MEMORIAL COMPLEX SHAKHI-ZINDA

Shakhi-Zinda is a monument of medieval architecture, an ensemble of mausoleums of the Karakhanid and Timurid nobility. The complex that has come down to us consists of eleven mausoleums, successively attached to each other during the XIV-XV centuries. In 2001, the ensemble of Shakhi Zinda mausoleums, along with other ancient buildings of Samarkand, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Shakhi Zinda Ensemble was founded by the Turkic dynasty of the Karakhanids and was further formed over 9 centuries and includes more than twenty buildings of the 11th-14th and 19th centuries. Until the 16th century, it was called Mazar Shah, meaning Kusam ibn Abbas. From the 16th century, it became known as Shokh-i Zinda - "the living king".

The oldest structures of the ensemble, of which only the foundations and tombstones have survived, date back to the era of the Turkic dynasty of the Karakhanids (XI-XII centuries). The vast majority of buildings belong to the Timurid era (XIV-XV centuries), and the reconstruction of the XVI-XIX centuries. practically did not affect the composition and appearance of the complex. The mausoleums have a turquoise finish or are covered with dark blue tiles with floral designs.