Tilla-Kari (Gold-Covered) Medressa

In between Ulugbek Medressa and the Sher Dor (Lion) Medressa is the Tilla-Kari (Gold-Covered) Medressa, completed in 1660, with a pleasant, gardenlike courtyard. The highlight here is the mosque, intricately decorated with gold to symbolize Samarkand's wealth at the time it was built. The mosque's delicate ceiling, oozing gold leaf, is flat but its tapered design makes it look domed from the inside.

Many of the medressas' former dormitory rooms are now art and souvenir shops. In the high season a variety of traditional shows are put on for tourists in the Sher Dor courtyard, including mock Uzbek weddings and kurash, a form of Uzbek wrestling. There are also tacky evening sound-and-light shows put on for tour groups in the square, which can usually be watched for free from afar. For optimal views, police guards eagerly offer to escort visitors to the top of a minaret for 3000S. Don't pay more than 2000S.