The Kalyan Minaret — "The Great One" — has been the symbol of Bukhara since 1127. Forty-six metres of patterned brickwork, fourteen ornamental bands that never repeat, and foundations sunk ten metres deep: the architect Bako mixed his mortar with camel's milk and let the base settle for two years before building on. The result has survived every earthquake of nine centuries.
The Tower That Stopped Genghis Khan
In 1220 Genghis Khan burned Bukhara to the ground but spared the minaret. Legend has it that when he tilted his head back to see the top, his hat fell off — and, bending down to pick it up, he said: "This tower has made even me bow." Its grim fame came later: in the 18th–19th centuries the condemned were thrown from the upper rotunda, hence its second name, the "Tower of Death".
The minaret is the centrepiece of the Po-i-Kalyan ensemble: at its foot stand the Kalyan congregational mosque, built for ten thousand worshippers, and the working Mir-i-Arab madrasah, whose blue domes are among the most recognisable sights in Central Asia.
Guide's tip: the best photo spot is the teahouse terrace opposite, especially at sunset. Come back in the evening too — the illumination turns the square into a stage set from an Eastern fairy tale, with hardly any tourists around.