Rukhabad Mausoleum

Rukhabad, “the abode of the spirit”, stands on the short walk between the Registan and Gur-e-Amir, and many visitors pass it without stopping. That is a pity, because it is one of the earliest buildings of Timur’s reign, put up around 1380, and its very plainness is the point.

The sheikh

It was built over the grave of Sheikh Burhaneddin Sagarji, a Sufi mystic and preacher from the Samarkand area who had spent much of his life in the east, reportedly in China, where he died. Tradition says that his son brought his body back to be buried in his homeland, and that Timur, who held the sheikh in high regard, ordered the mausoleum. Members of the sheikh’s family were later buried here too.

The legend of the hairs

A legend gives the building its name: the sheikh is said to have been buried with a small casket containing seven hairs of the Prophet Muhammad, and pilgrims long believed that the spirit of the Prophet was present here. It is a legend, but it explains why the tomb was so venerated, and why Timur, it is said, would dismount when passing.

The architecture

The mausoleum is a cube of fired brick with a squat, ribless dome on an octagonal drum, almost without tile decoration. In a city of turquoise and gold, it is a reminder of the restrained Central Asian building tradition that preceded Timur’s great projects. Its proportions are calm and heavy, and the interior is cool even in summer.

Visiting

Today the building and the small courtyard beside it house craft and souvenir sellers. Step inside, then stand back on the square to see how the dome lines up with the far grander profile of Gur-e-Amir a short walk away.