Samarkand, Uzbekistan - Shah-i-Zinda Ensembe - Kenya stamp 1984

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  Samarkand - Shah-i-Zinda Ensemble [mausoleum complex]
• Publisher: [in Cyrillic]
• Postally used: yes? - has Eid Mubarak message
• Stamp:  Kenya Olympic stamp 2,50 1984
• Postmark(s): unfranked stamp
• Sent to:  Southall, Middlesex, England
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Samarkand (/ˈsæmərkænd/; Uzbek language: Samarqand; Persian: سمرقند‎; Russian: Самарканд), alternatively Samarqand, is a city in south-eastern Uzbekistan and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. There is evidence of human activity in the area of the city from the late Paleolithic era, though there is no direct evidence of when Samarkand was founded; some theories propose that it was founded between the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. Prospering from its location on the Silk Road between China and the Mediterranean, at times Samarkand was one of the greatest cities of Central Asia.[1]

By the time of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, it was the capital of the Sogdian satrapy. The city was taken by Alexander the Great in 329 B.C., when it was known by its Greek name of Marakanda.[2] The city was ruled by a succession of Iranian and Turkic rulers until the Mongols under Genghis Khan conquered Samarkand in 1220. Today, Samarkand is the capital of Samarqand Region and Uzbekistan's second largest city.[3]

The city is noted for being an Islamic centre for scholarly study. In the 14th century it became the capital of the empire of Timur (Tamerlane) and is the site of his mausoleum (the Gur-e Amir). The Bibi-Khanym Mosque, rebuilt during the Soviet era, remains one of the city's most notable landmarks. Samarkand’s Registan square was the ancient centre of the city, and is bound by three monumental religious buildings. The city has carefully preserved the traditions of ancient crafts: embroidery, gold embroidery, silk weaving, engraving on copper, ceramics, carving and painting on wood.[4] In 2001, U.N.E.S.C.O. added the city to its World Heritage List as Samarkand – Crossroads of Cultures.

Modern Samarkand is divided into two parts: the old city, and the new city developed during the days of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union. The old city includes historical monuments, shops and old private houses, while the new city includes administrative buildings along with cultural centres and educational institutions.[5]

Shah-i-Zinda (Uzbek: Shohizinda; Persian: شاه زنده‎, meaning "The Living King") is a necropolis in the north-eastern part of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The Shah-i-Zinda Ensemble includes mausoleums and other ritual buildings of 9-14th and 19th centuries. The name Shah-i-Zinda (meaning "The living king") is connected with the legend that Kusam ibn Abbas, a cousin of the prophet Muhammad, is buried here. He came to Samarkand with the Arab invasion in the 7th century to preach Islam. Popular legends speak that he was beheaded for his faith, but he didn't die, took his head and went into the deep well (Garden of Paradise), where he's still living now.

The Shah-i-Zinda complex was formed over eight (from 11th till 19th) centuries and now includes more than twenty buildings.

The ensemble comprises three groups of structures: lower, middle and upper connected by four-arched domed passages locally called chartak. The earliest buildings date back to the 11-12th centuries. Mainly their bases and headstones have remained now. The most part dates back to the 14-15th centuries. Reconstructions of the 16-19th centuries were of no significance and did not change the general composition and appearance.[1]

The initial main body - Kusam-ibn-Abbas complex - is situated in the northeastern part of the ensemble. It consists of several buildings. The most ancient of them, the Kusam-ibn-Abbas mausoleum and mosque (16th century), are among them.[2]

Detail of the column.

The upper group of buildings consists of three mausoleums facing each other. The earliest one is Khodja-Akhmad Mausoleum (1340s), which completes the passage from the north. The Mausoleum of 1361, on the right, restricts the same passage from the east.[3][4][5]