The ruins of fortresses, towers and ancient cities can be found literallythroughout Kyrgyzstan. One of the most popular is the ancient city of Balasagyn with Burana tower, which are located in Chui region, 80 kilometers from Bishkek.
Burana is a minaret of the 10-11th century, built by the state of Karakhanids, who ruled the lands of Kyrgyzstan from the 9thcentury (after the defeat of the Uighur Khaganate) until the invasion of theArabs in the 13th century, and then Genghis Khan. Burana is built ofburnt bricks and juniper beams. The height of the tower is 21 meters, while earlier it was twice as high.
There is a "rock garden" next to the tower with the so-called "balbals" - ancient tombstones, millstones, stones with carvings dating back to the 1stmillennium BC.
Balasagyn is amedieval city on the territory of Kyrgyzstan near the modern Tokmok city. It has been mentioned in writings since the 10th century as one of thethree main cities of the Karakhanids and a center of education and culture. Thepoet Yusuf Balasaguni, the author of the poem "Blessed Knowledge", which is considered the founder of Turkic fiction, was born in this city.
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The ancient city, and now the ruins of Kulan-Koruk, is the most mysterious and ancient city of Central Asia. Kulan-Koruk is the remains of the fortress of the ancient Romans, located on an open endless plateau at the foot of Talas Ala-Too ridge.
The first mention of the ancient city is found in the Chinese historical records. One of the hypotheses says that the Kulan-Koruk ruins are the ancientcity-fortress Chzhichzhichen, which was the military garrison of the leader of the Huns. According to Chinese sources, in ancient times the city was decorated with Roman architectural elements resembling a fort. The fortress itself was built according to the Roman masonry technology. The first military contact between the Romans and the Chinese took place exactly in Talas region.
Only ruins remained of the ancient fortress, but its original height was 6 meters. Even now itretained its original appearance in some places. You can see architectural objects, as well as rock monuments with runic inscriptions on the territory ofthe ancient settlement.
Kan Fortress is the ruins of a Kokand fortress of the 17th century,located 60 kilometers south of Batken city.
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The fortress is well preserved to this day. There is a stone slab with rock carvings of animals and camel riders in the courtyard of the fortress. At the same time, the fortress is divided into two parts. One is the citadel, where the garrison and watchtowers stood. The fortifications are interconnected by a narrow corridor through which warriors could pass. The height of the walls of the fortress is about 2.5 meters, there are loopholes in a chessboard order. The southern side of the fortress is fortified with arampart of natural origin, on top of which the fortress wall is located.
Strategically, the fortress stood in a very convenient place and waspractically impregnable.
The ancient clay adobe fortress Shyrdak Bek Korgon is located 50 kilometersfrom the center of Ak-Tala district of Naryn region. There are no more suchfortresses on the territory of Kyrgyzstan. Shyrdak Bek Korgon was built in the10th -12th centuries to defend the border, it issurrounded by a moat. The height of the wall that has survived to this day issix meters. Thickness of the walls is six meters. Special holes for archeryhave been preserved to this day in the fortress.
Burial sites that are interesting from a historical point of view arealso located in Ak-Tala (a district center not far from the fortress). Local historians believe that these are the remains of the tombs of the Huns wholived here in the 2nd century AD. In total, six such graves arefound not far from the fortress.
It is an ancient rectangular fortress. There are four towers in the form of a truncated cone at its corners. At the same time, the ruins of two more towersare visible on the eastern and western sides of the fortress.
Cholok-Korgon fortress is located in a meander of the river, two and a half kilometers northeast of Konorchok village, Ak-Tala district.
Strategically, the fortress stands in a very convenient place: its southern wall looks out on the banks of Alabuka River and has a secret exit formed by the river. Using it, it was possible to quickly climb the mountain slope, which once served as an observation post. The whole valley is clearly visible from other walls of the fortress.
According to scientists, the Cholok-Korgon fortress is a typical example of construction ofthe 19th century of the era of the Kokand Khanate.
Tash-Rabat is an ancient fortress on the Great Silk Road, located in Naryn region. It was built in the 15th century on the site of an ancient Buddhist monastery. This is the only building of its kind on the territory of Kyrgyzstan. Tash-Rabat has an almost square shape, and from the inside it looks like a long corridor with rooms located in different directions. The corridor leads to the central hall, where daylight gets. There are pits for prisoners in one room. One can only sit in one of the pits, in the other - only stand. The roof of Tash-Rabat is crowned with 21 domes.
Tash-Rabat is considered a transit point for merchants following theGreat Silk Road through the Tien Shan; it gave merchants not only shelter, but also protection from robbers.
The ancient and mysterious Koshoi-Korgon city was located on the Great Silk Road. This historical monument dates back to the 7th century AD. The medievalruins were named after the bogatyr Koshoi, who was an associate and uncle ofthe great hero Manas.
The ancientbuilding has clay walls, surrounded by a large moat. Their height at one time reached 10 meters. According to legend, Koshoi built the military fortification to protect the Kyrgyz lands from Chinese raids. The convenient location made itpossible to observe everything that was happening around and notice the approaching enemy in time. But the fortress was nevertheless destroyed byconstant raids of enemies.
A hundred years later, the Koshoi fortress was restored by the army of Amir Timur. The fortress served as a transit point in Tamerlane's campaigns to the east.
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According to archaeologists, the city of At-Bash was on the site of the fortress, which appeared in the 7th century. Koshoi-Korgon has long been the strong hold of the rulers of numerous Turkic tribes.
A museum of historical finds and valuable artifacts was opened near Koshoi-Korgon in 2004. These are historical finds from the ancient settlement itself and Naryn region.
