Ancient monuments of the Khorezm province of Uzbekistan.

“They also say that the word Khivak conceals the tarih on the death of Khazrat Pahlavan Mahmud Wali, may his mystery be sanctified! Ta’rich this became the name of this city. Its former name was Raml, i.e. a place full of sand. After the hunt, Ibn Nuh himself lay down there and fell asleep, and in a dream he saw himself in a circle of three hundred lit torches. I woke up in high spirits and, having decided to leave the memory of myself, covered this area with earth and built a city there, and in another visit I encircled it with a fortress wall and dug a spring on its western outskirts. In a word, as they say, Khivak was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. He is now thriving thanks to the efforts of the deceased Abu al-Ghazi Muhammad Rahim Khan, the father of His Majesty Allakuli Khan and his brother, who became famous throughout the world Kutlug Murad ina forgiven by Allah and residing in the paradise of the deceased. Their zeal was built there a large madrasa, along with other charitable institutions"

Historian Hudaiberdi ibn Koshmuhammad Khivaki “Dil Gara’ib”, “Heart of Rarities”.

Short trip from Urgench to Khiva.

The Minaret of Islam Khodja, built near the madrasah is the highest structure in Khiva, and has become its symbol. The minaret is 44 m. high; the diameter on the foundation is 10 m. The shaft of the minaret diminishes in its diameter as it rises, and produces an unusual impression.
Decorative belts of blue and white ceramics alternating with ochre bricks adorn the minaret. It is topped by arched lantern and golden crown. The minaret dominates its part of the city and concentrates around it thousand of domes and vaulted constructions.
The different sizes of the buildings as they approach the minaret of Islam Khodja contrast with its mass, showing off the skill of town planning of the Khorezm architects. It was built in 1908, however using the same methods as the much older minarets at Bukhara, Wabkent and Kunya Urgench.
You can see the minaret from every place in Khiva and even from far away in the desert. It is probable that the minaret served military purposes as well. Islam Khoja was great vizier of Khan Asfendijar.
He undertook moderate reforms, opened the first secular school and the first hospital and introduced mail and railways. Builder minaret - usto Hudaybergen Hoxha, tiles filled with pictures of Mohammed Khudaiberdyev Ish-masters and Bolt Vaisov Madaminov.
Madrasah small one-storey facade is decorated with plenty of majolica. Minaret - the highest in Khiva (45m), he, like the dome of Pahlavan-Mahmud, reigns in the silhouette of Ichon-Qala. Its trunk with a strong entasis, topped with a lantern and a crown vosmiarochnym stalactites, divided bands of brickwork and majolica belts Khan Asfendijar ruled from 1910 to 1920.
He mistrusted everyone. He stayed in a mirror hall, observed all persons arriving through the mirrors and called the palace guards on the most trifling occasions. But to the greatest extent he feared his own vizier.
Thus, he ordered that nobody was allowed to leave his house in order to pray for the health and the spiritual welfare of the khan. He called for Islam Khoja, kept him in his palace until dark and on his way home Islam Khoja was killed by bandits. 

Authority: 
«Religious and spiritual monuments of the Central Asia». The author of M. Khashimov. Publishing house "Saga", 2001. Belenitski A.M., Bentovitch I.B., Bolshakov O.G. « Medieval city of Central Asia»., 1973, Leningrad.

Photos
Alexander Petrov.