Tughrul tower guides travelers through Silk Road

Tughrul tower which is also called Khalifeh Yazid tower is located in Rey County, Iran. It was built nine centuries ago, during the Seljuks Period. The tower was restored by the order of Nasser al-Din Shah, the King of Iran in the Qajar era.

Iran (IMNA) – Tughrul tower is the tomb of the ruler of the Seljuk dynasty. The height of the walls of the tower is 20 meters and its area is more than 48 square meters. It also had a conical dome which added to its height.

During an earthquake, the dome was collapsed. The inner and outer diameters of the tower are 11 and 16 meters, respectively. The thickness of the lower parts of the walls is 2.75, and is 1.75 at the top part. The cylindrical tower is made of brick, mortar, and cement.

One of the interesting characteristics of the tower is having 24 angles in its design that each of them represents an hour; so from the top view it looks like the Sun with 24 angles. Kufic inscriptions can be seen at the top of the tower as well. Tughrul tower has two wooden entrances: southern and northern ones. There is an imprinted lion on one of the entrances.

In the past time, the tower had some functions; when a fire was lit on the palisade of the tower, it acted as a guide for the travelers of the Silk Road who came to Rey through the route of Khorasan.

The other function was that the walls of the tower were constructed in such a way that they echoed the sounds. Therefore, if a person speaks in the center of the tower, his/her sound will be resounded.

Tughrul tower was registered in the list of Iran's national monument, in 1931, with the registration number of 147; the tower is protected by Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicraft, and Tourism Organization. It has been considered as one of the valuable historical attractions of Rey County.

News ID 383257

Tags

Your Comment

You are replying to: .