Kalta Minor in Khiva

1322

Kalta Minor is one of the amazing minarets of Khiva, which has become the hallmark of the ancient city.

The construction of the minaret began in 1852 on the initiative of the ruler of Khiva, Mukhmamad Amin Khan, and involved the construction of the world's largest minaret, its diameter at the base was 14.5 meters. As conceived by the architects, in order for the building to be more durable, the height of the minaret should have reached 80 meters with a sharp decrease in diameter at a height. But the construction of the minaret was stopped in 1855 due to the death of Muhammad Amin Khan. Another legend is connected with the incompleteness of the minaret. Once the Emir of Bukhara, having learned about the construction of the highest minaret in Khiva, wanted to build the same one in Bukhara. The Khiva Khan found out about the collusion of the architect with the ruler of Bukhara, ordered to find the master and execute him. Fearing persecution, the master secretly fled from Khiva, and the minaret remained unfinished.