8.- Samarkand, Shakhi Zinda
Shakhi Zinda a big medieval burial complex (10th to 19th centuries),
often referred to as "the Street of the Dead ", gives a
good idea of Tamerlane's intention to turn Samarkand into a collection
of the world's architectural styles.
Nowadays we can enter Shakhi Zinda through a portal build by Ulugbek
(1434-1435) Modest Davlat Kush Begi madrassah (1813) on the right.
On the left is a working mosque with an enclosed 19th century winter
section and an open summer one built in 1910.
Straight ahead the "Stairway to heaven" mausoleum of
Kazi Zadi Rumi (1420-1435) Ulugbek's teacher and a famous Turkish
astronomer. First on the right on the top is the Amir Hussein mausoleum
(1376). Opposite to it Emir Zade mausoleum (1386).
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