Konye-Urgench

Konye-Urgench is just across the border from Khiva in Turkmenistan.

What dazzles most about the site at Konye-Urgench is not the giant minaret left standing or the showpiece mausoleums, but rather, what is not there. The empty spaces in between the glorious monuments speak not of a town, not of a city, but of a medieval metropolis worthy of the name “Heart of Islam”.

The Old Urgench ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and there are a number of other archaeological sites including the Turabek-Khanum Mausoleum, Kutlug-Timur Minaret and the Tekesh Mausoleum.