Chapel on Chapan-Ata Mountain, Five Versts from Samarkand

1905
This photograph shows the Chapan-Ata mazar (mausoleum), located several kilometers northeast of Samarkand (present-day Uzbekistan). The mausoleum takes its name from the summit on which it is located (chapan is a local word for shepherd). Its archaic centralized form, resembling similar structures from the 15th century, suffered damage over the centuries. Only a small portion of its original ceramic tile surface is visible, and the structure, built of adobe brick, is braced by several simple buttresses. The high drum supporting the dome has been coated with stucco. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states) in Central Asia, which he visited on a number of occasions, including two trips in 1911. Turkestan appealed to him not only for its Islamic architecture but also for scenes from traditional life.

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Filename: 5753.jpg
Copyright: acku Afghanistan
Image Size: 1800x1715 / 540.7KB; 1905 Uzbekistan Chapels Chapan-Ata Mountain Domes Men Zeravshan River Valley Photo WDL 010412
Contained in galleries: UZBEKISTAN

1905<br />
This photograph shows the Chapan-Ata mazar (mausoleum), located several kilometers northeast of Samarkand (present-day Uzbekistan). The mausoleum takes its name from the summit on which it is located (chapan is a local word for shepherd). Its archaic centralized form, resembling similar structures from the 15th century, suffered damage over the centuries. Only a small portion of its original ceramic tile surface is visible, and the structure, built of adobe brick, is braced by several simple buttresses. The high drum supporting the dome has been coated with stucco. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states) in Central Asia, which he visited on a number of occasions, including two trips in 1911. Turkestan appealed to him not only for its Islamic architecture but also for scenes from traditional life.