Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum

1. Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum

2.

The most majestic architectural monument of Merv is Sultan
Sanjar Mausoleum also known as 'Dar-al-Akhyre" (" The Other
World"). It vividly reflects the greatest achievements and
prosperity of Seljuks. Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum is located in the
center of ancient settlement of Sultan-Kala. Nearby there are big
monumental buildings - the palaces of Seljuk rulers and a
mosque.
Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum is a true medieval skyscraper of cubic
shape crowned by a two-level dome with turquoise encasement.
Under the dome run three-level through galleries in the form of
alternating openwork arches. The dome symbolized the firmament
and "floated" in the air. The architecture of Sultan Sanjar
Mausoleum amazes with harmony and symmetry of proportions.
Its walls are thick at the base. The overall wall length is 27 meters
. The height of the mausoleum is 38 m .

3.

4.

Right - MAUSOLEUM of SULTAN SANJAR
(mid-12 th century)
So prominent was the mausoleum of Sanjar the Great, sultan
of the Seljuk Empire, and its turquoise dome so magnificent,
that Silk Road caravans could spot it while they were still a
full day`s march away across the southern Karakum Desert.
But the Arabian inscription on its facade says: "This place is
ennobled by the remains of the one who was called Sultan
Sanjar from the descendants of Turks-Seljuks... He was
Alexander the Great of his time; he was the patron of
scientists and poets and was accepted by Islamic world in the
state of prosperity and happiness owing to sciences and arts".
The mausoleum is a place of pilgrimage of thousands of
believers let alone the у fact that it is the main attraction for
foreign tourists

5.

6.

*The mausoleum consists of an enormous brick cube,
approximately 27 meters square crowned by a large
dome nearly 18 meters in diameter. Arched corner
galleries along the upper story maintain a stark
rectangular profile while concealing the squinches that
mark the cube's transition to the dome. The gallery
façade's alternate pointed-arch and triangular-arch
bays create solid-void compositions that harmonize
with two rows of blind arches along the dome's base.
Miniature turrets along each corner above the gallery
once facilitated the cube-to-dome transition, but were
lost over time.

7.

8.

*The mausoleum is much revered and has been
restored several times. The dome was restored
in 1911, and the galleries were largely rebuilt in
recent decades. Unfortunately, much of the
twelfth-century terracotta ornament is feared
to have been lost in insensitive reconstruction
projects during the 1990s. The monument and
the cultural park of ancient Merv was declared a
UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. World
attention and increased tourist inflow have
guaranteed better upkeep of the structure.

9.

*The mausoleum's square, brick mass is relieved by
two gateways, expressed on the east and west
elevations. Plaster carved to simulate brick bonds
and inset with terracotta panels decorates some
brick facades. The elevations also exhibit traces of
stucco treatment and holes left behind by
scaffolding erected for repeated restoration efforts.
The galleries are elaborately adorned with
terracotta patterns in arch intrados and alternate
panels of carved brickwork. The outer dome was
once embellished with turquoise tiles, but only its
interior's exposed, interlaced structural ribs exist
today. These trace a central eight-pointed star
motif within the dome's eye, surrounded by a radial
series of foiled arches and stalactite-topped
pilasters.