World Heritage Identification Number: 1199
World Heritage since: 2005
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan
Continent: Asia
UNESCO World Region: Asia and the Pacific
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Kunya-Urgench: A Medieval Metropolis of Central Asia
Kunya-Urgench, officially recognized as Konye-Urgench, is a historical city located in north-western Turkmenistan, nestled on the left bank of the Amu Darya River. This ancient metropolis, once the capital of the Khwarezmid Empire, holds significant importance in the history of Central Asia and is a testament to the architectural prowess of the medieval period. In 2005, it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, acknowledging its cultural and historical significance.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
Kunya-Urgench is situated in north-western Turkmenistan, on the left bank 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 60-m high 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.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion (ii): The tradition of architecture expressed in the design and craftsmanship of Kunya-Urgench has been influential in the wider region to the south and southwest i.e. in Iran and Afghanistan, and later in the architecture of the Mogul Empire (India, 16th century).
Criterion (iii): Kunya-Urgench provides an exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition (the Islamic culture of the Khorezm) and is unique in its state of preservation. The society that created this centre has disappeared; however we note that most of visitors are in fact pilgrims from the region.
Encyclopedia Record: Konye-Urgench
Konye-Urgench, also known as Old Urgench or Urganj, was a city in north Turkmenistan, just south from its border with Uzbekistan. It is the site of the ancient town of Gurgānj, which contains the ruins of the capital of Khwarazm. Its inhabitants deserted the town in the early eighteenth century in order to develop a new settlement, and Konye-Urgench has remained undisturbed ever since. In 2005, the ruins of Old Urgench were inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.Additional Site Details
Area: 353.24 hectares
(iii) — Unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition
Coordinates: 42.18318 , 59.08494
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© Doron, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
