Two minarets in Mashhad- the one on the left is partially in ruins and belonging to the old Timurid era Masjidi Shah (completed in 1451), the one on the right is a new minaret that is part of the massive Jameh Razavi courtyard of the shrine.

While physically the minarets stand so close to each other, they are separated by an intangible distance of 550 years.

As contemporary built minarets those of the Jameh Razavi Courtyard were built by modern construction methods and materials. The heights we once considered a great feat, are now considered short, the delicacy of handmade ornaments, is gone and now made by machine- the minarets of Jameh Razavi courtyard are an example of a conservative design, disrupted by modernity.
The form of the minarets here is very traditional, and echoes that of the Imam Reza Shrines original Safavid and Afsharid era minarets (built around 300 years old), except here, scale is blown out of proportion. These minarets are 3 or 4 times as tall as the shrines original minarets, this is only possible due to their concrete construction, which dwarfs the original authentic minarets.
The ornamentation of these minarets from afar satisfies the viewers eyes, but up close it is clear it is not the work of the delicate hands of craftsmen. The designs used are rudimentary and clearly printed onto tiles. Odd combinations of traditional and modern designs and colors from vastly different periods clash against each other.
The minarets of Jameh Razavi court are not ugly structures, but they are out of place. The Shrine is a beautiful sacred place that belongs to a period before us. Over-sized concrete minarets and their recorded adhans blasting from loud speakers should not replace the delicate minarets our ancestors built brick by brick or the wavering human voice of the muezzin.