The Bibi-Khanym Mosque was Tamerlane's most ambitious project. Returning from his 1399 Indian campaign with caravans of trophies and a hundred elephants, he ordered a congregational mosque that would have no equal in the world. Construction took only five years: craftsmen from India, Iran and Khorezm worked on the building, and contemporaries compared the dome of the main hall to the vault of heaven.
Grandeur at the Edge of the Possible
The design outran the engineering of its age: the gigantic vaults began to crack during the patron's lifetime, and for centuries the mosque slowly crumbled until it was reassembled in the 20th century. Today the portal, nearly 40 metres tall, once again overwhelms with its scale, and in the courtyard stands a huge marble lectern — a stand for the Quran of Uthman, donated by Ulugbek.
A beautiful legend links the mosque to Tamerlane's senior wife Bibi-Khanym and a lovestruck architect whose kiss left a mark on her cheek. Historians shrug, but this is the story every Samarkand local will tell you.
Guide's tip: combine your visit with the neighbouring Siyob bazaar — the best flatbread and halva are bought there, and the bazaar rows offer one of the finest views of the mosque's domes.