As we said previously that Hawler is well-known for having a Castle in the center of the city and secondly, for having a Minaret known as The Choly Minaret, which located in the west region of Hawler city.
They Choly Minaret which is 36 m high, was built between 1190-1232 (630 – 586 according to Islamic Calendar) during the reign of Muzaffar Al-Din Abu Sa’eed Al-Kawkaboori, the king of Erbil.
The minaret is composed of a high octagonal base and a tall cylindrical shaft, with a balcony located between the base and the shaft.
It’s built of baked bricks, the base is decorated with two tiers of niches with pointed arches, two on each of the eight faces that are inscribed in rectangular frames.
The balcony parapet is carved with twenty-four small niches, the access door to the minaret steps is on the eastern side of the octagonal base and leads top to the balcony. From there a small door gives access to steps inside the cylindrical shaft that led to the second balcony now collapsed.
The shaft tapers inward and is decorated with several bands of interlocking diagonal Hazar-Baf motifs that are separated with thin bands. Peculiarly splendid "Kufi", which is a type of Arabic handwritings, calligraphy can be seen, the names of Muhammad and Mas'oudi Muhammadi the builders of the Minaret were inscribed.
I have these two old photos of The Choly Minaret, but have some other new pictures, and will try to upload them soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment