Shaking Minarets in Esfahan, Iran

Shaking Minarets, Isfahan nicknamed as Manar Jomban and visiting this site must be included in your Isfahan Tours. One of the most impressive historical buildings in Isfahan, Shaking Minarets is located 6 kilometers west of the city of Isfahan on the way to Najaf Abad in a village called Karlatan. What makes the Shaking Minarets, Isfahan so unique is the fact that If you climb up the very narrow stairway to the top of one of these two minarets and lean hard against the wall, it will sway back and forth the other minaret. Experts have explained the situation as something that has occurred gradually with the passage of time.

The architectural style of the Shaking Minarets in Isfahan can be dated back to the 14th century Mongol style. Its two arches and the sides of the portico are decorated with dark blue tiles in the form of stars. The porch is 10 meters high and 10 meters in width and the minarets are 7 meters taller and are 4 meters in circumference. It is thought that the eivan and the porch were built shortly after 1316 to cover the grave of Amu Abdollah Soqla, a hermit, who was buried here. The minarets are perhaps of the Safavid origin and it is actually the minarets which made the otherwise unremarkable shrine famous. The roof above the shrine features good brickwork.

The phenomenon of the shaking of the minarets happens due to the ratio between the height and width of the minarets and the width of the eivan. The constant shaking has caused considerable structural damage. Although, a commonly believed opinion holds British interference responsible for this occurrence. It can be mentioned here that there is another pair of shaking minarets built during the time of Oljeitu at Oshtorjan.

The wooden beams on the upper part of the minarets have been placed there to facilitate the shaking of the minarets, but, this had led to other complications. Generally, the shaking is restricted to once every twenty minute. But, on holidays and other special occasion when the stream of visitors is bigger, visitors experiment with the phenomenon frequently which poses threat to the Shaking Minarets, Isfahan.

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