Ak-Saray Palace (Shakhrisabz)

Ruins of Amir Temur's giant palace

Amir Temur built the biggest palace in the world in his home town of Shakhrisabz. Its gate was 70 metres tall — a 20-storey building! Today only two huge pylons remain, but even they are 38 metres. The palace roof had a pool, from which a waterfall flowed. An inscription on the portal said: 'If you doubt our power, look at our buildings.'

Ak-Saray (1380–1404) was Amir Temur's palace in Shakhrisabz (Kesh), the largest structure of Timurid architecture. Its portal arch was 22 m wide and is thought to have reached 70 m; two pylons 38 m tall survive. The Spanish envoy Clavijo described in 1404 halls decorated with gold and lapis lazuli and a pool on the roof. The tiles carry Temur's motto and the inscription 'The Sultan is the shadow of God'. In the 1500s the Bukharan khan Abdullah demolished the palace. Shakhrisabz's historic centre is a UNESCO site (2000). Nearby are the Dorut Tilovat and Dorus Saodat complexes — the tomb Temur built for himself (he was buried in Samarkand).

Fun facts

• The palace gate was 70 m — as tall as a modern 20-storey building.
• There was a pool on the roof, fed by pipes from the mountains.
• The portal inscription: 'If you doubt our power, look at our buildings.'