Khiva, Uzbekistan

The Kalta Minar - Short Minaret - in Khiva is 85 feet tall, but was originally meant to be the tallest in the world and stand 230 tall. One story is that the building project was abandoned when the khan that commissioned it died. Another is that the architect had secretly agreed to build a taller minaret in the neighbouring emirate of Bukhara and was thrown from the half-completed minaret when the khan found out. It's the only fully tiled minaret we saw and glows beautifully in the evening sun.