Richard And Jo Demeester's photos with the keyword: mausoleum

Distinguished telework in the mausoleum of Khiva's patron saint, a 13th century poet, philosopher, and wrestler. Mulpiple pilgrims chose to ignore the signs asking visitors to not bow to the tombs, or kiss them, but nobody seemed interested in enforcing the posted requests. Thankfully there were no attempts to carry out the equally prohibited act of animal sacrifice.

Beautiful terracotta brickwork, where even the shadows come to life, bringing depth and interest to the exterior.

Shah-i-Zinda is like a little street lined with mausoleums. Here we can see some of the work in detail, including where it has curved to create shape and form as well as texture and colour. Looking past the tiles, the Octagonal Mausoleum can be seen, unusual in that it is open sided.

These are some of the oldest mausoleums in Shah-i-Zinda, and the tile work on them is beautiful. Apparently, much of the tiling is original, and restoration on these was quite minimal, testament to the quality of the workmanship.

The mausoleums doors were also worth keeping an eye on, as they contained incredible craftsmanship, too.

A cousin of the prophet Mohammed, credited with bringing Islam to this part of the world in the 7th century. The shrine grew and was modified over the year, and in the 14th and 15th centuries, many magnificent mausoleums were built in the area.

Another highlight sight of Samarkand. This Mausoleum contains, amongst others, the remains of Timur. He is often described as a tyrant, after ransacking his way through much of the reachable world, from norther India through to Iran. Much of the plunder, though, returned to this part of the world, including craftspeople. So he is also remembered as a builder and developer. In this mausoleum is also the remains of a couple of sons and grandsons, including ruler, astronomer, mathematician Ulug-Beg.

Using light and shade to bring the details of the patterned bricks to 2 dimensions.

One side had a door, three sides had windows with little spots to sit. Inside, at the tomb, pilgrims received a blessing. Some of the visitors circled the building, touching and praying at various points. We just circled and admired the patterned bricks, and rather than a blessing, went inside for a happy little chat about being from Australia.

It may have been easy enough to get to Aysha-Bibi by minibus, as they will happily drop you off as they go by. We were not quite in the mood to wait by the roadside for a return trip to Shymkent, possibly watching multiple full vehicles whizzing by. So, we decided to take the easy option of getting there by taxi. While not a large building, the beautiful terracotta bricks with various patterns made the time and effort worthwhile. Although extensive restoration was performed in the last 20 years or so, it is reportedly true and accurate to the original 11th or 12th century structure.

I can't ever recall seeing camels with, what at least looks like, a soft woolly coat. These too looked fluffy and, almost, cuddly. From this angle, you can see that the Mausoleum was never completed. The main facades remain bare, and structural beams are still exposed. Work ceased when the sponsor passed away. Later, they cleaned it up, but retained the unfinished appearance.

We hopped in a minibus to Turkestan, a couple of hours and some away from Shymkent. Here, the main sight for us was the Yasaui Mausoleum. Built in the 14th century on the site of an existing tomb. It was already a significant pilgrimage site back then, and these days it still seems the pilgrims make up the bulk of the visitors. Coloured bricks and tiles bring delightful colour and patterns to most exterior facades of the imposing structure.

Pécs has a huge number of graves and tombs under one section of the town. These date from Roman times, and some have been excavated. This tomb with sarcophagus was excavated last century, but dates from the 4th Century. The paintings on the walls are original. Adam and Eve, and Daniel in the Lion's den are the best preserved Biblical scenes on the walls.

A mausoleum in suburban San Francisco.