Shrine of Qutham ibn Abbas

The spiritual core of the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis in Samarkand, this shrine and mausoleum complex marks the traditional grave of Qutham ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad who traveled to Samarkand during the 7th-century Arab conquests to preach Islam and was killed there, according to most sources around 676-677 CE. Local legend holds that he was beheaded while praying but did not die, instead carrying his own head into a deep well beneath the site where he is said to still live — giving the complex its name, Shah-i-Zinda ("the Living King"). A shrine was first built over the grave in the 11th century under the Karakhanids; the present mausoleum and mosque were constructed under Timur in the 14th-15th centuries, decorated with elaborate blue and turquoise tilework, and it became the anchor around which the rest of the Shah-i-Zinda avenue of mausoleums grew. The complex is part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed "Samarkand — Crossroad of Cultures" site.