things about their hospitality.
Where to eat
Most of the tourist restaurants are located in the strip between Registan and Bibi-Khanym Mosque or on the street in front of Registan. We found two good restaurants near Bibi-Khanym Mosque. Zargaron has very good meals and even better are the views of the mosque. Only a few doors down we had a great coffee and a great dinner at Bibikanym Teahouse.
This article is now featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Samarkand.
Please visit the link for our Travel Tips in Uzbekistan.
To read our other posts from Uzbekistan click here.
Coming Next – Shakhrisabz – Amir Temur’s Birthplace
For pictures from other blogs go to Gallery at monkeystale.ca
To read about more of our adventures go to Destinations.
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