Ak-Sarai Palace, Uzbekistan

December 1969 Issue

Ak-Sarai Palace, Uzbekistan

Over 600 years have passed since construction began on the structure you see in November’s photo. It is what remains of Ak-Saray (Ak-Sarai), which was Amir Timur’s (Amir Temur's) summer palace, built in his hometown of Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan. Construction is said to have begun in 1380, and a surviving inscription gives the date of the palace's completion as "798 A.H.," or AD 1395-96. However, further construction and embellishment went on until Timur's death in 1405. Today, all that remains are the huge portals.

The ruler of Uzbekistan, Amir Timur — also known as Timur the Great and Tamerlane — believed his buildings to be the best in the world. One legend claims that gold sand was put into the clay used to make the first bricks for the palace. The height of the main portal was 230 feet, as tall as a 20-story building, and the corner towers were more than 30 feet taller than that.

Twenty-four correct answers were submitted, and PRESTON REEVES of Seguin, Texas, won the drawing. We thank Alan R. Lichtenstein of Commack, New York, for contributing the photo.

Correct answers were submitted by:

Bette Adelman, Scottsdale, AZ; Dottie & Bud Anderson, Concord, CA; Shirley & Victor Becker, Skokie, IL; Robert Bowes, Cleveland Heights, OH; Robert W. Clemmer, Yorba Linda, CA; Brooks Goddard, Needham, MA; Stuart A. Green, M.D., Los Alamitos, CA; Signe Haugen, San Carlos, CA; Magali V. Hinojosa, Laredo, TX; Neil Johnson, San Jose, CA; Mark Kirby, New York, NY; Janet Lakin, Redmond, OR; Joseph B. Lambert, San Antonio, TX; David J. Patten, St. Petersburg, FL; Dr. Richard C. Pearson, Raleigh, NC; WINNER: Preston Reeves, Seguin, TX; Cleo Reilly, Portland, OR; Rick Sinding, Princeton, NJ; Jeanne & Dave Smith, Irvine, CA; George Sonnichsen, The Villages, FL; Barbara Virden, Santa Ana, CA; Robert C. Wilson, Indian Head, MD; Wendy Windebank, Pacific Palisades, CA; Teresa Zabala, Salinas, CA.