In the center of Samarkand is the Registan complex, consisting of three major examples of the madrasah (religious school). The third of these, the Tillia Kari Madrasah, was built in 1646–60 on the site of a former caravansarai. Its basic plan is formed by a rectangular courtyard, shown here with two stories composed of arcades of pointed arches that frame rooms for scholars. Although much damaged, the facades are profusely decorated with intricate ceramic work in geometric and floral patterns. On the far left is a corner of the Ulugh Beg Madrasah. 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 different 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), which he visited on a number of occasions, including two trips in 1911. He gave special attention to the Islamic architecture of Samarkand, such as 14th and 15th-century monuments from the reign of Timur (Tamerlane) and his successors.