The Shir-Dor Madrasah, Samarkand 1619-1635/6. Opposite mirror reflection of the Ulug Beg Madrasah. Its three contrasting volumes of the rectangular portal, softly rounded dome, and upright minaret, which can be glimpsed from different angles, have long come to symbolize the reghistan. As famous are the tympani on the entrance of the portal depicting tigers pursuing does-from, which the name of Shir-Dor (meaning "tiger having" ) derives. Composed of thousands of small glazed tesserae, compactly fitted together to obviate all semblances of joints, this unique mosaic, was restored by Uzbek master-craftsmen in 1962. Most of central Asia's builders, who erected such architectural gems, remain anonymous. Though the large inscription above the entrance is pompously addressed to the person who commissioned the construction, its characteristically Oriental lyricism sooner renders tribute to the men who actually built the madrasah. It runs: "The eagle of the mind will take years to reach the towering summit of its portal despite the might and zeal of its deft wings. The artful acrobat of thought climbing the tightrope of fantasy will take centuries to reach the top of its forbidden minarets. For when the architect erected the bend in the portal arch with such faithful accuracy, the sky bit its finger in amazement thinking it was a new moon." Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Samarkand is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Province. The city is most noted for its central position on the Silk Road between China and the West, and for being an Islamic center for scholarly study.

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Thomas Kelly > The Registan and its three madrasahs. From left to right: Ulugh Beg Madrasah, Tilya-Kori Madrasah and Sher-Dor Madrasah.
Th Ulug Beg Madrasah is the biggest of the three that Ulug Beg built during his reign-the other two were in Bukhara (1417) and Ghijduvan (1433). It likewise differed in that its curriculum, in addition to
mandatory theological disciplines, offered secular subjects, such as mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and literature. Among the eminent
teachers invited to lecture there were the astronomer
Kazy-zadeh-Rumi, called "The Plato of His Age" and the mathematician Ali-Kushchi. Ulug Beg himself lectured there. The madrasah's designation was reflected in its layout. The tall doomed corner rooms
served as the darskhanas or classrooms, while the court was enclosed by two stories of hudjira living cells-deeply-recessed lancet-arched niches. The designation of the vast oblong room on the western side is still open to question. The inner quadrangle seems comfortably scaled down to human proportions, despite its large dimensions. Its
four axially disposed, deeply recessed, colonnaded aivan porches served as cool "lounges" The side walls had additional entrances framed by portals. The refined decorative scheme consisted, for the
most part, of contrasting combinations of soothingly-toned baked brick or marble and vibrant, glittered glazed tiles, embellished with
which were not only the outside walls and minarets, but also, surprisingly enough, such a crucial structural element as the portal. The tympani above the entrance arch are filled with the sky-blue tracery of the ghirikh (knot -motif) design with mosaic insets. The ornamental painted designs of the interior decoration, fragments of
which have survived to this day.

Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Thomas Kelly > The Shir-Dor Madrasah, Samarkand 1619-1635/6. Opposite mirror reflection of the Ulug Beg Madrasah. Its three contrasting volumes of the rectangular portal, softly rounded dome, and upright minaret, which can be glimpsed from different angles, have long come to symbolize the reghistan. As famous are the tympani on the entrance of the portal depicting tigers pursuing does-from, which the name of Shir-Dor (meaning "tiger having" ) derives. Composed of thousands of small glazed tesserae, compactly fitted together to obviate all
semblances of joints, this unique mosaic, was restored by Uzbek master-craftsmen in 1962. Most of central Asia's builders, who erected such architectural gems, remain anonymous. Though the large inscription above the entrance is pompously addressed to the person who commissioned the construction, its characteristically Oriental lyricism sooner renders tribute to the men who actually built the madrasah. It runs: "The eagle of the mind will take years to reach the towering summit of its portal despite the might and zeal of its deft wings. The artful acrobat of thought climbing the tightrope of
fantasy will take centuries to reach the top of its forbidden minarets. For when the architect erected the bend in the portal arch with such faithful accuracy, the sky bit its finger in amazement
thinking it was a new moon."

Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Thomas Kelly > Lattice screen with inlaid glazed sky blue tracery blocking off the view of the registan Shir-Dor Madrasah inner courtyard.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Thomas Kelly > Uzbekistan official, Ulug Beg Madrasasah.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Thomas Kelly > Muslim devotees visit and pray at a shrine.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Thomas Kelly > Shir-Dor Madrasah inner courtyard.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Thomas Kelly > Great Mosque of the Kussam ibn-Abbas Ensemble, the Shah-I-Zindeh
Necropolis, Samarkand. The new mosaic type of glazed facing was first
employed in Samarkand's architecture at the turn of the 14th and 15th
centuries. Its labor-consuming technique, which called for a high
degree of accuracy when placing the tesserae together, was akin, in
its way, to inlay. The medium consisted of baked and glazed tesserae,
contrived of a local, though fragile, but easily cuttable faience.
The various details of the ornamental design were laid out with the
glazed surface down and set compactly within the contour of the
design, so that no joints are visible. The piece thus obtained was
coated with a ganch mortar and applied to the surface of the
building. With virtuoso deftness the mosaicists cut in one piece
sprays, leaves and even multipetalled flowers out of strips and
sheets of faience 3-5 millimeters thick.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Thomas Kelly > Uzbekistan madrasah student.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The Shir-Dor Madrasah, Samarkand 1619-1635/6. Opposite mirror reflection of the Ulug Beg Madrasah. Its three contrasting volumes of the rectangular portal, softly rounded dome, and upright minaret, which can be glimpsed from different angles, have long come to symbolize the reghistan. As famous are the tympani on the entrance of the portal depicting tigers pursuing does-from, which the name of Shir-Dor (meaning "tiger having" ) derives. Composed of thousands of small glazed tesserae, compactly fitted together to obviate all
semblances of joints, this unique mosaic, was restored by Uzbek master-craftsmen in 1962. Most of central Asia's builders, who erected such architectural gems, remain anonymous. Though the large inscription above the entrance is pompously addressed to the person who commissioned the construction, its characteristically Oriental lyricism sooner renders tribute to the men who actually built the madrasah. It runs: "The eagle of the mind will take years to reach the towering summit of its portal despite the might and zeal of its deft wings. The artful acrobat of thought climbing the tightrope of
fantasy will take centuries to reach the top of its forbidden minarets. For when the architect erected the bend in the portal arch with such faithful accuracy, the sky bit its finger in amazement
thinking it was a new moon."

Samarkand, Uzbekistan.