Skip to content
UzbekistanGuided Tours
Shakhrisabz, Kashkadarya region

Two towers, thirty-eight metres tall, all that survives of a palace Timur designed to be the biggest in the known world. He was born here in Shakhrisabz in 1336. He never quite finished this.

The Ak-Saray palace ruins at Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan — Timur's birthplace

The fragment is still one of the most awe-inspiring buildings we have. The inscription on the surviving iwan reads: 'If you challenge our power, look at our buildings.'

  • #shakhrisabz
  • #timur
  • #unesco
  • #history
  • #kashkadarya

Read the deep-dive

The Islamic Golden Age scholars born in Uzbekistan

Al-Khwarizmi gave us 'algorithm' and 'algebra'. Al-Bukhari compiled Sunni Islam's most authoritative hadith. Ibn Sina's medical textbook was used in Europe for 600 years. All were born on Uzbek soil.

Read the article →

Visit the place

Shakhrisabz

The 'Green City' where Timur was born

Destination overview →

Continue browsing

More from the Journal

  1. Tilya-Kori Madrasa minaret and twin turquoise domes at the Registan, Samarkand

    Three centuries of Timurid architecture converge on a single square. Lord Curzon called it the noblest public square in the world in 1889. It still holds.

  2. The Kalyan Minaret and Mir-i-Arab Madrasa ensemble in Bukhara

    Genghis Khan destroyed almost every building in Bukhara in March 1220. He spared the Ka…

  3. View across the rooftops of Khiva's walled inner city Ichan Kala from the ramparts

    There is exactly one time to see Khiva: about six in the evening in late September, fro…

  4. Aydarkul lake in the Kyzylkum desert of Uzbekistan

    Aydarkul should not exist. In 1969 an emergency water release from the Chardara reservo…

← Back to the Journal