Amir Timur ruled via the puppet khans in the khanate kingdoms in which he managed to consolidate his power. This was because Amir Timur himself was not a descendant of the Genghis Khan. Without this lineage he could not become the Khan. He became qurkan to the Khan’s family, meaning the “son-in-law,” by his marriage with his chief consort Saray Mulk Khanum.

Saray Mulk Khanum, now known commonly as Bibi Khanym, meaning “the elder wife,” was the wife of Amir Timur’s predecessor, Amir Husayn of Balkh. After Amir Timur defeated and killed Amir Husayn, he married Saray Mulk Khanum, a daughter of Qazan Khan. She was a descendant of Genghis Khan.

Bibi Khanym’s Legacy

And this is the beginning of Bibi Khanym’s legacy in Samarkand. The group of monuments that bear her name originally consisted of three complexes. There was the madrasa, the Bibi Kanym Mosque, and Bibi Khanym’s Mausoleum. The Bibi Khanym madrasa was built to a very grand scale, but the structure was destroyed by Nadir Shah’s Persian troops when they invaded in 1740. By commissioning the madrasa, Bibi Khanym had intended to be the patron of education for Samarkand and the kingdom.

Bibi Khanym is the chief consort of Amir Timur. The fact that she had access to the resources required to construct these three significant monuments (the mosque was built during his absence in Samarkand when he raged his military campaigns) that were named after her already suggests her influence in Amir Timur’s royal court. She oversaw not only his harem but also the affairs of the state.

She had no issue with Amir Timur. In fact, even the second wife in seniority did not have issue with Amir Timur either. According to the Wikipedia, “it was the two Chingisid princesses’ personal qualities and pedigree that allowed them to develop such a prestigious dynastic position, since with Timurid consorts maternity was not in itself a path to power.”

There is an interesting story about Bibi Khanym’s effort to build the mosque. She had intended the mosque to be a surprise for Amir Timur upon his return. “The mosque’s architect fell deeply in love with her, and when she urged him to hurry to complete the work he demanded he be allowed to give her a kiss. The kiss left a permanent stain on her cheek; Timur saw it on his return and had the architect executed for his insolence. Legend has it that Bibi Khanym was beheaded too, but in fact she outlived Timur by four years” (Sophie Ibbotson).

There was maybe a twenty-minute walk from the Registan to the Bibi Khanym monuments. A point of somewhat lesser importance is the statue of Islam Karimov right by the Registan.

He was the leader of Uzbekistan even before the country’s independence, and he held on to power in an authoritarian regime until he passed away as recently as 2016.

The area had well-paved roads and nice storefronts. We saw these really cute Uzbek carved figurines. Although I wanted to take one home, there was limited room in my hand-carry so I had to pass.

The Monuments of Bibi Khanym

The Bibi Khanym Mosque

Built between 1399 and 1404, the Bibi Khanym Mosque fastens upon itself in an enormous ground. In its time, the Bibi Khanym Mosque was the largest mosque in the world. Even as compared to the three madrasas in the Registan, the Bibi Khanym Mosque is grand. The main portal hovers at 35 meters and its arch alone is 18 meters in diameter. Minarets stand in its corners.

The beautiful front portal is adorned with tile mosaics. The high drum and the structures beneath the dome show adornments of plain and glazed ceramics.

The most eye-catching piece on the compound is the enormous, one-meter wide Kuran. It lies open on a stone pedestal right in the center of the courtyard. Ulug Bek donated the Mongolian marble that supports the Kuran.

The interior of the Bibi Khanym Mosque does show the dilapidation that troubled the building soon after it completed. Yes, that means the building was in need of repairs during its entire existence, and for centuries. The structure did not bear the weight of Tamerlane’s grand vision for it. “Unsound foundations, ambition outpacing contemporary possibilities or simply undue haste” (Calum Macleod) caused the bricks to fall. It did not help that there were small earthquakes in the area. You can still see cracks on some of the structures.

In any event, there was significant effort to restore the complex and it is more than worthwhile to visit it. Suffice to say, that while it is certainly not as grand as the madrasas in the Registan, the Bibi Khanym Mosque was beautiful in its own right. Its story was itself a fascinating legend. It was my favorite spot in Samarkand after the Sha-I Zinda, which will be the sightseeing in the following day.

The Bibi Khanym Mausoleum

Bibi Khanym had a lavish burial that was atypical under Islamic traditions. Her body was exposed in the 1950s, and people found her wearing expensive jewelry in her coffin.

The Bibi Khanym Mausoleum is a petite brick structure. It is actually mostly new, with the upper parts only constructed in 2007. The open crypt itself was a structure of the 14^th century.

The Siab Bazaar

After visiting the Bibi Khanym monuments, we headed over to the Siab Bazaar, which is right next to the complex. I was very happy to see pomegranate juice on sale there, my friend and I each had one cup.

We also saw wonderful meyer lemons there. I have never had meyer lemons, in fact I had never previously seen them before either.

The Siab Bazaar is a wonderful spot to see local life. But it was dinner time and we headed on over to the Restaurant Labi G’or.

Dinner at Restaurant Labi G’or

We picked this restaurant because there are seats upstairs overlooking the street below. It was also very close to the Registan and we could watch the light show nearby when we were done at the restsaurant. There was this mouthwatering aroma from its open grill on the street, so we had a wonderful dinner there. The rating of this restaurant was actually not very high on Google review, but we liked our food. The fish shaslik was particularly good.

Sources

The Wikipedia on Saray Mulk Khanum.

The Wikipedia on Islam Karimov.

Sophie Ibbotson, Uzbekistan, Bradt Travel Guide (2020).

Calum Macleod, Uzbekistan: the Golden Road to Samarkand (2014).