Detail of the Kalyan minaret in Bukhara, Uzbekistan,
Wikipedia: The Kalyan Minaret (Persian/Tajik: Minâra-i Kalân, Kalon Minor, Kalon Minaret) is a minaret of the Po-i-Kalyan mosque complex in Bukhara, Uzbekistan and one of the most prominent landmarks in the city. The minaret, designed by Bako, was built by the Qarakhanid ruler Mohammad Arslan Khan in 1127 to summon Muslims to prayer five times a day. An earlier tower collapsed before completion. It is made in the form of a circular-pillar baked brick tower, narrowing upwards. It is metres ( ft) high (48 metres including the point), of 9 metres ( ft) diameter at the bottom and 6 metres ( ft) overhead. There is a brick spiral staircase that twists up inside around the pillar to the rotunda. The tower base has narrow ornamental strings belted across it made of bricks which are placed in both straight or diagonal fashion. The frieze is covered with a blue glaze with inscriptions. In times of war, warriors used the minaret as a watchtower to lookout for enemies.
Size: 7360px × 4912px
Location: Bukhara, Uzbekistan
Photo credit: © Bert de Ruiter / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: architecture, asia, bert, brick, bukhara, central, complex, de, detail, historical, history, horizontal, inscriptions, kalan, kalon, kalyan, landscape, minaret, mosque, muslim, po--kalan, po--kalyan, ruiter, tower, travel, uzbek, uzbekistan
