Portal into a new culture

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As soon as I entered the mausoleum, I was taken aback from the sheer beauty of this place: over a dozen exquisitely designed structures stood shoulder to shoulder along either side of the corridor, each uniquely designed to respect the remains of those buried inside. There were some with harmonious decorations and intricate terracotta tilework adorning the façade highlighting great attention to detail, while others had unique geometric patterns zig-zagging around the doorway, and a few more had their inside domes painted in the serene pastel blue hues.

This was the beautiful necropolis called Shah-i-Zinda in the heart of the Silk Route in Samarkhand, Uzbekistan. I had timed my visit late in the afternoon where the long shadows from the slanted light light made for some unique compositions through the arched doorways along the corridor; I was getting so addicted to the beauty of this place that I had to pry myself out of this very photogenic necropolis.

Here is one of those mausoleums with a series of beautifully decorated arched doorways.

Samarkhand
Uzbekistan

The Final Resting Place

It was late afternoon, and I found myself wandering through a leafy green park, with landscaped gardens intersected by wide avenues, and with refreshing fountains to cool down the summer air. In-between all this stood a dusty nondescript tomb with no adornments or colorless. And after having spent the entire day gazing at monumental mosques and madrasas that had been beautifully restored to their former glories, this tiny tomb felt bare. And only the intricate patterns on the walls belied what was inside.

For what I was staring at was the 9th century Samanid Mausoleum, one of the most highly esteemed work of Central Asian Islamic architecture, having constructed even before Genghis Khan had ravaged this place. Since Sunni Islam prohibited construction of mausoleums, the fact that this one was constructed stresses the prominence of Ismail Samani, the ruler of the Samanid dynasty in that era.

As I entered inside, the warm afternoon sunlight streaming through the brickwork window formed a beautiful checkered pattern on the floor, and that lent a yellow ambience that highlighted the intricate geometric patterns that festooned the walls, archways, and the domed ceiling. In one corner stood the rather unremarkable tomb dedicated to the great ruler Ismail Samani.

I tried to capture the aura of magnificence, but the camera can only go so far. This was shot at F11 at ISO-800 at 1/8s

Bukhara
Uzbekistan