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We initiated our visit by the Oulough Begh Madrasah, having soon found ourselves in the mosque, which was decorated with simplicity and yet great taste in regards to small details. The room in which he used to gather with other notable scientists was profusely decorated though it felt very cosy.
According to a legend when the reconstruction of the Madrasah was coming to an end upon having been asked who would become its "mudarris" (rector) Oulough Begh replied he would appoint a person who showed to be competent in several sciences.
His words are said to have been overheard by Maulana Moahammed Havani, sitting in dirty clothes among the piles of brick lying around. Because of having showed interest in obtaining the post Oulough Begh started asking him questions and soon concluded Havani was a man of indisputable knowledge and would be the person fit for the job. He is said to have had him taken to a bath house and changed adequately.
On the opening day of the Madrasah Havani is said to have given a lecture in front of 90 scientists, though only two (Oulough Begh and Kazi-Zadeh Rumi, Oulough Begh's teacher) managed to understand what it was about due to the scientific complexity.
An entire room was dedicated to
Astronomy but taking into account who Oulough Begh was and what he stood
for it was not surprising. Mohammad ibn Shahrukh ibn Timur Mirza Ulugh
Beg Guragan, Timur's grandson, was born in 1394. As a teenager he is
said to have become interested in Science and spent most of his time in
the library of his father, Shahrukh.
After
Tamerlane's death and following feudal disturbances his son, Shahrukh
became the supreme ruler of the Timurid empire, having in 1409 handed
the crown to his son Oulough Begh, fifteen years old then. The teenage
ruler was much more interested in the development of science and
education in his country than he was in politics and military conquests.
Oulough Begh's close relationship with prominent mathematicians and
astronomers of that time created the required conditions to turn
Samarkand into an intellectual centre. His scientific and educational
activity displeased some representatives of the Muslim clergy, who
accused him of heresy. In 1447 he was treacherously murdered and his
observatory destroyed.
In one of the Madrasah's rooms we were still given the chance of looking at some suzanne and wedding costumes, which Nathalie and David tried on, allowing us to see what the brides and bridegrooms of that epoch must have looked like.
Tillya-Kari was the next Madrasah we visited. Its name which stands for "Gold covered" is associated with the mosque. If its courtyard was impressive, the moment we walked into the mosque we were speechless, as its interior was entirely decorated in the "kundal" style known for its abundant gilded ornamentation. It is luxurious but there is beauty in it all. No matter which side we looked at it didn't stop amazing us. The ceiling was majestic.
(To be continued)
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