The Gur-e Amir or Guri Amir (Persian: گورِ امیر) is a mausoleum of the Asian conqueror Tamerlane (also known as Timur) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. It occupies an important place in the history of Persian/Turkic Architecture as the precursor and model for later great Mughal architecture tombs, including Humayun's Tomb in Delhi and the Taj Mahal in Agra, built by Timur's descendants, the ruling Mughal

dynasty of North India. It has been heavily restored.

Gur-e Amir is Persian for "Tomb of the King". This architectural complex with its azure dome contains the tombs of Tamerlane, his sons Shah Rukh and Miran Shah and grandsons Ulugh Beg and Muhammad Sultan. Also honoured with a place in the tomb is Timur's teacher Sayyid Baraka.

The construction of the mausoleum itself began in 1403 after the sudden death of Muhammad Sultan, Tamerlane's heir apparent and his beloved grandson, for whom it was intended.

The entrance portal to the Muhammad Sultan ensemble is richly decorated with carved bricks and various mosaics. The decoration of the portal was accomplished by the skilled craftsman (ustad) Muhammad bin Mahmud Isfahani.

The second time the stone was disturbed on June 19, 1941 when Soviet archaeologists opened the crypt. The anthropologist Mikhail Mikhaylovich Gerasimov was able to reconstruct Tamerlane's facial features from his skull, and it was also confirmed that he was 172 cm in height, a giant for his day, and would have walked with a pronounced limp. Further historical information about the assassination of Ulugh Beg and the authenticity of the other graves was also confirmed. Timur's skeleton and that of Ulugh Beg, his grandson, were re-interred with full Islamic burial rites in November 1942, at the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad.

 Registan Square.Tillo-Kori Madrasah Samarkand.

The construction of the Tilla-Kori Madrassah was commenced in 1646 by the order of the Samarkand ruler Yalangtush Bakhadur and was finished only in 1660. It is the final building in the Registan architectural Ensemble. It was built on the site of caravan-saray, which had existed for over two centuries. The name of the Madrassah is derived from the rich golden decoration on the façade. “Tilla-Kori” is translated as “decorated with gold”. Square-shaped building of the Madrassah fills the whole area between the Ulugbek Madrassah and the Sher-Dor Madrassah. The façade, faced to the square is symmetrical and consists of the high portal and two floors of arched niches, flanked with towers. Khudjras (cells), intended for students, look on the large inner yard. The entire building is lavishly decorated with various herbal ornaments and linear patterns. The major part of decoration was lost, but due to efforts of restorers it was recovered in the second half of XX century. In 2001 this beautiful monument of the Central-Asian architecture was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. In the western part of the Madrassah there is the mosque, crowned with the big glazed dome. Its inner decoration amazes by the quality of the gold, applied by the method of “kyndal”. For a long time this mosque was the main mosque in Samarkand.

        Samarkand -Registan Square another beautiful day!!!