Khiva

General view of Matniyaz Divan-begi madrasah (right) 1871, Kalta Minor (centre) 1855, and Juma minaret, 10th-13th centuries, Khiva, Uzbekistan, pictured on July 7, 2010, at sunset. The Kalta Minor or Short Minaret was commissioned by Mohammed Amin Khan in 1852 to stand 70 m. high, but was abandoned when he died in 1855, and remains only 26 m. high. Commissioned by Muhammad Niyaz, the rectangular Matniyaz Divan-begi madrasah has a traditional main facade, its high portal, decorated with majolica, having a central pentahedral niche and corner guldastas which are geometrically patterned in blue, white and green, with green brick domes. The Juma minaret, oldest in Khiva, has a tapering brick trunk decorated with seven narrow belts of small turquoise bricks. Khiva, ancient and remote, is the most intact Silk Road city. Ichan Kala, its old town, was the first site in Uzbekistan to become a World Heritage Site(1991). Picture by Manuel Cohen

Picture No

13425485

Media ID

45094512

Size

5616px x 3911px (4.5MB)

Credit

Manuel Cohen / Mary Evans

Source

Photograph by Manuel Cohen