10 amazing facts about the Samanid Mausoleum

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There is infinite talk of Bokhara. Monuments, architectural masterpieces, shrines of this city captivate with their ancient history, mystery and beauty. The mausoleum of Ismail Samani was no exception. For 10 centuries, it has been silent since the time of the noble Samanid dynasty. Below we have collected 10 amazing facts about one of the most famous family tombs in the world.

The Samanid mausoleum is a cubic-shaped building, with a semispherical dome at the top in the center and four smaller domes at the corners. The tomb is made of burnt bricks.
The monument is well preserved due to its thick walls (up to 1.8 meters). The massive walls protected the building from destruction.
The mausoleum has flat walls with original paintings. It has no facade and all sides of the cemetery are the same. Such a type of structure in Central Asian architecture is called centric composition.
At the top of the mausoleum there is a transverse gallery with forty windows.
Masters achieved an artistic effect in architectural design through combined laying, that is, placing bricks in different ways. No monuments of world architecture have similar decorations.
Throughout the day, depending on the direction of the sunlight, the painting on the walls of the mausoleum changes its ornament. It is especially unusual in the moonlight.
Ismail Somani erected a mausoleum on his father's grave during his lifetime. Later, he himself was buried in it.
According to the legend, the monument was not destroyed by Chingiz Khan, because he did not notice it due to the surrounding mausoleum of a large cemetery.
The mausoleum was built between 892 and 907. The monument has been restored several times.
In 1993, the Samanid mausoleum was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.