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All Uzbekistan Bukhara Kalyan Minaret

Kalyan Minaret

This "tower of death" has acted as an observatory, a religious hub, and an executioner's lair.

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

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The mosque, with the minaret in the background.   Leonid Andronov / Alamy
The mosque, with the minaret in the background.   Leonid Andronov / Alamy
The Kalyan Minaret   Hylgeriak on Wikipedia
The Tower of Death   Anatoly Terentiev on Wikimedia Commons
The intricate stone work on the exterior of the tower.   Dalbera on Wikipedia
Kalyan inaret, Bukhara   Kalpak Travel / Atlas Obscura User
Uzbekistan, Bukhara   Kalpak Travel / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The Kalyan Minaret in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, like the desert that surrounds it, has a history of both beauty and death.

Nicknamed the "Tower of Death," the 48-meter baked-brick tower was constructed in 1127 to call the Muslim faithful in the city to prayer five times a day. With an ornate gallery at its top, and glazed designs etched into the exterior, the tower was known for its impressive dimensions and its artistry. When Genghis Khan arrived around 100 years after the minaret's construction, local legend has it that Khan looked from the base of the spire to the top, and the steep angle caused his hat to fall off. Admiring the audacity of the tower, Khan ordered the spire spared from the destruction that his army visited on the rest of the city. In the 16th century, the Kaylan mosque and Mir-i Arab Madrasah were built around it, and it is now the center piece of the Po-I Kalyan mosque complex.

The tower has been used as an observatory, and, during times of war, it served as a lookout to watch for invading armies. Its most famous, and startlingly recent, use was for public execution, where those condemned to die were thrown from the rotunda at the top to the stone courtyard below. The last known execution took place as late as 1920, during the Russian Revolution. 

Related Tags

Ruins Execution Towers
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Added By

dzhastin

Edited By

Rachel, jamesboneill, kostas1964ath, EricGrundhauser...

  • Rachel
  • jamesboneill
  • kostas1964ath
  • EricGrundhauser
  • Max Cortesi
  • Kerry Wolfe
  • Kalpak Travel

Published

October 13, 2013

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Sources
  • Maclean, Fitzroy (1949). Eastern Approaches. Jonathan Cape
  • http://pagetour.narod.ru/bukhara/index.htm
  • http://www.advantour.com/uzbekistan/bukhara/kalyan-minaret.htm
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalyan_minaret
Kalyan Minaret
Bukhara
Uzbekistan
39.775693, 64.415025

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