Minaret of Jam

The Minaret of Jam (Pashto, Dari) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in western Afghanistan. It is located in a remote and nearly inaccessible region of Shahrak District, Ghor Province, between the Jam and Hari Rivers. The 62 m (203 ft) or 65 m (213 ft) high minaret was built c. 1190, entirely of baked bricks, and is famous for its intricate brick, stucco and glazed tile decoration, which consists of alternating bands of Kufic and Naskhi calligraphy, geometric patterns, and verses from the Qur'an. Since 2002, the minaret has remained on the list of World Heritage in Danger, under serious threat of erosion, and has not been actively preserved. In 2014, the BBC reported that the tower was in imminent danger of collapse. In 2020, the Minaret of Jam was listed among cultural heritage sites of the Islamic world by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO). According to the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the Minaret of Jam is Afghanistan's first cultural heritage site to be listed by ICESCO.

Building data from Wikidata (CC0); heights normalised. Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).