Designing a tour in Shakhrisabz: what to see and where to go

Ancient Kesh, the city where the Shaker of the Universe, Great Tamerlaine was born is now called Shakhrisabz, the Green City. Its monuments are mainly attributed to the Tamerlane's epoch.

Ak Saray
The tremendous Ak Saray (White Palace) was Tamerlaine's most favorite and ambitious undertaking. As Clavijo, an Ambassador to Samarkand, reported to the Spanish Royal Court, it was a colossal structure with a water pool on its roof 40 meters above the ground. Water was delivered to the pool through lead pipelines from mountains around the city. A small fenced area on the top of the entrance portal provides a breath-taking view of the ancient city.

Kok Gumbaz Mosque and Doru Tilovat (Blue Dome and Place of Meditation)
The mosque was built by Ulugbek near the original mausoleums of Sheikh Shamsuddin Kulal, teacher and spiritual mentor of Timur, and Timur's father Amir Taragay. The tombstone of the Sheikh is said to have curative effects and it is decorated with opulent marble ornaments.
The Blue Dome mosque was designed as a Friday Mosque and, like almost everything Ulugbek did, the shape of the inner dome was developed with such incredible geometrical accuracy and a great deal of mathematical computations which resulted in its outstanding acoustic effects. Here, a local guide will sing an old prayer for you and even if you are a totally non-religious person, your soul will get vibrant and responsive to the beauty and solemnity of the ceremony.

Doru Saodat (Seat of the Might)
Tamerlaine built these buildings for his son Jehanghir, who died at the age of 22. Later Omar Sheikh, another Timur's son, was buried here. The powerful ruler wanted this place to be his resting place but his last will was never accomplished. The gloom and smothering atmosphere of the unpretentious crypt that Tamerlaine built for himself make you shiver and hurry out to see the sun and breath fresh air.