My today's story I will devote to the memorial complex "Shahi-Zinda", which is located in Samarkand city, Uzbekistan. Samarkand is a very ancient city, whose age has exceeded 2750 years. In addition, there are relatively well preserved ancient monumental buildings that are located near each other and this makes the city very attractive for foreign tourists. It is called in different ways - "City of mausoleums", "City of the dead", necropolis ... By the way ,in 2001 it was included by UNESCO in the list of world heritage.
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Literally "Shahi-Zinda" is translated as "The Living King". According to legend, when the Arabs attacked the city, someone from the townspeople fired an arrow into Kusama ibn Abbas, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, commander of a detachment of conquerors. But, as the legend says, Kusam ibn-Abbas did not die - he went to underground wells and will return on the appointed day. Although there are many legends connected with the death of Kusam - some say that he was wounded in battle. Others say that Kusam was killed by enemies during the prayer. When he was cut off his head, he grabbed her and disappeared into the well, where he is now. According to another version, he was taken alive to paradise. There are many more variations on this topic and you can choose any.
In general, the necropolis dates back to the 11th century AD, when mausoleums began to erect on the outskirts of the ancient Afrasiab hillfort. Construction was carried on until the XV century. The oldest building is the mausoleum of Kusama ibn Abbas. You can see it in the photo - it rises just behind the main entrance.
The legend of not quite the usual death (or not death) of Kusama ibn-Abbas gave rise to a bunch of meanings and legends. Since he was a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, pilgrims rushed here and a mausoleum-cenotaph (false tomb) was erected, because Kusama's bodies were never found. In the photo, in the foreground you can see the canopy. This canopy covers a well in which Kusama ibn-Abbas allegedly disappeared.
At the same time there was an opinion that triple visiting of the mausoleum is equated to obligatory hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca. This has further increased the popularity of the mausoleum. Around the same time, a 40-stair staircase was built as a symbol of the transformation of the human spirit. Now, believing pilgrims did not immediately go to the mausoleum, but performed a 40-day prayer service, cleansing their thoughts and souls and presenting themselves before the "Living King" completely cleared. Every day they went up one level, reading prayers.
Tourists are encouraged to count the steps during the ascent, and then on the way back. If the number coincides, then we can assume that they have been cleansed of their sins.
Necropolis is located on the hills and rises from the bottom up. The main group of buildings is located just behind the mausoleum of Kusama ibn Abbas
The main ensemble of mausoleums was built in the XIV-XV centuries and falls on the middle part of the necropolis. The mausoleums were attached to each other, forming a kind of street.
On the left, the mausoleums of the later period are depicted in the 14th-15th centuries. On the contrary, the remains of the mausoleums of the earlier period-the XI-XII centuries-are seen.
Each of the parts of the necropolis is separated by arched-dome aisles (the so-called "Chartaks").
In the middle of the necropolis there are the mausoleums of the time of Tamerlane - in them are buried his wives, relatives, close military commanders and religious figures. All of them are richly decorated with glazed bricks, tiles, majolica and paintings.
Part of the mausoleums could not stand the struggle with time and was destroyed. In the early 2000s, a colossal and unique work was carried out to restore and reconstruct the destroyed architectural monuments and they returned the original appearance.
The upper part of the necropolis consists of three mausoleums facing each other and forming a kind of small courtyard. These mausoleums were built in the XIV century and are richly decorated with majolica lining.
The distance between the mausoleums is so small that our group of tourists from 10 people, including the guide, was already a bit crowded.
The mausoleums of the upper part of the necropolis are also richly decorated with ornaments and sayings from the Koran
On this I conclude my story about the necropolis "Shahi-Zinda". Unfortunately, the beauty and uniqueness of this complex cannot be conveyed in words and photos - you need to go and touch these amazing monuments of culture yourself. And do not be embarrassed that this is a Muslim shrine - we are glad to everyone who shows interest in our culture and traditions.
By the way, Shakhi-Zinda has long lost its function as a burial place and now it is a cultural and tourist memorial complex. An exception was made for our First President Islam Karimov in view of his enormous and invaluable services to Uzbekistan
