The Empty Throne, a photo from Xorazm, West

Photographer's Note

The Kalta Minor - the 憇hort or squat minaret� is an iconic symbol of the ancient city of Khiva.You can see the Minor in the far BG.

Khiva or Xiva is one of old cities of ancient Khorezm, in present day Uzbekistan and is a pearl of eastern middle age architecture.

According to the archeologists Khiva was founded in the 5th or 4th centuries BC. The origin of the name 慘hiva� could be from 揔hey-vakh� which roughly means 搒weet water.� In the early 16th century it became capital of Khiva khanate, one of the Uzbek khanates. The majority of Khiva抯 immense architectural projects began and the city established itself as a center of power in the region. The city was divided into two parts in XIX century - Ichan Kala (inner city) with 10 meters high wall and Dishan Kala (outer city).

Construction of the 'Kalta Minor' began in 1851 by Mohammed Amin Khan who wanted to have an impressive minaret as the finishing touch for his lavish new madrassah (The Muhammad Amin-khan madrassah), part of which can be seen in the left. The construction of the minaret remained unfinished �.it was originally intended to become the largest minaret in Central Asia 80 metres high. But in its incompleteness, it stands today 26 meters high on its 14 meters massive base which suggests that it would have boasted truly mammoth proportions if completed. Despite its unfinished state, the Kalta Minor is still a beautiful spectacle wrapped by bands of dazzling blue, green beige, and turquoise tiles fashioned in a variety of intricate geometric designs and an inscription from a Persian poet encircling its upper dimensions.

Early morning, the just washed & clean streets were empty & so was the throne & the sword...waiting for the right person.

danos, gervaso, ManuMay, mirosu, pierrefonds, jhm, fritzi007, PaulVDV, cornejo, PiotrF, kordinator, papagolf21, jjcordier, Didi, Graal, adores, tatadalou has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

danos (110407) 2015-02-11 0:27

Hello Angshu,
nice the view of this section of Khiva with the colourful Kalta Minor to dominating on the backdrop of the scene.The waiting throne with the sword in it placing in the proper point in the frame makes the image even more attractive.Informative your note as ever.

Regards,Danos

taypejka (1689) 2015-02-11 0:38

Hello Angshu,

Very attractive composition with the first scene and second background and what a luck to find a throne and sword on your way :). Very nice warm colours and light.
best regards
emilia

gervaso (28437) 2015-02-11 2:27

Hello, Angshuman!

A beautiful place captured with very good quality! The light, perfectly managed, gives beautiful colors to the image! Interesting empty throne, and so is the note about the place! Wonderful composition!

ManuMay (36447) 2015-02-11 3:06

HI Angshuman!

So this is your place...you are the King!! ;)

Excellent light and colours, and a difficult light management with those light contrasts, excellent work!!

Have a nice day...

Manu

mirosu (16313) 2015-02-11 3:09

Hi Angshu,
Excellent, well arranged photo with very nice colors, perfect light, very good clarity and splendid details.
Also the choice of the cropping suits the shape of the subject and its surroundings.
Very well done.
Greetings,
MIRO
.

kasianowak (17676) 2015-02-11 3:43

Hi Angshu
Interesting image of Khiva that shows not only the glorious architecture but also the touristy side. It's still beautiful and you managed to catch it without the tourists!
Best wishes
Kasia

pierrefonds (115596) 2015-02-11 4:31

Hi Angshuman,

The distance between the throne and the tower in the background is giving depth and perspective to the composition. The point of view is showing the details of the throne and of the buildings. The good luminosity is enhancing the beauty of the colors. Have a nice dy.

Pierre

jhm (211738) 2015-02-11 5:12

Hello Angshu,

You play excellent with light and shade, I reads in your note Uzbekistan and is a pearl of eastern
Panorama view about the area is nice.
Sharpness and clarity are very well.
An excellent presentation, perfect captured.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regard,
John.

fritzi007 (14698) 2015-02-11 5:26

Hallo Angshuman,
great photo, very good quality and colors, and information, congratulations!

Kind regards and have a nice day
Wolfgang

Sergiom (117241) 2015-02-11 6:38

Bonjour Angshuman,

J'aime beaucoup la construction de cette image. J'aime comment les couleurs ressortent malgr� les ombres environnantes. L'ensemble est profond et jouit d'un ciel magnifique.

Amicalement

Serge

holmertz (103660) 2015-02-11 10:17

Hello Angshu,
I guess the throne and the sword are intended for tourists' photos, but at this early hour, with nobody around, it makes the square look totally surrealistic. This was definitely a view that should not be disturbed by people � even I admit that ;-). The shade is part of that strange atmosphere. The buildings catching the morning sun are nothing but spectacular, especially that famous stump of a minaret.
Kind regards,
Gert

PaulVDV (63496) 2015-02-11 10:47

Hello Angshu
Hopefully there is surveillance. Otherwise one day a tourist will run away with the sword.
The throne looks pretty small but the buildings behind it show beautiful decorations.
Good strong contrast between light and shadow.
Best regards, Paul

cornejo (61504) 2015-02-11 11:09

Hello Angshu, great picture of this interesting composition. Very well captured in this beautiful and interesting image with good sharpness, depth, nice light, color and quality. Very good and interesting job well done, congratulations my friend. Thanks for sharing.

