Ancient city of Kunya Urgench

Ancient city of Kunya Urgench

Today it is an architectural reserve (480 km to the north from Ashgabat). In the past it was the ancient capital of Northern Khoresm in the first century A.D. In the middle of the eighth century it was conquered by Arabs and in the year of 995 it was renamed Gurgandzh and became the residence of Khorezm Shah and the second-largest city after Bukhara – the capital of Samanid Empire.
Being a major cultural and shopping center during the Middle Ages it gave shelter to Ibn-Sino , Beruni and other well – known thinkers of that time. In 1221 the city regarded as “the heart of Islam” rebelled against Genghis Khan and was destroyed by Mongols. Kunya Urgench was quickly restored its power after that defeat but in 1388 the army of Tamerlane, who saw the city as a competitor to Samarkand, destroyed it again. After that Kunya Urgench got in oblivion until 1831 when people came there to build Khan- Yab canal. This is the reason why many great monuments of Kunya Urgench have survived in poor condition; but some of them are practically intact and draw close attention of specialists and tourists.

Kunya Urgench tour to Turkmenistan
Куня Ургенч Туркменистан (2)
Near Kunya Urgench Turkmenistan
Kunya Urgench Turkmenistan

The main places of interest in Kunya Urgench are:

The mausoleum of Nadzhimetdin Kubra ( the 12 th – 13 th centuries),
The mausoleum of Mongolian princess Torebeg- Kh anym ( Turabekkhanum , the 12th – 14th centuries),
The minaret of Mamun ( thw 10th – 11th centuries),
The minaret of kutlug Timur ( the 12th – 14th centuries) – the highest minaret in Central Asia – its height is 67 m ,
The mausoleum of Kyrkmollah ( the 2nd century B.C. – the 3rd century A.D. ,
Ibn-Khadzhib madrasah (the 14th – 16th centuries),
The mausoleum of Arskan II – the oldest building in the city (the 11th century),
The mausoleums of Fakhr ad-Din Razi (the 1 3 th century),
Azizan Al’-Ramatani (the 13th – 14th centuries),
Seid Akhmed (the 12th – 14th centuries),
Piryarveli ( the14th – 17th centuries),
Guligerdan (the 12th century),
Khorezimbag ( the 13th – 18th centuries),
Dashgala ( the 14th – 16th centuries),
Matkarim – Ishan ( the 19 th – 20 th centuries),
Sultan Ali (1580),
Tekesh – Khorezmshakh ( the 13 century ) with a minaret of the 14th century ,
Dashmedzhet (1903-1908)
Ak – Kala Fortress ( Akgala , the 1st – 13th centuries).

Kunya Urgench Turkmenistan (2)
Kunya Urgench Turkmenistan (3)

 

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