Gonbad-e Qabus tower

Gonbad-e Qabus building was built on the Gorgan-khorasan’s road by Abol-Hasan Qābūs ibn Wušmagīr ibn Ziyar Sams al-maʿālī in late fourth AH. This building is known as Qaboos Dome or Mill Dome.

Gonbad-e Qabus. Qaboos dome’s building is located on a hill in Gonbad Kavous city of Golestan province. Today, it is considered as one of the most unique architectural monuments of Iran in the early Islamic period. Gonbad-e Qabus has been recorded in UNESCO World Heritage List.

Gonbad-e Qabus (tower) features

As one of the Gonbad-e Qabus features, it is located on a hill that is about fifteen meters higher than the ground. This building is the tallest full-brick tower in the world. The height of the building with its foundation is 72 meters. This tower was built in 375 AH during the reign of Kavouspour Vashmgir and in the city of Gonbad Kavous, which was the capital of the pilgrim kings of that land. The mile structure basically consists of three sections: the foundation, the stem and the conical dome, which is more than 50 meters high. The stem of this shaft is located on a circular base and part of it is sunk into the ground.The stem itself, with its broad circular view, is located on this foundation and is 37 meters high. In the body of the stem of the building, there are 10 triangular blades with regular intervals that adds to both beauty and strength of the tower.

Gonbad e Qabus 1 The whole stem is made of light pale bricks (or red bricks that turn golden yellow over time and sunlight) which have high quality. The mortar used in the building is also plaster, a mixture of lime, sand and ash tuna. There is a pair of Muqarnas work in the propylaeum which is counted as the first Muqarnas of Islamic architecture. The interior of the building does not have any decoration and the exterior view is decorated by a pair of similar Kufic inscriptions on simple bricks. They are 80 cm wide, one at a height of 8 meters above the ground and the other one is under the dome, and the text written on the inscriptions is as follows:“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, this great palace belongs to Shams al-Ma'ali Amir ibn Qaboos ibn Vashmigir, who ordered its construction during his lifetime in 397 AH.”

Tags: Attractions, Golestan province, Gonbad-e Qabus

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