Good night and happy rest of the week.
Best wishes from the south of Spain.
Angel.

PiotrF (56080) 2015-02-11 13:40

Hello Angshu,
Interesting scene, nice view of the throne and the tower in background. Splendid warm colours and light.Thank you for interesting notes.
Regards
Piotr

kordinator (8738) 2015-02-12 1:03

Dear Angshuman
A beautiful place you captured.
Nice empty throne with fantastic architecture in the background.
Many nice details.
Beautiful colors and perfect lighting.
Very attractive composition.
Kind regards
Sa歛

pajaran (117113) 2015-02-12 1:50

Dobar dan, popodne.
Lep pogled ujutru, interesantan i dobar tekst o starom gradu sa istorijom i opisom ...
Dobar snimak, kontrast i perspektiva, lepo pokazan tron i arhitektura sa detaljima na fasadi.
Dobar rad, lepo uhvacen trenutak sa svetlom koje je naglasilo lepotu arhitekture.
Lep tron i arhitektura.
Lepo popodne i sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good afternoon, this afternoon.
Nice view in the morning, interesting and good article about the old city with a history and description ...
Good shot, contrast and perspective, nice shown throne and architecture with details on the facade.
Good work, beautiful moment captured with a light that highlighted the beauty of architecture.
Lep tron and architecture.
A nice afternoon and all the best.
Paja.

Matyas (0) 2015-02-12 2:01

Hello Angshu! Fantastic composition. Wonderful throne, amazing saber. Fantastic architecture in the background. Marvelous sky. Perfect composition and frame. Splendid work. Well done!

papagolf21 (152607) 2015-02-12 5:38

Bonjour, cher ami Angshu,
Etonnante vue d'une composition qui a toute sa place sur le site. Apprendre par l'image et par la note d'accompagnement.
voil� bien une riche id閑.
Tr鑣 bonne r閍lisation comme d'habitude.
Amiti閟.
Philippe

Nicou (193814) 2015-02-12 6:30

Hlelo

quel rendu sur le pavage superbe et ce si鑗e qui tr鬾e quelle vue avec les tours fond quel jeu de lumi鑢e et architecture tr鑣 fines une 閜閑 sur le velours rouge, c'est superbe.
Bravo et belle soir閑
Nicou

jjcordier (79299) 2015-02-12 8:41

Angshu,
Belle et int閞essante photo , bien compos閑, lumineuse et aux couleurs bien satur閑s.
Amicalement
JJ

Fis2 (171991) 2015-02-12 9:37

Witaj Angshu!
Beautiful architecture.
An interesting scene seat on the street.
Good colors.
I like light and shadow.
Best regards
Krzysztof

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2015-02-13 3:12

Hello Angshuman,
Wonderful shot! I love the composition with the chair in the foregound, very nice.
best wishes,
Achim

ChrisJ (172436) 2015-02-14 14:45

Hello Angshu,

It reminds me of the King Arthur legend that only the rightful King would be able to remove the sword. Many men of great strength and brute force tried and failed. Good sharpness and saturation here with the potential red throne making an obvious focal point. The sunlit yellow red walls of the castle make a fine contrast against the blue sky. Tfs!

Didi (61589) 2015-02-14 16:08

Salam Angshu
Interesting perspective of this area
I don't know whhy the throne is outside, this is very strange
Good balance between shades and lights
Kind regards

Graal (103040) 2015-02-17 3:09

Hello Angshuman,
amazing and very nice throne on FG. Interesting old historical place in Uzbekistan. Good composition and quality of photo. Well done photo, also well note.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

adores (46979) 2015-02-20 15:31

Hi Angshuman!
Another great photo from this place. You got something different with the chair in foreground. Colours are very good and you got much detail in the shadow areas also. Nice work!

abmdsudi (95869) 2015-02-24 1:39

Namaste Angshu
Fascinating looking minaret in the backdrop that catches the eye and a joyful celebration of gorgeous colours, light and contrast. As it is, the composition works fine and I like the strong lead in provided by the throne and I think the placement of the expressive structures works well to show its dominating aspect. I really admire all the little details that you have captured and workmanship that went into these showing one of the greatest spectacles of Central Asian architecture. Great work done on this, lovely scene, excellent result. Congrats
Best regards

tatadalou (7459) 2015-07-13 9:15

Hello Angshuman,
Great view of this old fortress. Funny place to expose such a throne ! As usual with your pictures, light is wonderful.
Good job.
Regards,
Delphine