Samarkand

Panoramic view of the rear side of the Sher Dor Madrasah, 1619-36, (left) and side of the Tillya-Kori Madrasah, 1646-60, Registan, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, pictured on July 16, 2010, at dawn. The Tillyah-Kori (gilded) Madrasah is part of the Registan Ensemble, surrounding a magnificent square. Commissioned by Yalangtush Bakhadur it is not only a school but also the grand mosque whose lavishly gilded main hall in Kundal style justifies the name. The 75 metre main facade is two-storied with corner turrets and decorated in brilliant mosaic. The dome was only completed during the 20th century Soviet restoration. The Sher-Dor Madrasah, commissioned by Yalangtush Bakhodur as part of the Registan ensemble, and designed by Abdujabor, takes its name, Having Tigers, from the double mosaic (restored in the 20th century) on the tympans of the portal arch showing suns and tigers attacking deer. Samarkand, a city on the Silk Road, founded as Afrosiab in the 7th century BC, is a meeting point for the world's cultures. Its most important development was in the Timurid period, 14th to 15th centuries. Picture by Manuel Cohen

Picture No

13425378

Media ID

45091816

Size

14383px x 3741px (12.0MB)

Credit

Manuel Cohen / Mary Evans

Source

Photograph by Manuel Cohen