Rukhabad Shrine

The Rukhabad shrine is one of the earliest constructions that remained intact in Samarkand from the epoch of Amir Temur. It was constructed in the 80-s of the 14th century, precisely on the same axis as Amir Temur's burial-vault. A magnificent shady avenue and a road paved with marble slabs used to connect these two constructions. The mausoleum was erected over the tomb of the well-known Samarkand mystic Sheikh Burhaniddin Sagarji. The name of Rukhabad mausoleum - «Abode of Spirit» - reminds the descendants about the sheikh’s image haloing sanctity. Burhaniddin Sagarji was a member of a dervish order and spent his life in pilgrim wanderings. His death overtook him in China. Just before passing away he asked his son to bury him in Samarkand. Amir Temur ordered to immortalize the memory of the esteemed holy sheikh by the construction of a mausoleum. This majestic building in the form of a cube is topped with a hemispherical dome which is based upon a massive octahedron. The mausoleum has three entrances: the northern, the western and the southern entrances. The interior is extremely simple – the walls are covered with alabaster plasterwork with the only glazed tile band running over the two-meter panel. A carved wooden door of the 19th century leads to the sepulchre. In the old days near Rukhabad mausoleum there was a pool, whose smooth water surface reflected the strict outlines of the building, and next to it there was a columned mosque.

Sightseeing Places in Samarkand

Registan Square	Guri-Amir Mausoleum
Bibi-Khanum Mosque	Shahi-Zinda Necropolis
Ulugbek's Observatory and Museum	The Ancient Settlement of Afrosiab
The Relic of Three Religions	Rukhabad Shrine
The Hazrat-Hyzr Mosque	The Maturidiy Shrine
Imam Al-Bukhari Complex	Tashkent Street
The Siab Bazaar	University Boulevard