Meaning "green city" in Persian, Shakhrisabz is a small and pleasant provincial town located in the foothills of the Pamir mountains. It was the hometown of Tamerlaine (Amir Timur) who was born here into a ruling family in 1336. Although he made Samarkand his capital, Tamerlaine paid great effort to strengthen and beautify Shahrisabz.

You can see the ruins of the Ak-Saray palace with its massive 40 metre high portal, the Kok Gumbaz Mosque built by Tamerlaine's grandson Ulugbeg and the Dorus Diadat – a mausoleum complex where 2 of Tamerlain's sons were buried.