(...)
The Chir -Dor Madrasah came after. Its name stands for "tiger bearing", which is naturally associated to its portal characterised by the two tigers bearing the sun, a motif which clearly went against Islamic conventions but which seems to have a Mongol origin. Taking into account that the Shaybanids (and Timur included) regarded themselves as the heirs of the Great Mongol Empire, the felines most likely had a political significance.
The mosaic designs covering the walls of the courtyard were really impressive, but so were the two floors of hujras (cells) of the courtyard. By then all I could do was open my eyes and let them wander in ecstasy ... I was so taken by everything I saw that no explanation as to what techniques had been used to achieve a particular effect appeased my astonishment.
The moment we left the Registan ensemble we kept on looking in the same direction as if for some sort of unseen force we were pulled back. In front of us ahuge garden and an eighteenth century Tshorsou, a small vaulted bazaar, built precisely behind the the Chir-Dor Madrasah.
Unexpectedly as if coming from behind the garden shrubbery and bushes a group of women showed up ... as if knowing exactly where they were heading (women normally do) ... but none of us could figure out what it was about, because even if we came across women together quite often, never had we encountered so many together... and particularly walking in a rather marching type of way.
(To be continued)
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