Kalyan Minaret
Bako, master builder · Bukhara, Uzbekistan · 1127
The Kalyan Minaret is the dominant vertical landmark of Bukhara’s historic center. Built in 1127 under the Karakhanid ruler Arslan Khan, the tapering brick tower rises from a broad circular base to a decorated lantern, with bands of patterned masonry creating visual richness without applied surface cladding. The minaret functioned as part of a congregational mosque complex and as an urban marker visible across the low city. Its survival through later invasions and rebuilding makes it one of Central Asia’s most important examples of pre-Mongol brick architecture.