Shah-i-Zinda is an avenue of mausoleums built up around the shrine of Qutham ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad said to have brought Islam to the region in the 7th century. Most of the standing tombs date from the 14th and 15th centuries under Timur and Ulugh Beg, and the tilework here – from carved terracotta to full cut-tile mosaic – is considered the richest and most technically varied collection of Timurid tiling in Central Asia.
Walk the avenue slowly rather than rushing through – the tilework changes noticeably from one mausoleum to the next as you go.
Local tip: There is an entrance fee, easy to miss if you're not looking for a ticket booth – one visitor titled a review 'Entrance fee? What entrance fee?' after being caught out.
Good to know
- Where: Shohi Zinda ko'chasi, Samarkand
- City: Samarkand