The little-known story of Qutb Minar's lesser-known twin in Afghanistan
Located a little over 400 km west of Kabul, whose citizens are waking up to a regime change and bracing for a life under Taliban, is a tiny district called Shahrak.
Here, in this nearly inaccessible part of Afghanistan, is a minaret that you be forgiven for mistaking to be Qutub Minar. Indeed the Minaret of Jam has served as a direct inspiration to the Qutub Minar which, like the Jam Minaret is about as tall and serves as a commemoration of a victory.
Standing at about 203 feet, the Minaret of Jam was built around 1190 using only baked bricks. On its walls are kufic and naskhi calligraphy, geometric patterns, and verses from the Quran.
The Minaret of Jam is said to be part of a group of 60 minarets that were constructed between the 11th and the 13th centuries in different parts of Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia for various purposes: to commemorate the victory of Islam, serve as landmarks, or as watchtowers.
The Minaret of Jam is named after one of the rivers, Jam, that flows nearby. The erosion caused due to the flooding of Jam and Hari, the other river that’s in close proximity, has been one of the major reasons why the Minaret of Jam is in a state of disrepair. Also contributing to the damage are the various earthquakes which are common in the region and the general lack of interest within Afghanistan to protect monuments of historical and cultural significance. The unstable political environment in the country doesn’t help either.
As far as the Jam Minaret goes, it seems clear from the remains found nearby that that the tower stood near a palace, a fort and a Jewish cemetery. By some estimates the minaret is the last standing remains of the lost city Turquoise Mountain. Today, however, the Minaret of Jam is part of UNESCO's list of World Heritage in Danger because of its precarious state.
Interestingly enough almost nothing was known of the Minaret of Jam until the second half of the 20th century. The first person outside of Afghanistan to have discovered the Minaret was one Sir Thomas Holdich who reported about it when h was working for the Afghan Boundary Commission in 1886. Despite this, for the Minaret of Jam remained largely ignored for another 70-odd years till French archaeologists Gaston Wiet and Andre Maricq wrote about it in 1957. A few other surveys were conducted over the years around the site of the Minaret of Jam: one in 1970 and another one a few years later. However when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the site was cut off from foreign access and an era of even more uncertainty began.
The next 40 years have seen a great deal of political instability. After the soviets came the US-supported Taliban who were ousted following 9/11 and the Americans invaded the country and occupied it for several years. This past month, as the American troops have retreated, the Taliban forces have taken over the country yet again. Amidst all of this chaos, some 400 km away from the Aghani capital of Kabul, a 230 feet-tall minaret stands in solitude, forgotten.
