A medieval monument to religious pluralism, hidden in the mountains of Afghanistan

One of the corking wonder of the medieval reality is a very improbable , heavily ornamented minaret nest in a immature valley at the boundary of the Jam river in what is now Afghanistan . Often cry the Minaret of Jam , the repository was almost a millenium ago illuminate by a blowtorch at its top , and surrounded by a thriving Ithiel Town with small industries and outlying farms .

What ’s singular is that the piece of writing on the minaret and archaeologic remains nearby strongly paint a picture that the metropolis harbor a population of Muslims , Christians and Jews . Writing on the minaret is a elaborate arranging from the Koran that celebrates the life of Mary , female parent of Jesus , highlighting the connections between Islam and other religions . Nearby there is a Jewish graveyard , which is another hint that multitude of unlike religions were endure peacefully together . Was this lost city once a citadel of medieval allowance ?

Some archaeologists believe the area around the Minaret of Jam was once called Firuzkuh and was the summer capitol of the Ghurids ( سلسله غوریان ) , a Muslim empire in the 11th and twelfth C , that traverse all of what we know now as Afghanistan as well as parts of eastern Iran and northern India . This mathematical function shows its locating .

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Today , it is a very remote outpost in Afghanistan ’s Ghor state , surrounded by a few farms and little else .

It is almost impossible for outsiders to get to the area , though it was declare a world inheritance site , and saving groups are work to prevent the tug from falling over ( earthquakes in the area have caused it to lean ) . Several years ago , UK architecture critic Dan Cruikshank describe his difficult journey past police and insurgents to attain the minaret and film it for a BBC special .

But , hesaid see this unbelievable monument was still deserving the risk :

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The minaret is made of toilsome yellow brick . As I stood before it , I saw that it is in this cloth that the edifice ’s most striking message is write . Its shaft is a dazzling showing of virtuoso brickwork , with geometrical forms incorporate Islamic eight - point virtuoso and Kufic lettering . There is a gore bearing the date of construction : 1193/4 . But , more significantly , the lower share bears the entire 19th sura of the Koran . This chapter , holler Maryam , tells of the Virgin Mary and Jesus , both venerated in Islam , and of seer such as Abraham and Isaac . It ’s a text that underscore what Judaism , Christianity and Islam have in common , rather than their differences . It seems the Ghorids placed the school text here to appeal for harmony and tolerance in the res publica , a message that is more relevant now than ever .

Inside , I find a stupendous , engineered building , with two coiling staircases winding around each other to form a double genus Helix . This warm building , combined with the fine brickwork , has keep the structure from temblor and carelessness .

The minaret is the second tumid of its sort in the earthly concern . It still stands today , a monument to humans ’ constant struggle to live in peace together , against all odds .

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