Samarkand - one of the most ancient cities of the world, has the history of 27 centuries. It is is situated in the valley of Zarafshan river and is the second largest city of Uzbekistan. No other city in Central Asia is surrounded by so many legends and magnificent hymns praising the East. "Rome of the East", "The beauty of sublunary countries", "The precious pearl of the Moslem World", " The gem of the Orient", are only a few of the names given by Eastern contemporaries. Its advantageous geographical position in Zarafshan valley put Samarkand to the first place among the cities of the Central Asia. The Great Silk Road crossed Samarkand. The centuries-old history of Samarkand embodies the history of whole nation and the country, reflecting the way passed by many generations. The architectural momuments of Samarkand are the pride of the people and embody the creative genius of many generations of craftsmen.
One of the architectural monuments which have been preserved to our days is Registan square - the centre of medieval Samarkand. It is picturesquely framed by the Ulugbek madrassah (1417-1420), the Sher-Dor madrassah (1619-1636) and the Tilla Kari madrassah (1647-1660). Another great monument is Gur Emir Mausoleum (1405). It is the central part of a major architectural complex originally consisting of two buildings erected by Tamerlane in honor of his favorite grandson. Later on the Gur-Emir mausoleum became the burring vault for the whole dynasty of Timurids. The observatory built by the noble grandson of Tamerlane – Ulugbek, takes its own place among historical monuments of the world. Now it serves as a museum with very interesting exhibits.
The Shakhi-Zinda Ensemble (XI-XY) is the world known necropolis and piligrimage place of Central Asia. It includes mausoleums and other workshop buildings. Another powerfully impressive masterpiece of medieval Oriental architecture is Bibi Khanum mosque. Khazret-Khyzr mosque is the first mosque built by Arabs.
In Samarkand and its environs there are a number of other ineresting monuments of medieval architecture such as Nadir Divan-begi Madrassah, Rukhabad, Ak-Sarai and others. Another special feature which makes Samarkand famous - its colorful bazaar.