Registan is the combination of grateful majolica and sky-blue mosaic

Nekropolis Shahi-Zinda
Nekropolis Shahi-Zinda (“The living King”) is one of the great ancient architectural ensembles of Samarkand, situated on the south-eastern part of Afrasiab. Ensemble includes mausoleums and other religious buildings of XI, XIV and XIX centuries. The name of Shahi-Zinda is connected with legend. It is said that cousin of Prophet Muhammad, Kusam ibn Abbase arrived in Samarkand to preach Islam but he was beheaded, despite he managed to go down into the well where allegedly he has still been living.
Complex Shahi-Zinda includes more than 20 buildings. The ensemble is divided into three groups: lower, middle and upper. The top group consists of three mausoleums. The earliest of them is Hoja-Ahmad mausoleum. There is a complex on the left which consists of mausoleum, mosque and hujr. It was built at the beginning of the XV century. The middle group consists of mausoleums built at the beginning of the XIV and at the end of the XV centuries. All buildings have the connection with Tamerlan’s relatives. There is a mausoleum Shadi-Mulk-aga on the west side. She was Tamerlan’s nephew. The construction is a portal-dome, single-chamber crypt, built in 1372. On the contrary there is the mausoleum of Timur’s sister – Shirin-Bika-aga. The lower group is the most proportional with two domes building, located at a multy-stage ladder. The mausoleum was built at the beginning of the XV century.
Some of these buildings with blue domes, high portals and patterned stone arches were restored by architects under the direction of the famous archeologists.
Having visited the mausoleum Shahi-Zinda, you will be able to know architectural school of Samarkand and Central Asia. In its construction the architects used carved terracotta, large mosaic and relief majolica. It is important to note that Shahi-Zinda is the unique architectural monument in Samarkand in which was reflected almost 25-century history of the city.

Afrasiab

Afrasiab is an ancient settlement, its area more than 200 hectares, located on the northern suburb of modern Samarkand. The city was named in honor of mythical king Turan. Thanks to archaeological research it was known that Samarkand was one of the largest shopping and cultural centers of Central Asia. There were found ornamented pottery dishes, glass ware, terracotta figurines, coins, women's jewelry, a variety of tools during the excavations. Buildings of VI—VII centuries were decorated with artistic painting. In one of these structures were found paintings with images of people dressed in festive costumes, bearing rich gifts, accompanied by real and imaginary animals.
During the reign of the Achaemenids, the city was surrounded by a high solid wall. In the IX-X centuries and Samarkand became the first capital of the Samanid dynasty, as well as one of the cultural centres of the Islamic East. A majestic palace of Samanid king was built in the western part of Afrasiab. By this time area the inner part of the city had reached 220 hectares. There were bazaars, mosques and caravanserais on the south part. In XI-XIII centuries Samarkand became the capital of Karahanid. In 1220 was destroyed by Mongol ruler Chinghiz Khan. In XIII century Samarkand was suffered therefore Afrasiab was fully ruined.
Nowadays Afrasiab is one of the largest architectural monuments. Expedition is still exploring archeological excavations. All the finds of ancient city Afrasiab are restored in the History Museum of Samarkand.