List of oldest minarets

This article lists some but by no means all of the oldest known minaret towers in the world.

The oldest minaret still surviving is that of the Great Mosque of Kairouan in Tunisia.Titus Burckhardt, Art of Islam, Language and Meaning: Commemorative Edition. World Wisdom. 2009. p. 128Linda Kay Davidson and David Martin Gitlitz, Pilgrimage: From the Ganges to Graceland: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. 2002. p. 302 It was constructed in 836 AD and is considered as the prototype for all the square shaped minarets built in the Western Muslim World.

Most ancient, surviving minarets were constructed adjacent to a mosque, for the Muslim call to prayer (Adhan) five times each day by a muezzin (crier). A few minarets were built as watchtowers, landmarks or symbols of victory or glory of a Muslim Khanate or empire. In some instances, like the Minaret of Jam only the minaret tower survives today while the adjoining mosques and other structures were destroyed over time by nature and invaders. List of oldest minarets

This list ranks the oldest surviving minarets in the world. Only minarets built before 1900 AD. are included.

Name Image Location Country Region Height (m) Height (ft) Year built StatusNotes Ref.Great Mosque of Kairouan MinaretKairouanTunisiaNorth Africa31.5103836PreservedGreat Mosque of Samarra MinaretSamarraIraqWestern Asia52171851PreservedAbu Dulaf Mosque MinaretSamarraIraqWestern Asia32105859PreservedUmayyad Mosque's minaret of the brideDamascusSyriaWestern Asia30+98lower part 9th cent., upper part 12th cent.PreservedThe mosque's northern and oldest minaret Great Mosque of Qal'at Bani HammadM’sila ProvinceAlgeriaNorth Africa25821007/1008Part of the World Heritage SiteKutlug Timur MinaretKonye-UrgenchTurkmenistanCentral Asia60+1971011Believed to be the tallest of the ancient minarets in Central Asia. Dome was destroyed in 1221 by Mongols. Only 60 meters remain.Burana TowerChuy ValleyKyrgyzstanCentral Asia258211th CenturyPreservedOriginally 45 metres tall. Top destroyed by earthquake in 15th century.Uzgen MinaretUzgenKyrgyzstanCentral Asia27.59011th centuryPreservedAli minaretIsfahanIranWestern Asia52-54171-17711th-12th CenturypreservedFormerly built for a Seljuk-era mosque, now attached to a Safavid-era mosque.Ghazni MinaretsGhazniAfghanistanSouth Asia206512th centuryEndangered2 minaret towers. Upper portion of tower lost to earthquake in 1902Jarkurgan minaretJarkurganUzbekistanCentral Asia21.6711108Khosrogerd MinaretSabzevarIranWestern Asia30981112Kalyan minaretBukharaUzbekistan Central Asia45.61501127PreservedMinaret of JamShahrak DistrictAfghanistanSouth Asia652131194 Endangered In UNESCO List of World Heritage in DangerKutubiyya Mosque MinaretMarrakeshMoroccoNorth Africa772531195PreservedQutub MinarDelhiIndiaSouth Asia72.52381311PreservedTallest minaret made of bricks(marble and red sandstone).5 Musalla Minarets of HeratHeratAfghanistanSouth Asia551801417EndangeredOnly 5 of original 20 minarets remain.Menara Kudus Mosque MinaretKudus RegencyIndonesiaSoutheast Asia18591549Great Mosque of Banten MinaretSerangIndonesiaSoutheast Asia24781632Eger minaretEgerHungaryCentral Europe4013117th centuryPreservedOne of three surviving minarets of Ottoman rule in Hungary.Hiran MinarSheikhupuraPakistanAsia11033017th centuryEndangeredMughal Empire

List of oldest minarets

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