20140927_Uzbekistan_0276 Khiva
Pahlavon Mahmud Street (named for the poet, philosopher, and legendary wrestler from the late-13th/early-14th century who became Khiva’s patron saint) leads to Khiva’s West Gate, passing by the unfinished Kalta Minor Minaret. Mohammed Amin Khan started the minaret in 1851 with the intent, legend has it, of making it so high he would be able to see all the way to Bukhara. When he died in 1855, his successor halted construction. Only 29 meters (95 feet) were completed out of an estimated final height of 70-80 meters (230-263 feet). The plan for the minaret called for significant tapering so the top would have been much narrower than the base.
Khiva existed from at least the 8th century as a side branch on the Silk Road, but gained prominence starting in 1592 when a new Khwarezm state made the city its new capital (previously located in Konye-Urgench in present-day Turkmenistan). Khiva was noted for its slave market selling people captured by Turkmen tribesmen in the Karakum desert (central present-day Turkmenistan) or from Kazakh tribes on the steppes to the north (in present-day Kazakhstan). In 1740 the city was wrecked when Nadir Shah of Persia conquered Khwarezm. Khiva was rebuilt by the end of the century and its slave market expanded to include encroaching Russians. The Russians ultimately took over in 1873. Slavery was formally abolished during the October Revolution of 1917. In 1920 the Bolsheviks established the Khwarezm People’s Republic which was absorbed into the new Uzbek SSR in 1924. The Soviets performed extensive restorations to Khiva during the 1970’s. In August 1991 Uzbekistan declared its independence.
Itchan Kala (the walled inner old city of Khiva) became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990.
[The term ‘Silk Road’ was coined in 1877 by German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen. The Silk Road contributed not only to the exchange of goods and technologies, but also to the mutual enrichment of cultures and traditions of different peoples. Direct maritime trade between Europe and the Far East ultimately supplanted the overland route.]
On Google Earth:
Kalta Minor Minaret 41°22'42.05"N, 60°21'28.49"E
20140927_Uzbekistan_0276 Khiva
Pahlavon Mahmud Street (named for the poet, philosopher, and legendary wrestler from the late-13th/early-14th century who became Khiva’s patron saint) leads to Khiva’s West Gate, passing by the unfinished Kalta Minor Minaret. Mohammed Amin Khan started the minaret in 1851 with the intent, legend has it, of making it so high he would be able to see all the way to Bukhara. When he died in 1855, his successor halted construction. Only 29 meters (95 feet) were completed out of an estimated final height of 70-80 meters (230-263 feet). The plan for the minaret called for significant tapering so the top would have been much narrower than the base.
Khiva existed from at least the 8th century as a side branch on the Silk Road, but gained prominence starting in 1592 when a new Khwarezm state made the city its new capital (previously located in Konye-Urgench in present-day Turkmenistan). Khiva was noted for its slave market selling people captured by Turkmen tribesmen in the Karakum desert (central present-day Turkmenistan) or from Kazakh tribes on the steppes to the north (in present-day Kazakhstan). In 1740 the city was wrecked when Nadir Shah of Persia conquered Khwarezm. Khiva was rebuilt by the end of the century and its slave market expanded to include encroaching Russians. The Russians ultimately took over in 1873. Slavery was formally abolished during the October Revolution of 1917. In 1920 the Bolsheviks established the Khwarezm People’s Republic which was absorbed into the new Uzbek SSR in 1924. The Soviets performed extensive restorations to Khiva during the 1970’s. In August 1991 Uzbekistan declared its independence.
Itchan Kala (the walled inner old city of Khiva) became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990.
[The term ‘Silk Road’ was coined in 1877 by German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen. The Silk Road contributed not only to the exchange of goods and technologies, but also to the mutual enrichment of cultures and traditions of different peoples. Direct maritime trade between Europe and the Far East ultimately supplanted the overland route.]
On Google Earth:
Kalta Minor Minaret 41°22'42.05"N, 60°21'28.49"E