Initially Muhammed Sultan, a grandson and heir of Amir Temur, planned to construct the center of Islamic Education. But due to all of a sudden death of Muhammed Sultan, it was turned into burial complex.
Muhammed Sultan was buried at the complex first. All of a sudden, he died in 1403. Later, Amir Temur was buried here, who died during China campaign. Later, Ulugbek, who completed construction of the complex, was killed. On his tombstone, you can read the wise words “Everyone swims up till time, allocated to him”. So, the complex became the burial place of the Timurids.
History and legends
In June 1941, despite protests and warning of elder people, archeologists opened the tomb of Gur-Emir. People say that citizens of Samarkand saw spirit of Amir Temur on his beloved horse. In the morning, German Fascist attacked Brest Fortress and the World War II started.
Anthropologists created sculptural portraits of the Timurids based on the skulls. It is worth to mention that the visitors can see exact copies of tombs in the dome hall. The graves are located in the basement with a low ceiling in the same order.
Architecture
Portal entrance to the territory of Gur Emir is decorated with mosaics. The medresah and khanoqo is behind it. Square four-aivan yard was surrounded with high walls and four corner minarets. Currently, the walls were reconstructed up to height of people, while only two minarets remained.
The most attractive part of the Gur Emir is turquoise dome. It brightly shimmers in the background of Samarkand sky. The facade of the mausoleum is richly decorated with colorful mosaics, while internal walls are decorated with painted decorative cover.
Gur Emir is one of the best examples of the Central Asian architecture with filigree beauty of patterns.
