The Kalyan Minaret is the defining vertical element of Bukhara's skyline — a 47-metre shaft of fired brick rising from the Po-i-Kalyan complex, completed in 1127 under the Karakhanid ruler Arslan Khan. It is one of the best-preserved medieval minarets in Central Asia and the reason Bukhara's old city looks the way it does. From anywhere in the historic centre you can orient yourself by its tapering form.
The decoration is subtle but extraordinary up close: 14 distinct bands of geometric brickwork, each different from the last, run from the stalactite cornice at the top to the ornate base. The lantern gallery at the summit is ringed with 16 arched windows and could have held a fire or a muezzin. You cannot climb it today, but the view from the courtyard of the surrounding complex — the Kalan Mosque to the south and the Mir-i-Arab Madrasah to the north — makes a compelling case that Bukhara's architects knew exactly what they were doing.