Culture. Uzbek culture

The Abdulkasim Medressah
This monument was erected to the great thinker of past times — Abdulkasim-khan. The medressah is located in the south part of old Tashkent, reminding about the grandeur and beauty of the Tashkent ancient architecture. According to the archaeological researches, historical documents and legends "the first stone" of the Abdulkasim Medressah was laid at the beginning of the 19th century. In ethnographical materials of 1908, this monument was described by N.Ostroumov as one of the places of honor popular far beyond Tashkent.
Historical Monuments
Ak-Saray Palace
Construction of the palace was started in 1380 and completed in 1404. The Ak-Saray Palace can serve as an example of the main government building — the residence. The arch of the huge construction had a span of about 22 meters — the biggest one of all Temurids structures. The palace, encircled with gardens and ponds, stood out in its beauty of decoration. The yard was encircled with magnificent apartments, reception halls and rooms for feasts. Unfortunately only the picturesque ruins of Ak-Saray have survived to this day, but even these scarce fragments provide an idea of the former beauty of this architectural work of art.
Ulugbek Observatory
In the 20ties of 15th century on one of the hills, the governor of Samarkand, Mirzo Ulugbek built the biggest observatory in the East that can not compare with any other in the world. His star tables Zidji-Gurgani plied by him in his observatory in Samarkand, have kept their scientific value to date: astronomic tables content coordinates of 1018 stars. The observatory 30-meters height building had 46 meters in diameter. After the death of Ulugbek the observatory was destroyed and its location forgotten. In the early years of the 20th century the observatory was rediscovered and excavated by the archaeologist V.Vyatkin. The bottom part of its main device was found — a huge quadrant with a radius of 40.2 meters and an arc 63 meters long. Presently, the Ulugbek Museum is situated next to the remains of the former observatory.
Bibi-Khanym Mosque
The most grandiose construction to be built in Samarkand on the Emir's order, was the Bibi-Khanym Cathedral Mosque which was named after his senior wife. Construction of the mosque was started in 1399 and continued till 1404. According to Temur' idea this new mosque had to outshine anything he had seen before in the conquered lands. It was a large-scaled construction where the skilled masters' achievements of that time were concentrated including mosaics-, marble- and wooden-carvings, as well as plaster paintings. Today only some of the renovated buildings bear testimony of the former splendour of the Bibi-Khanum mosque.