The two Minarets of Ghazni stand on open ground about two kilometres north of the modern city, the last upright structures of the Ghaznavid summer palace complex. The taller — the Minaret of Mas'ud III — was built around 1115; the smaller, the Minaret of Bahram Shah, about 30 years later. They were originally part of mosque complexes, since vanished.
Both towers are octagonal-star in plan and decorated with intricate bands of geometric brickwork and Kufic inscriptions in carved terracotta — a technique that influenced Islamic architecture from Delhi to Bukhara. They were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2004, in the category of sites in danger. Decades of conflict, neglect, and weathering have left them at constant risk. They are best seen in the late afternoon when the low light picks out the patterns.