Shakhrisabz

Shakhrisabz is a small and very cozy town located 90 kilometers from Samarkand at the base of the Gissar and Zarafshan mountain ranges where the Tankhoz and Aksu rivers merge. There are so many greenery in this settlement that it is rightfully called the "green city". This town is over 2700 years old. Its history began in the 3rd century BC. Initially it was called Kesh and it was the capital of Sogd.

Centuries flew by, the town was repeatedly rebuilt and even moved to another place, so the last Shakhrisabz and the ancient settlement of Kesh are located twenty kilometers from each other.

At one time, the city had to witness how the Persian kings Cyrus and Darius made campaigns, how Alexander the Great with his cohort resisted the Arabs who were trying to seize the city, how he guarded the caravans along the Great Silk Road.

But the greatest fame was brought to the city by the fact that it was here that Amir Temur was born. Great Tamerlane was born in the village of Khoja-Ilgar on the outskirts of Shakhrizbad in 1336. This great man is known not only for his military exploits, but also for building new cities, erecting amazing masterpieces of architecture. Thus, the stately and exquisite in luxurious decoration Ak-Saray palace and the Dorut Tilavat memorial were built here. Seeing them, you will be amazed at the nobility of the forms of these buildings.

The majestic Ak-Saray, which is also called the White Palace, is Amir Temur's most beloved and ambitious undertaking. From the memoirs of Clavijo, the ambassador of Spain at the court of Timur, Ak-Saray is an enormous building, striking in its technical solution. A huge pool was built on the roof of this building at a height of 40 meters. Water was supplied to it through troughs made of lead from the nearby Takhtakaracha mountain pass.

Shakhrisabz reminds absolutely everyone of the great Tamirlan. Temur's father Amir Taragay, teacher Shamsiddin Kulol, his eldest sons Omar Sheikh and Jekhangir are buried on its land. The great emperor wanted this very place to become his last refuge. However, against the will of Temur, he was buried in a completely different city - so fate decreed.