ALI'S MAUSOLEUM

Chakhimardan is one of the seven holy places of Islam, one of those where, according to legend, the son of the Prophet and fourth caliph of the Muslim world could be buried. Before his death, Ali, conscious of being loved and respected throughout the umma, the community of believers, asked that seven graves be dug in the empire and that seven coffins be prepared and painted of the same weight, no one to know in which his body really rested. Thus, and after his assassination by the Omeyades, the seven coffins were placed on seven camels who dispersed into the Muslim world. Another legend claims that one camel wore Ali's casket, but multiplied by seven after a few metres, each bearing some of the relics of the deceased caliph. When the last camel disappeared, one of Ali's sons turned to God and asked him: «How would I know how to make sure I get to know my father's real grave? And God replied that the real tomb of Ali would be surrounded by very high mountains at the still snowy peaks, at the confluence of two rivers in the translucent waters. This description corresponds to Chakhimardan (which holds his name as Ali, Chakhimardan meaning "King of Brave Men"), but it is part of the legend that changes according to the tomb near which one is located. Uzbekistan claims to have hosted two other tombs, one in Uzs and one in Nourata; the others would be in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Afghanistan. For each Muslim, the passage over the tomb of Ali before the great pilgrimage to Mecca is compulsory. According to the elders of the village, a first mausoleum was built by the fourth generation of descendants of Ali, or towards the end of the th century. In reality, no one knows when the original building was erected. We know, however, that it was destroyed in 1922, as well as the 234 stone and fir steps that led to it. A second mausoleum was built during the Second World War, but on a different model than the first one, no longer knowing the techniques necessary for the same reconstruction. This second mausoleum was once again destroyed by the Soviets in 1956 and replaced by a monument to the dead of the Second World War. In 1991, this monument was moved, and a third mausoleum was erected on the model of the second.