The remains of Ulugbek’s 15th-century observatory is one of the great archaeological finds of the 20th century. Ulugbek was probably more famous as an astronomer than as a ruler. His 30m quadrant, designed to observe star positions, was part of a three-storey observatory he built in the 1420s. All that remains now is the instrument’s huge curved track, unearthed in 1908.
Exhibits at the small on-site museum include a model of the observatory, a copy of a 1605 map of the world that was created here, and a Dutch engraving showing Ulugbek seated with such fathers of classical European astronomy as Ptolemy and Tycho Brahe.
To get here take bus Nos 45 or 99 or minibus No 17 from Shahizinda ko'chasi.