THE MAUSOLEE RUKHOBOD

The mausoleum of Sheikh Burhaniddin Sagarji, said Rukhobod or «residence of the spirit», was built in 1380 by Timur, to host the remains of his mentor and his family. It is one of the oldest monuments in the city. Its architecture is simple: a cubic base with symmetrical sides, surmounted by a octagonal drum on which a conical dome is 22 m high. Important dimensions that recall the timurid origin of the building. It is said that a wick of the Prophet's hair was buried with the remains of the holy man. His tomb lies almost at the centre of the mausoleum, next to that of the Sheikh's wife, Bibi Khalfa. On his death, in China, his body was mummified and brought back to Samarkand with camel back, also buried in the mausoleum, under pavés. Pavés are designer by the nails of the architect, who signa his work. The other ten graves were the children of Sheikh Burhaniddin Sagarji, eight boys and two girls. The tombs of the latter two recognize their keen shape and are embellished with surahs of the Koran. The East door is of origin, and still bears in Arabic the favorite sentence of Timur: " Allah is the only God and Mohammed is his prophet. At the beginning of the s, at the foot of the mausoleum, it was one of the most pleasant restaurants in the city; According to the neighbours, the owner and his family fell ill, victims of a curse, for having made trade in a holy place. The restaurant has thus disappeared but the curse has not prevented merchants of souvenirs from investing the cells of the restored khanaka in 1996. The minaret of the th century has also been restored. Its architecture is a reflection of the portal of entrée. Just behind, the splendid traditional house with iwan, with colonnades and painted woodwork, is that of Khodja Muin Shukurullaev (1883-1942).