The Tales of Hodja Nasreddin clearly show how the ways of a master lead to the way of Allah. When he saves others, he does not forget his own good. …
Legends of the Silk Road
The history of this historic trade route is full of mystery. Entire peoples have been born and died, civilisations have disappeared and reappeared, travellers have made discoveries, artisans have created …
Memoirs of Amir Temur – Part II
In my youth I heard from my father Amir Taraghai the story of a dream he had; one day, my father told me, I saw in a dream how a …
Memoirs of Amir Temur – Part I
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. May it be known to all the fortunate children, the powerful relatives, the honourable confidants and viziers that it pleased the …
The Legend of Shirak
In the seventh century BC, the tribes of the Scythian people who lived to the east along the lower reaches of the Syr Darya attacked Mydia, the base of the …
Heavenly horses of Ferghana
In 104 BC, a 60,000-strong Chinese cavalry was sent to Dawan on the orders of the Tang Emperor Wu-Di. The reason for the start of the war were the Argamaks¹, …
Kirk Kiz – the Legend of the Warrior Girls
For thousands of years, legends have been created about the fearless women, the Amazons. Many armies have fled from the warrior girls. The legend of the Kirk Kiz (forty warrior …
Legend of Tomiris, Queen of the Massagets
In the vastness of the Eurasian steppes, the legendary nomadic warriors from among the Scythians ruled in deep antiquity – the Sakas, the Massagetae, the Sarmatians and the Scythians. For …
Legend of Mausoleum Daniel
On the banks of a small tributary of the Zerafshan, the Siyab, is a sacred place upon which blessings have descended. According to legend, the remains of Daniel, a biblical …
Legend of Khan Atlas
The ancient legend of Khan-Atlas says: “Once upon a time, a ruler of Margilan fell in love with the daughter of a poor artist and decided to marry her by …
Bread from Samarkand
…There is no tastier bread than pita bread from Samarkand. A real flatbread from Samarkand should be edible for three years. All that is needed is to sprinkle it with …
40 Steps from Shahi Zinda
When you step through the entrance portal of Shahi Zinda, a world full of legends and mysteries opens up before you. Right at the beginning of Shahi Zinda complex, visitors …
Legend of Kalon Minaret
Many legends are associated with the tallest minaret in Central Asia, the Kalon Minaret in Bukhara. The Kalon Minaret is called the Great Tower, but it also has another name, …
Legend of the Mausoleum Chashma Ayyub
The legend of the Prophet Ayyub (Job¹) is connected with the mausoleum of Chashma Ayyub. There was a time when desert winds prevailed in Bukhara and the inhabitants suffered from …
Legend of Sheikh Maturidi
Legend has it that a holy man once lived in Samarkand – Sheikh Maturidi. He liked the place behind Siyab, but there was no water there. The Sheikh took his …
Legend of Ishratkhona Mausoleum
First Legend of the Ishratkhona Mausoleum One day, in the suburbs of Samarkand, Amir Temur was riding through the cemetery of Hodja Abdi Darun and saw a woman of indescribable …
Mystery of the Hill Afrasiab
It rises in the northern part of the city. In the rainy season it is flooded with rain and covered with a blanket of snow. The winds roam here and …
Legend of Chupan-Ata
According to legend of Chupan-Ata, a cruel king lived more than a thousand years before the Prophet. He gathered an army of one hundred and fifty thousand men and decided …
Legend of Gur Emir
There is a legend about the jade tombstone of Amir Temur in Gur Emir. The Chinese believe that jade has divine powers, and so a huge slab of jade that …
Legend of Ulugbek Madrasah
A legend of Ulugbek Madrasah, built in the years 1417-1420. This Madrasah was artistically in no way inferior to the buildings of Amir Temur and at the same time far …
Legend of Bibi-Hanum and the Snake
Legend has it that one day a dervish came to Bibi-Hanum and during a conversation predicted, among other things, her death by a spider bite. Bibi-Hanum, who was not embarrassed …
Legend about the building of the mosque Bibi-Khanum
Bibi-Khanum was Temur’s favourite wife and the most beautiful woman in his Harem. When Temur left for one of his campaigns, she had the idea of giving him a gift …
Legend of Amir Temur
The Emir of Shakhrisabz Bekbuwa invited an astrologer to his house one evening and asked him: “Tell me, learned soothsayer, who shall wrest power from me over this land!”. And …
Legend about the Founding of Samarkand
The Shaikh Najm ad-Dīn Abū Ḥafṣ ‘Umar ibn Muḥammad an-Nasafī, who was a teacher of spirits and men, had related a legend about the founding of Samarkand that the city was …
State of Khorezm-Shahs
The state of Khorezm-Shahs (Horezm, Turkish; Xorazm, Uzbek; Khwārazm, Persian: خوارزم) is the name of the Central Asian state of Khorezm as it is commonly understood in Oriental studies. It …
Buildings of Merv
Merv is known in history as “Merv ash-Shahidjan” and has ancient buildings. It is said that the citadel (kukhendiz) was built by Tahamurt and the ancient city (medina) by Zu’l-Karnein. …
Margush – Gonur Depe
The ancient “land of Margush”, mentioned in the ancient Persian cuneiform inscriptions and where Gonur Depe is located, was known in its “early days” as “Mowru” – this name is …
Erk Kala Fortress
Erk Kala Fortress is located on a natural hill 261.9 m above sea level in the historical and cultural park of ancient Merv, 6.3 km northeast of Bayramali town, 4.1 …
History of Merv
The history of the emergence of the first city on the site of ancient Merv dates back to the VII century BC. The city was surrounded by a strong fortress …
Legend of Shahi Zinda
Samarkand – there is no other city in the Orient that equals it in beauty. The best paper in the world is made in Samarkand. A non-handmade paper called “juwaz” …
Bobur and Clavijo on Ak-Saray in Shakhrisabz
The Ak-Saray Palace was built in Shakhrisabz under Amir Temur, construction began in 1380, it was completed in 1386, and the final works were finished in 1404. The representation about the …
Historical Merits of Amir Temur
Historians point to the two great Merits that the military genius Amir Temur has unwillingly rendered to the peoples of Europe: – Firstly, he indirectly helped Russia to get rid …