2-668-644 - © CM Dixon/Heritage Images

Streets looking towards Registan in mid-distance, Smarkand, Uzbekistan, USSR, c20th century. The Registan was a public square, where people gathered to hear royal proclamations, heralded by blasts on enormous copper pipes called dzharchis - and a place of public executions. It is framed by three madrasahs (Islamic schools) of distinctive Islamic architecture.