Shah-i-Zinda

The street of blue-tiled mausoleums

Shah-i-Zinda is a narrow street in Samarkand lined with more than 20 mausoleums, all decorated in blue and turquoise tiles — like a street from a fairy tale! Buried here is Qusam ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), a cousin of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The name 'the living king' comes from a verse of the Qur'an: 'Do not call those slain in the way of Allah dead' — these words are inscribed on the portal of his mausoleum. There are 36 steps at the entrance.

Shah-i-Zinda ('the living king') is an ensemble of 11th–19th-century mausoleums on the Afrasiab hill in Samarkand, mostly built under Temur and Ulugh Beg (14th–15th centuries). At its heart is the tomb of Qusam ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), a cousin of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who brought Islam in the 7th century — a place of pilgrimage. The name comes from a verse of the Qur'an: 'Do not call those slain in the way of Allah dead' — these words are inscribed on the portal of his mausoleum. More than 20 mausoleums: Shadi Mulk Aqa (1372, Temur's sister — the finest tilework), Shirin Beka Aqa, Tuman Aqa, Qazizade Rumi (astronomer, Ulugh Beg's teacher). Tile techniques: glazed brick, majolica, mosaic, kundal — an encyclopaedia of Timurid ceramics; the lapis blue comes from cobalt brought along the Silk Road. A UNESCO site since 2001 (as part of Samarkand). The 2005 restoration was criticised for replacing some original tiles.

Fun facts

• The name comes from a Qur'an verse — 'do not call those slain in Allah's cause dead' — inscribed on the mausoleum's portal.
• The blue of the tiles comes from cobalt brought along the Silk Road.
• Qazizade Rumi, Ulugh Beg's astronomy teacher, is buried here.