Saint Daniel

Today we make the short journey to Samarkand, to the shrine of Khodja-Daniyar - or Saint Daniel - a prophet revered by three world religions. One of the four great prophets in Judaism, he has a Book named after him in the Bible and is also a Muslim prophet. According to the Bible, in 605 ВС the young Daniel went to Babylon as a captive of King Nebuchadnezzar where he was held in high esteem for his spirituality and divine knowledge.
Scholars still debate exactly when and how the mausoleum of the prophet Daniel appeared in Samarkand. One story tells how Tamerlane led a campaign to Mesopotamia and the Middle East in 1397-1404, and - unusually for the outstanding military commander - found himself unable to take Susa by force. He was informed by theologians that the city was protected by a prophet. Tamerlane is said to have made an agreement with the besieged people that he would not destroy their property, execute rebels or take captives if he were allowed to take a part of the sacred relic - the right arm of the prophet - to Samarkand to protect his empire's capital city from adversity.
Today to reach the shrine one must leave the busy main road frequented by the numerous visitors to Samarkand for the desert hills of Afrosiab; there the camel bearing the sacred remains from Mesopotamia would have led. It is said that Tamerlane ordered the mausoleum to be constructed wherever the came I rested.
From the medieval mosque, Khazrat Khizr, towering above the architectural ensemble of Shah-i-Zinda, a pathway creeps still higher over the city through the wilderness overrun with thorny steppe bushes. Locals seldom walk here out of respect for their forebears. In fact, what are thought to be burial hills are merely the traces of a vast city exposed to the merciless impact of time.
In midsummer gusts of desert wind blow up sheer dust whirlwinds between the hills and the clay towers. Caught up in one it is easy to forget that one is just a couple of kilometers away from 21st century civilization. A steep cliff appears ahead from which vantage point the whole river valley can be seen, lush and green and restful in its deep shade. This is the Siab district of Samarkand, which has preserved the less ancient, but nonetheless traditional architecture of clay houses with inner courtyards.
The mausoleum was built in Samarkand over the burial place of the saint's arm, then rebuilt in the early 20th century. Nearby is a water reservoir known for its sweet water and well-loved for its tranquility and beauty, especially in the warmer seasons of the year when the trees are in full leaf and swans and ducks swim a few meters away in the Siab river. Inside the mausoleum is a giant gravestone, far larger, it would seem, than the buried arm of Khodja-Daniyar but according to legend the relic is constantly growing.
Local people and visitors from all over the world come on pilgrimage to this site. In 1996, the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Aleksy II blessed the mausoleum on a visit to Samarkand. They say that after the blessing, the shriveled pistachio tree near the mausoleum started to blossom again.
Stay for a while near the holy place; pray, think good thoughts, or just sit quietly. Many experience an unusual lightness in heart and body and treasure those moments of carefree, happy thoughts.