Caravanserais for itinerant traders formed part of the
square even after fee construction of the Ulug Bek madrasa (1417-20) on
its west side. Commissioned by and named after Tamerlane's astronomer son,
who probably lectured here, this ancient seminary is appropriately decorated
with a mosaic of stars over Its enormous pishtak or portico. Every other
square inch of its exterior is covered in mosaic too, using virtually every  moot
permitted In Islamic art: floral ones sculpted into faience tiles around
the niches and doorways, spirals up the pillars on the edges of the portico,
bands of Kufic calligraphy round the inside of the iwans (the high vaulted
arches in the middle of each wing), and geometric patterns known as girikhs
- some of them amazingly reminiscent of computer graphics- on the minarets
and the facade. The minarets were never used by muezzins, they were said
instead to hold up the sky. The northern one is famous for its Inward lean,
attributed variously to architectural genius, the weight of the sky, earthquake
damage and optical illusion. Soviet engineers tried and failed to straighten
it. The main door leads to a courtyard bounded by a mosque at the far end
and two storeys of lecture halls and students' cells on the sides, but
it's closed to visitors.
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