Kutlug Timur Minaret
Kutlug Timur Minaret
History of Minarets
A minaret is a tall slender tower, typically part of a mosque which provides 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. In the Muslim East, minarets are landmarks in many cities, and their origin is related to a belief in a relation to the gods and light symbolizing aspirations of enlightenment. Building tall minaret-like structures has been practiced by many cultures, including in Central Asia, where the Kutlug Timur Minaret was built.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 can be divided into prism, spiral, cylindrical, and cone types, depending on the architectural forms influence of the local socioeconomic conditions. These monuments demonstrate the evolution of methods of treatment of the inner surface of domes from cellular sails to stalactite, those times called "muqarnas" and brought to the highest perfection by local masters.'''Kutlug Timur minaret'''
Kunya-Urgench contains a series of monuments including a mosque, the gate of a caravanserai, fortresses, mausoleums, and a 60-meter high minaret. The minaret was named after the governor of Khoresm for the Golden Horde Khanate, Qutlugh Timur, and is located on the northwest side of the Tekesh mausoleum in Kunya-Urgench, Uzbekistan. Based on archarological evidence and material dating, Russian historians hypothesize that the construction of the minaret had started as early as the eleventh century under governor Abu-Abbas Mamun and completed between 1321-1330 by Qutlug Timur. In 2005, the ruins of Old Urgench, where the minaret is situated, were inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.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.