Registan, which gives the name of the square it is in, means ‘sandy place’ in Turkish.  During the reign of Tamerlane, Registan was a city square, Tamerlane’s troops going on campaigns, gathered before the performance from the city on this square. Tamerlane’s grandson Mirzo Ulugbek, the great patron of sciences and the scientist himself, changed the purpose of the square during his reign. In the XVII century, two monumental buildings of the Sher-dor and Tilla-Kari madrasahs were built on the Registan. They differ in impressive size and luxury of decoration, although in terms of their artistic and architectural merits they are still inferior to their prototype – the immortal monument of architecture – Ulugbek madrasah.

Design of Registan

The method of comparing monumental buildings of the same type that was widespread at this time received a new solution here. The tiles on Registan, one of the important examples of Central Asian architecture, The facades of the buildings are located so that the area uniting them is perceived as a large courtyard open on one side with three huge peaks. Before the gaze of a man approaching the Registan, a spectacle full of extraordinary greatness immediately opens. Huge geometrically clear architectural volumes are rhythmically repeated. The pestons of the buildings are facing the viewer with gigantic arches, which with their lancet, pointed upward shape make you feel the colossal weight of the architectural mass, pressing on powerful pylons and walls.

The arches seemed to freeze in great tension, and it seems that some supernatural force makes standing motionless arrays of walls, domes, pylons, and minarets, on the surface of which bright colors poured brightly from tiled patterns and inscriptions.

Location of Registan

For the square where Registan is located, it would not be wrong to say the heart of the Samarkand. The area in the city center contains many important historical monuments and architecture. In the square where the market, the commercial center of the city, is located in the historical period, besides the historical tour, it is also possible to eat in local restaurants or relax in cafes.

  • Entrance: 15000 Uzbek som = 1.49 United States Dollar
  • Opening: Every day from 8 AM to 7 PM, except Thursday from 8 AM to 8:15 PM