Kutlug Timur Minaret

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Kutlug Timur Minaret
Kutlug Timur Minaret as seen in May 2006
Kutlug Timur Minaret Shown within Turkmenistan
Location	Konye-Urgench, Daşoguz Province, Turkmenistan
Coordinates	42°20′N 59°09′E
Type	Monument
Height	60 m (197ft)
History
Founded	1011 AD^[1]
Periods	Khwarazmian dynasty
Cultures	Khwarezm
Site notes
Condition	Ruined

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Kunya-Urgench
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii
Designated	2005 (29th session)
Reference no.	1199
Region	Asia and Australasia

History of Minarets

By definition, a "minaret" is a tall slender tower, typically part of a mosque with its main purpose being to provide a high, visible platform to call Muslims to prayer. All over the world high-rise structures are known as symbols of the power of human thought, technical capabilities, and majesty of wise rulers who were the patrons of art. ^[2] In the Muslim East, minarets are signiture landmarks in many cities, and their origin can be related to a belief in a closure relation to the gods and light symbolizing aspirations of enlightenment. Building tall minaret-like structures have been practiced by many cultures, including ancient Central Asia from which the Kutlug Timur Minaret originated.

History of Ancient Architecture

In the rich heritage of architecture in ancient Uzbekistan, minaret towers were created to serve both aesthetic and functional purposes. The external appearance of these towers cn be divided into prism, spiral, cylindrical, and cone types, depending on the architectural forms indluence of the local socioeconomic conditions.^[3]

Kutlug Timur minaret is a minaret in Konye-Urgench in north Turkmenistan, Central Asia. Constructed in 1011 during the Khwarazmian dynasty, the minaret stands at a height of 60 meters, with a base diameter of 12 meters and a top diameter of 2 meters.^[1] In 2005, the ruins of Old Urgench, where the minaret is situated, were inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.^[4]

The Kutlug Timur Minaret is part of a group of approximately 60 minarets and towers constructed between the 11th and 13th centuries across Central Asia, Iran, and Afghanistan. Notable among these is the Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan.

Details & Decorations

On the basis of its decorative brickwork, including Kufic inscriptions, the minaret is thought to be an earlier construction but was restored by Kutlug-Timur around 1330.^[5]

Kutlug Timur Minaret