Kunya-Urgench is situated in north-western Turkmenistan, on the left bank of the Amu Daria River. Urgench was the capital of the Khorezm region, part of the Achaemenid Empire. The old town contains a series of monuments mainly from the 11th to 16th centuries, including a mosque, the gates of a caravanserai, fortresses, mausoleums and a 60-m high minaret. The monuments testify to outstanding achievements in architecture and craftsmanship whose influence reached Iran and Afghanistan, and later the architecture of the Mogul Empire of 16th-century India.
Criteria for inclusion as a World Heritage Site
| # | ||
|---|---|---|
| ii | To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. | All |
| iii | To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared. | All |
Nearby
Sites
| Name | Since | Distance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Merv | 2019 | 566.3km | site_ao | ||
| Saparmurat Hajji Mosque | 2019 | 457.1km | site_ao | ||
| Dekhistan Ruins | 2019 | 576.6km | site_ao | ||
| Türkmenbaşy Ruhy Mosque | 2019 | 468.6km | site_ao | ||
| Yangykala Canyon | 2019 | 412.3km | site_ao | ||
| The Ancient Chilpik Tower of Silence | 2017 | 59.8km | site_ao | ||
| An Astronomical Tower from the Islamic Golden Age | 2018 | 601.3km | site_ao | ||
| Ichan Qa’la | 2018 | 138.6km | site_ao | ||
| House of Political Education (today: State Archive of Turkmenistan) | 1970 | 475.5km | site_brutalism | ||
| Ferdowsi Museum | 1964 | 634.5km | site_brutalism | ||
| Karl Marx State Library | 1960 | 476km | site_brutalism | ||
| Hyrcanian Forests | 2019 | 602.2km | site_whs | ||
| Historic Centre of Bukhara | 1993 | 522.3km | site_whs | ||
| Itchan Kala | 1990 | 138.8km | site_whs | ||
| Parthian Fortresses of Nisa | 2007 | 471.2km | site_whs | ||
| State Historical and Cultural Park “Ancient Merv” | 1999 | 563.7km | site_whs | ||
| Gonbad-e Qābus | 2012 | 641.8km | site_whs | ||
| Unearthly Views of the World’s Oldest Spaceport | 2019 | 542.1km | post |
About the source: UNESCO
Within UNESCO's broad remit, this specialised agency of the UN works towards international cooperation agreements to secure the world's cultural and natural heritage, designating venues of exceptional value as World Heritage Sites.