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Grandiose, majestic, powerful … There even more epithets address ed to this unique structure of the Middle Ages. And it deserves it ! 60 - meter high minaret of Kutlug-Timur is the highest monument in Central Asia even in comparison to the mausoleum of Sultan Sandzhar.
The minaret is shaped like a conic column. Slim tapered circular trunk is divided by eighteen belts (strips) painted by an ornament and three belts of inscriptions i n Kufi. In the past the minaret had a wooden Iranian lantern which ha d burned during a fire. To get to the top you would use a spiral staircase of 145 steps but the staircase was only accessible from the roof of the mosque which does not e xist any more.
The Minaret of Kutlug-Timur is deprived of the rich decor of Central Asian minarets of the 11th - 12th , but it surpasses the m due to its boldness of design: the height and harmony of proportions.
Scientists s till argue about the age of the minaret. Some of them believe that the foundation and construction o f the minaret were performed during Kutlu g -Timur 's rule. Others, however, say that its construction began under Mamun shakh ( 11th century). T here is also data confirming that it was constructed in days of sultan Ma k hmud Gaznevi (998-1030). It has been established that it was the minaret of Kutlug-Timur ( not the minaret of Mamun) survived during Mongols invasion in 1221 . But the dome of the minaret being a valuable specimen of architecture had suffered heavily and was restored later .
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