VedutaLandmark
Shah-i-Zinda
A narrow avenue of richly tiled mausoleums climbing a hillside, built over eight centuries.
- Editor's score
- 4.8
- Visit
- 1 h 15
- Price
- €
About
Shah-i-Zinda is a necropolis in north-eastern Samarkand whose name means 'the Living King'. It is linked to the legend of Qutham ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, said to be buried here after coming to preach Islam in the 7th century. The ensemble grew from the 11th to the 19th century and now holds more than twenty buildings. Most of the mausoleums date from the 14th and 15th centuries, arranged in lower, middle and upper groups.
Best time to go: Go early in the morning, when the lane is quiet and the tiles catch the low light; dress modestly, as this is a place of pilgrimage.
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