AK-SARAI - THE WHITE PALACE

Ak means "white", but was understood as "noble", because white was by no means the colour of Tamerlan's palace, whose walls were covered with azure and dark blue majolica. The first contact with this huge square was disappointing. Indeed, not much remains of the sumptuous palace that Clavijo's story allows us to imagine. The ruins of the portal are immense - 30 m - and still covered with majolica tiles, but the 22 m high vault did not resist the earthly attraction. The depredations are ancient, since it was the Emir of Bukhara who had the building destroyed in the 16th century: the palace, whose construction lasted more than a quarter of a century, cast a shadow over it. There is of course a legend about the architect of this palace : in the first version, once the palace was finished, Tamerlan asked the architect if he was capable of building an even more beautiful palace, the boaster answered yes, and was immediately thrown from the top of the walls; in the second version, the architect was supposed to inscribe at the foot of the arch, the following sentence: "The Sultan is the shadow of Allah" but, on one of the sides, he ran out of room, which gave: "The Sultan is the shadow"! In each tower, a spiral staircase climbs to the top from where there is a splendid view of the city and the snow-covered peaks to the south. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to climb the palace gates to enjoy the beautiful panorama of the city and its surroundings.