RUKHOBOD MAUSOLEUM
The mausoleum of Sheikh Burhanuddin Sagarji, known as Rukhobod or 'residence of the spirit', was built in 1380 by Tamerlan to house the remains of his mentor and his family. It is one of the oldest monuments in the city. Its architecture is simple: a cubic base with symmetrical sides, surmounted by an octagonal drum on which rests a conical dome 22 m high. Large dimensions that recall the Timurid origin of the building.
It is said that a lock of the Prophet's hair was buried with the saint's remains. His grave lies almost in the centre of the mausoleum, next to that of the sheik's wife, Bibi Khalfa. When he died in China, his body was mummified and brought back to Samarkand on camelback, also buried in the mausoleum under the cobblestones. The paving stones are scratched by the nails of the architect, who signed his work.
The other ten graves are those of Sheikh Burhanuddin Sagarji's children, eight boys and two girls. The tombs of the latter two can be recognized by their more tapered shape and are decorated with suras from the Koran. The east door is original, and still bears, engraved in Arabic script, Tamerlan's favourite phrase: "Allah is the only God and Muhammad is his prophet". The 14th century minaret has also been restored. Its architecture is a reflection of the entrance portal of the khanaka. Just behind it, the splendid traditional house in iwan, with colonnades and painted woodwork, is that of Khodja Muin Shukurullaev (1883-1942).
