On the Trail of Genghis Khan

Sunday, January 7, 2018 11 again as war was unleashed on Afghanistan, enveloping the country in decades of bloodshed, and it was not until 2006 that excavations began on the site. “We thought at first that it was an isolated monument, but as we went on we saw that it was stuck to other older structures,” said Sarmiento- Bendezu. The gate of the ninth-century mosque Masjid-e Haji Piyada “At the end of the 8th century, the Buddhist world Carbon dating in early 2017 suggests the ancient was in torment in the region. structure in Balkh province was built in the eighth Balkh, Afghanistan dazzling spectacle. Sarmiento-Bendezu, director No doubt it was built on the century, soon after Islam swept into Central Asia n the white dusty plains “This is a masterpiece. of the French Archaeological remains of a monastery.” -- but exactly when, and who by, remains a mystery of northern Afghanistan, You have to imagine how it Delegation in Afghanistan, In July archaeologists archaeologistsI are seeking looked like, fully decorated who is leading excavations at unearthed the base of the to unravel the secrets of one with lapis, some parts in red, the site. pillars, at a depth of 1.5 metres of the oldest mosques in the it was all covered and painted: (five feet), but surveys suggest world, whose structure is still it was like a garden of paradise On the trail of Genghis even deeper remnants. standing after a thousand inside, with a sky above, the Khan “This is a window open years of solitude. domes with white and blue “This mosque is exceptional to the ancient period, here The Nine Domes Mosque, decoration,” he said. in its beauty, conservation, we can find the base of the named for the cupolas that The delicate vine leaves decoration and the knowledge next culture to come,” said once crowned its intricately etched onto the pillars it holds,” he said. Arash Boostani, an Iranian decorated columns, glimmers resemble those seen at But Noh Gonbad, its Persian architect and engineer from with remnants of the blue lapis Samarra, Tonietti said, name, was only rediscovered the University of Tehran, who lazuli stones that encrusted it. referring to the powerful ninth by chance. was commissioned by the Carbon dating in early 2017 century Islamic capital city In the late 1960s, an Aga Khan Trust for Culture suggests the ancient structure that ruled the Abbasid Empire American archaeologist (AKTC) to work on the site. in Balkh province was built in extending from present day travelling in the region asked A specialist in conserving the eighth century, soon after Tunisia to Pakistan. local people to take her to a historical monuments, he said Islam swept into Central Asia But the mosque at Balkh mosque destroyed by Genghis that some of the flower designs Scaffolding for the ongoing conservation work at -- but exactly when, and who could be even older, with the Khan, the Mongol emperor on the mosque are pre-Islamic the ninth-century mosque Masjid-e Haji Piyada by, remains a mystery. carbon dating and historical who rampaged across the and have been absorbed from The very survival of this sources suggesting it could region in the early 13th local culture. modest square of just 20 by 20 have been built as early as the century. The building, which has toppled soon after the mosque fireplaces. metres (65 foot by 65 feet) has year 794. Villagers led her to this been protected from the was built and have lain at the “Pieces of the domes, beguiled experts. “This means that the lonely, half-buried temple elements by a metal roof, site during the centuries since. however heavy, were “It’s a miracle it’s still mosque of the Abassid some 20 kilometres (12 miles) remains vulnerable because its “With the earthquake transported and used to standing despite time Empire has been influenced west of Mazar-i-Sharif. brick and patchwork structure in 819 most of the mosque cover nearby tombs: why give and erosion,” said Italian by Afghanistan, not the Once found, however, the is susceptible to erosion. collapsed,” Boostani said. yourself this burden if the architect Ugo Tonietti, from other way around,” said Julio building languished once Noh Gonbad’s domes were Another earthquake a building did not have strong the University of Florence, hundred years later hit the symbolic value?” who specialises in heritage outer walls and most of the Noh Gonbad remains conservation. 15 arches. a place of pilgrimage: the The mosque, which has The experts stretched women come to gather on weathered the centuries partly fibreglass nets to support the Friday and weep over the due to the arid climate of two main, deeply cracked tomb of an obscure saint, the region, is one of the best arches, and injected cement Hadji Pyada, the walking preserved Islamic buildings -- without altering the gypsum pilgrim, buried there in the of its age in the world and decorations. 15th century. is “highly valuable and highly “The place has always “Like all excavations, vulnerable”, he said. been occupied,” Sarmiento- those of the Nine Domes Time has washed most of Bendezu said. “Monastery Mosque pose more questions the colour from its columns, and then mosque, abandoned than they answer,” says the but the mosque was once a Haji Piyada Mosque in Balkh, northern Afghanistan and squatted in -- we found archaeologist. (AFP).

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