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 Step back in time to Ray, Iran, where a 1,000-year-old marvel still stands proud: the Toghrol Tower. Rising 20 meters above the desert plain since 1063 CE, this brick sentinel weaves together genius engineering and haunting legend.
Some historians believe it shelters the tomb of Tughril Beg, the Seljuk dynasty’s formidable founder. Others insist it served as a beacon for Silk Road caravans, its silhouette cutting through fog and guiding wayfarers under moonlit skies.
But the real wonder lies in its shape: a smooth, 11 m-wide inner cylinder cloaked by a 24-sided exterior ring, 16 m across. This bold geometry not only bolsters the tower against earthquakes, it transforms the monument into a colossal sundial—each vertex’s shadow marking an hour of the day.
Nearly a millennium on, the Toghrol Tower still measures time with the rising sun—a testament to the ancient artisans who blended astronomy, spirituality, and architectural daring under one roof of brick and sarooj.