A group of small, ancient mausoleums are nestled within a downtown neighborhood, old among the modern. The buildings are surrounded by a university and not easily spotted. Time to dig around.
There are three mausoleums. The namesake for the complex is Sheikh Kvavendi Takhur, a famous Sufi dervish who was busy spreading the faith in Tashkent. His mausoleum was built in the 14th century.
Simple, classic. Tan brick with green tile on the dome, good choices. Spoiler alert, rebuilt in the 20th century.
Two humps on the outside. Inside, an ante room has a couple of other graves. Family, pets?
The Sheikh's grave, under an impressive dome and next to a curious dead tree.
Next up, the mausoleum for Kaldirgoch-Bi. He was a Kazakh ruler of Tashkent. Build date, 15th century. Design, more of the same. The dome is more of a cone instead of an orb. Inside, a little gold bling on the stalactite work.
Last, and maybe least, the simple design of the mausoleum of Yunus-Khan, a descendant of, you guessed it, Genghis Khan. It's good to be called Khan. He also ruled Tashkent. The simple design seems like a radical break from the Silk Road dogma of brick and tile.
No comments:
Post a Comment