Tiles and more tiles – Samarkand

The Shah-I-Zinda necropolis is one of the most amazing sites I have ever visited.

After climbing 35 steep steps one is stunned by the mass of blue and turquoise majolica tiles.

The name, which means ‘Tomb of the Living King’, refers to its original, innermost and holiest shrine – a complex of cool, quiet rooms around what is probably the grave of Qusam ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the prophet Mohammed, who is said to have brought Islam to this area in the 7th century. The most stunning Timurid-era tilework dates from 14th and 15th centuries.

I didn’t know how to stop taking photos!

Some of the interiors

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