Gur Emir is the Tajik name for the tomb of the emir. Timur was the most famous warlord of Central Asia with Gengis Khan. This is a very nice and elegant mausoleum topped by a fluted azure dome, at the edge of the old town behind hotel Samarkand. Ulughbek, Timur's son is also buried here. The inner room is decorated with gold. The vault of Timur is a simple and beautiful dark green jade huge stone.
The soviet anthropologist Gerasimov opened the crypt in 1941. He found on Timur's grave an inscription to the effect that 'whoever opens this will be defeated by an enemy more fearsome than I.' The next day, 22 june, Hitler attacked the Soviet Union!