Cemeteries and memorials to visit Qashqadaryo & Surxondaryo Areas

The grave that Tamerlan reserved for himself near his sons remained forgotten for a very long time and was rediscovered by chance in the 1940s. Its extreme sobriety is the opposite of the mausoleum in which he finally rests, the Gur Emir of Samarkand, and was more suited to his desires: just a tombstone engraved with prayers in a small, cool and silent crypt, the walls of which also bear inscriptions engraved in stone. It is one of the most interesting places to visit in Sharisabz, having been spared by the reconstruction.

At the entrance of the necropolis dedicated to a local branch of the Sayyid dynasty is an impressive sardoba (water reservoir) whose huge vault is still preserved. The mausoleum of Seyd Amir Samsidin was built in the 16th century, but the marble tombstone dates from 1491. The summer mosque and the domed mosque were built between the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the minaret for which bricks from the ancient city of Kasba were used.

From the birthplace of Timur there is only a small cemetery where turtles and snakes try to make good cleaning. Beware of tall herbs. Following the track, you can go back to Shahrisabz.

Standing alone on its hillside, the Langar Ota Mausoleum is the funeral monument of the most famous saint of the region, Mohamed Sadik Sheikh who lived in the 16th century. You have to climb the path that crosses the cemetery to reach the gates of this monument surrounded by a lush garden. In passing, notice the engraved grave of a Langar resident with her cat: she lived 106 years, she was the village healer and herbalist. She is revered by the locals. Less so than Mohamed Sadik, however, who died in 1545 and was a local patron who offered the village its mosque.

The spire of the monument to the dead of the Second World War and to the victims of fascism, erected in 1987, is impossible to miss. There are austere exterior frescoes and imposing interior stained glass windows, where a flame burns under the 120 t and 134 m metal spire. Uzbekistan boasts the third largest war memorial in the world, after those of Russia (in Volgograd) and Canada. Small museum with photographs of all veterans.

The "house of power and will" was built by Tamerlan for Djahangir, his favourite son, who died prematurely in 1375. Tamerlan's pain was immense and explains the construction of the mausoleum which, according to Clavijo, was decorated with gold and azure. The ensemble was largely destroyed by the Emir of Bukhara, together with the White Palace. But the mullahs managed to save some of it by making the Emir believe that the mausoleum of Jahangir supported that of a saint. Another son of Tamerlan, Omar Sheikh, lies in the deputy mausoleum.

This mausoleum, built by Ulugh Begh in 1437 for his family, is square in shape, surmounted by a cylindrical drum decorated with kufic inscriptions on which rests a blue dome. The interior is beautifully decorated with geometric, epigraphic and floral frescoes. Next to the family tombstones of Uulough Begh are the graves of the Sayyid, a dynasty from Termez, descendant of Hussain, grandson of Mohammed, who gave their name to the mausoleum.