Kalta-Minor, Khiva
Unfinished Kalta-minor (short tower) is located in front of the facade of the madrasah. It was once considered to be the highest minaret of the Muslim East. The legend tells the Bukhara khan competing with the Khiva khan by building the Kalyan minaret in Bukhara. Kalta-minor's foundation diameter is 14 m., and the height of the tower is 26 m.
Not only the grandiosity of the plan but also the unusual decor is impressive. The ornamental cylindrical belts completely cover the shaft of the minaret. The wonderful skills of the Khorezm architects who created these decorative belts of green, turquoise, blue and white plates are on full here. It was hoped that Kalta-minar would surpass all other monumental structures in its magnificence, but history had it on its own way. Yet even this unfinished part of the minaret enraptures with its audacity of plan and variety of patterns.
