Shakhrisabz – “green town” 80 kilometres from Samarkand.
Shakhrisabz is a town with a population of about 116 thousand people. It is here that the international highway Big Uzbek tract was laid, the path of which begins in Tashkent. Long ago before the construction of the motorway in the 13th century, the journey of the world-famous traveller Marco Polo had passed through this territory.
This town is 200 years olden than Bukhara while Bukhara’s age is 2500 years. In ancient time Shakhrisabz (Kesh town at that time) was the capital of the state of Sogd and the centre of culture, trade, crafts. Due to constant attacks from foreign invaders Kesh could not develop to the fullest and was finally broken in 329 BC by Alexander the Great, and in the 8th century became the centre of anti-Arab militia.
Shakhrisabz – a place of architectural monuments included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
During the reign of Amir Timur, Shakhrisabz reached its prosperity and fame. Amir Timur made Shakhrisabz his residence as the ruler’s childhood passed in the surrounding village of Khoja-Ilgar. Ak-Saray Palace was built in the city. There is a legend that during the construction of Ak-Saray, bricks for the palace were made thousands of meters from the building itself. People lined up passed them to the construction site. And the work of the masters who painted the towers of the palace was done so skilfully that it allowed them to admire the magnificent result for thousands of years which did not succumb to any weather conditions.
Also, on the territory of Shakhrisabz there are architectural sights such as the Dor-ut Tilovat memorial complex, the Kok-Gumbaz Mosque, the mausoleums of Dor-us Siadat, Shamsad-Din Kulyal, Gumbazi-Seyidan.
At present time the leading direction in the economy in Shakhrisabz is occupied by cotton processing, wine making, agricultural machinery, works of folk craftsmen: carpets, fine embroidery, skullcaps.
