One of the stops on my region tour of several Silk Road (aka, “Stan”) countries was the Burana Tower in the Chuy Valley outside of Bishkek, the capital city of Kyrgyzstan. Less than a two-hour drive from the center of town, with a grand view of the Tien Shan Mountains overlooking the plains, the tower is all that remains of the ancient city of Balasagun, established in the 9th century. The tower is actually a minaret from an ancient mosque.
Or more accurately, part of a minaret. Originally around 150 feet tall, a 15th century earthquake toppled the top half, leaving the current structure at just over 80 feet. Since the remains reflect the wider bottom portion without the visually thinner top portion of most minarets, Burana Tower has a stumpy look to it. Restoration in the 1970s secured the centuries of decay, and now visitors can climb an external metal spiral staircase up to the entrance to an internal winding, dark stairway (not for claustrophobes) up to a view platform on the top. A closer look at the outside shows the intricacies of the design.
The Tower stands alone but is not the only artifact worth the trip out to the site. There are explanatory signs detailing the history of Balasagun leading to a small museum full of remnants from the ancient city. The museum also has a photograph of a model recreating the ancient city. Behind it is a graveyard where you can see the varied gravestones (many are literally carved stones) of centuries of former inhabitants. The seemingly amorphous mound behind the tower is easy to climb and doing so reveals the remnants of the ancient castle. Entering a large yurt gives a sense of how the founding Karakhanids lived. Overall, it’s an amazing site and well worth the visit.
If you haven’t already, check out previous posts about the controversial cotton and silk industries of Uzbekistan and the incredible light show in Samarkand.
[Photo Credits: all by David J. Kent, 2023]
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David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America.
His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.
