INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
artists and craftsmen, Rey's tourism chief said on Tuesday.Borj-e Toghrol is nearly 900 years old and is considered the oldest tower in
The monument has always been the focus of tourists due to its many uses, including a sundial, the official explained.During the past nine
centuries, due to numerous earthquakes, its dome has been destroyed, and the height of the tower has reached 20 meters, Tasnim reported.The
tower is said to serve as the mausoleum for the Seljuk king, Sultan Tughralibek, who established Rey as a major administrative center of the
Seljuk Dynasty until its destruction by Mongol armies in the early 13th century.The interior design of the tower is cylindrical, and the
exterior is made up of 24 vertical angles
Two entrances in the Razi style (a form of Iranian architecture) were built on the north and south sides of the tower
The hollow structure of the tower has contributed a lot to the stability of the building.Due to the severe earthquakes in this area, a deep
and tight foundation was able to prevent the collapse
The architect of the tower built several holes in the walls to allow air circulation and prevent moisture from seeping into the walls
The walls of the tower are also acoustic
The tower used to have a roof that amplified these echoes, but it is now ruined.As for its sundial function, there are 24 vertical angles
around the outside of the tower
At the top of each angle are four and a half shapes in a circle, representing a quarter of an hour
There are also six rectangles, each showing 10 minutes, and the narrower grooves showing the minutes
It is worth noting that the tower's two east and west downspouts read three and nine o'clock, and the tower's north and south doors also
read six and twelve o'clock.Another use of the tower was to light a fire at the top of the tower, giving it the landmark function of showing
century CE) and it was captured by the Muslim Arabs in 641 CE
During the reign of the Muslim caliph Al-Mahdi in the 8th century, the city grew in importance until it was rivaled in western Asia only by
Damascus and Baghdad.According to Britannica, Islamic writers described it as a city of extraordinary beauty, built largely of fired brick
and brilliantly ornamented with blue faience (glazed earthenware)
It continued to be an important city and was briefly a capital under the rule of the Seljuks, but in the 12th century, it was weakened by
the fierce quarrels of rival religious sects
In 1220, the city was almost destroyed by the Mongols, and its inhabitants were massacred
Most of the survivors of the massacre moved to nearby Tehran, and the deserted remnants of Rey soon fell into complete ruin.AFM
