Sultan Tekesh Mausoleum
Sultan Tekesh Mausoleum
Sultan Tekesh Mausoleum
3.5
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3.5
12 reviews
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4
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Andrew M
7,589 contributions
Jul 2019
The mausoleum of Sultan Tekesh is located in the center of the historical city of Kunye Urgench. It is a short walk south of the tall Gutlug Timur minaret and north of his father's mausoleum (II Arslan). The building had scaffolding around its' signature blue dome, which made it a little difficult to appreciate the construction details. The mausoleum was built in the 13th century, shortly after the death of Tekesh in 1200. We estimated that 2/3 of the tiles on the dome were missing. The portal was also an attractive area, as the area above the door had sculptures that were similar to honeycombs, in the middle of which were small blue tiled, star shaped symbols.
The doors seemed to be original, but were unfortunately closed. We were able to walk to the left of the building to view the interior through an opening, but there was a chain link fence on the inside which restricted our view. There were many small cairns to the left of the building, similar to those seen on hiking trails. A simple brick grave was near to the cairns, and was labelled, "Saym Saraf". There was a structure with a crude curved zinc roof above the grave, which we thought detracted from the beauty of the mausoleum.
Although Tekesh ruled for a short period (1172-1200), he is sometimes known as the founder of the Khwarezm Empire. This is not because he was the first ruler of the state, but because the state underwent a rapid expansion during his reign due to many conquests. He moved westward and captured the large cities of Merv and Nisa before his main prize, which was Khorasan. This included much of Iran. He is also known as the father of Muhammed II, who succeeded him, but was the cause of the Mongol invasion in 1221 when he executed the emissaries of Genghis Khan. This error in judgement resulted the end of the Khwarezm empire. The Kyrk Molla fortress ruins and a small power blue dome mosque are other attractions in this area.
The doors seemed to be original, but were unfortunately closed. We were able to walk to the left of the building to view the interior through an opening, but there was a chain link fence on the inside which restricted our view. There were many small cairns to the left of the building, similar to those seen on hiking trails. A simple brick grave was near to the cairns, and was labelled, "Saym Saraf". There was a structure with a crude curved zinc roof above the grave, which we thought detracted from the beauty of the mausoleum.
Although Tekesh ruled for a short period (1172-1200), he is sometimes known as the founder of the Khwarezm Empire. This is not because he was the first ruler of the state, but because the state underwent a rapid expansion during his reign due to many conquests. He moved westward and captured the large cities of Merv and Nisa before his main prize, which was Khorasan. This included much of Iran. He is also known as the father of Muhammed II, who succeeded him, but was the cause of the Mongol invasion in 1221 when he executed the emissaries of Genghis Khan. This error in judgement resulted the end of the Khwarezm empire. The Kyrk Molla fortress ruins and a small power blue dome mosque are other attractions in this area.
Written 12 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JGDynamo
Canada2,083 contributions
Jul 2017 • Friends
So many mausoleums and temples so little time! The mausoleum for Sultan Tekesh in Kunye Urgench is smaller than Turabek but nonetheless interesting and presumably the tomb of the founder of the Khwarezm Empire. If you aren’t interested in the history of the Sultan buried there then the architecture should hold your attention and let you know that some amazing feats were done with some of these buildings long before we had our modern technology.
Written 12 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jacqui L
Tel Aviv, Israel196 contributions
Sept 2016 • Friends
This one is being renovated, so we saw mostly scaffolding, but you can still see some of the tile decoration. Wikipedia adds: This structure is the presumed Tomb of Sultan Ala al-din Tekesh, the founder of the Khwarezm Empire and its ruler between 1172-1200.
Written 18 October 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
OneAddictedTraveler
Lake Elmo, MN4,122 contributions
Oct 2018 • Couples
From reading the other reviews, this little mausoleum has been under renovation for years. The scaffolding is still in place with no signs of progress.
Written 2 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TheTravelPirate
Rochester, NY808 contributions
Oct 2017 • Friends
Loved the architecture on this mausoleum with it's more pointed dome at the top rather than a standard dome. Sadly its covered in scaffolding but whats more saddening is its covered in scaffolding and absolutely no one is there working on it.
Written 20 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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