Tilya-Kori Madrasa

The Tilya-Kori Madrasa is defined by its two-story facade of arched niches, which anchors the Registan Square ensemble in Samarkand with a distinct, symmetrical order. Construction began in sixteen forty-six under the order of the regional governor, Yalangtush Bahadur, on the site of a dilapidated caravanserai. It took fourteen years to complete, finally opening in sixteen sixty to serve a dual purpose as both a residential school for religious study and the city's main cathedral mosque.