Turkmenistan: Kunya Urgench - Mausoleum

Mausoleum, Konya Urgench, Turkmenistan, originally uploaded by dwrawlinson.

"Kunya-Urgench is situated in northwestern Turkmenistan, on the south side of the Amu Daria River. Urgench was the capital of the Khorezm region, part of the Achaemenid Empire. The old town contains a series of monuments mainly from the 11th to 16th centuries, including a mosque, the gates of a caravanserai, fortresses, mausoleums and a minaret. The monuments testify to outstanding achievements in architecture and craftsmanship whose influence reached Iran and Afghanistan, and later the architecture of the Mogul Empire of 16th-century India. Since 2005, the ruins of Old Urgench have been protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site."