• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Time Travel Turtle

A travel blog with stories beyond the brochure

  • HOME
  • ABOUT ME
  • CONTACT ME
  • BY COUNTRY
    • WEST EUROPE
      • Belgium
      • England
      • France
      • Germany
      • Ireland
      • Liechtenstein
      • Luxembourg
      • Netherlands
      • Northern Ireland
      • Scotland
      • Switzerland
      • Wales
    • NORTH EUROPE
      • Estonia
      • Finland
      • Latvia
      • Lithuania
      • Norway
      • Sweden
    • SOUTH EUROPE
      • Cyprus
      • Gibraltar
      • Greece
      • Holy See
      • Italy
      • Malta
      • Portugal
      • San Marino
      • Spain
    • EAST EUROPE
      • Austria
      • Belarus
      • Croatia
      • Czech Republic
      • Hungary
      • Montenegro
      • Poland
      • Serbia
    • NORTH ASIA
      • China
      • Japan
      • Kazakhstan
      • Kyrgyzstan
      • Mongolia
      • North Korea
      • Tajikistan
      • Uzbekistan
    • SOUTH ASIA
      • Cambodia
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Myanmar
      • Malaysia
      • Nepal
      • Philippines
      • Singapore
      • Sri Lanka
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • NORTH AMERICA
      • Antigua & Barbuda
      • Belize
      • Canada
      • Costa Rica
      • Guatemala
      • Mexico
      • USA
    • SOUTH AMERICA
      • Argentina
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Uruguay
    • AFRICA
      • Egypt
      • Morocco
      • Namibia
      • South Africa
    • OCEANIA
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
    • MIDDLE EAST
      • Jordan
      • Turkey
  • MOST POPULAR
    • The world’s oldest backpacker
    • Orangutans in Borneo
    • The need for speed
    • Trying to get out of the slum
    • The lake swamped with tourism
    • Journey into Dreamland
    • The village where life begins again
    • Is Cambodia safe for travellers?
    • Making the perfect gin and tonic
  • UNESCO

An ancient city in Kyrgyzstan

August 28, 2019 | Michael Turtle | 5 Comments

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

Burana Tower, Kyrgyzstan

The steps are steep and I feel like I’m scrambling up almost vertically. One hand on a step above, one hand on the wall, I try to support myself and stop from falling backwards, down the path I’ve just come.

It’s dark and hard to see – which is not helping – but I take some comfort in knowing that this passageway is so small, I would probably get stuck before I tumbled the whole way to the bottom.

Burana Tower, Kyrgyzstan

I wonder whether any of the people who built this staircase in a tower in the middle of Kyrgyzstan a thousand years ago ever fell down it. Perhaps you get to know each individual stair if you’re climbing up and down it multiple times every day.

That’s what people would once have done here because Burana Tower was built as a minaret, a spire that Islamic preachers would call out from the top of when it was time for prayers.

Nowadays there is nothing around it but once it would have risen up above a mosque in an ancient city called Balasagun.

Burana Tower, Kyrgyzstan

Balasagun

As I get closer to the top, sunlight comes in through a hole above me and I can see the steps again. I climb up through the hole and I’m standing on the top of the tower, drenched in brightness again.

Looking around, I can see almost empty land stretching out in every direction. Between the 9th and 11th centuries, this area would have been filled with buildings – houses, bazaars, baths, shops – as part of Balasagun.

The city was the capital of a dynasty called Kara-Khanid Khanate that ruled a large swathe of Central Asia during this period.

Burana Tower, Kyrgyzstan

This dynasty were big promoters of the relatively new religion of Islam and Burana Tower was one of the first minarets to be constructed in Central Asia.

It used to be 45 metres tall but has been damaged over the years by earthquakes and some of its bricks have been taken by locals for other construction projects. It’s now about 25 metres tall.

Burana Tower, Kyrgyzstan

Burana Tower, Kyrgyzstan

That’s high enough to get a good view and before I start back down the dark staircase, I take a final look around.

You can see a large square mound that would once have been some kind of palace or a temple (archaeologists aren’t sure). And the outlines of a few other structures.

Something that looks like a graveyard catches my eye and I decide that’s what I’ll go and look at when I get to the bottom.

Burana Tower, Kyrgyzstan

Balbals

It turns out that what I had seen is not actually a graveyard – but it’s much more interesting than expected.

It is a collection of tombstones but without any bodies beneath. The stones have been collected from around the region and brought here for display.

What makes them so fascinating is that they are several hundreds years older than Burana Tower.

Burana Tower, Kyrgyzstan

Burana Tower, Kyrgyzstan

It seems as though each of the tombstones is looking up at me, staring, unblinking, as I wander between them. Stone faces that don’t move but say so much.

Burana Tower, Kyrgyzstan

Burana Tower, Kyrgyzstan

These tombstones are called ‘balbals’ and were made in around the 6th century. The idea is that a tombstone looks like the person who has died and often they were revered by future generations as symbols of ancestors.

Burana Tower, Kyrgyzstan

I know that the people depicted here never lived in Balasagun, never set eyes on Burana Tower. But standing in the emptiness of an ancient city that has been reduced to almost nothing, I like that these stones are here.

I can imagine they are real people, residents here. It brings them and their new surrounds to life.

This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For more info click here. You can see all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites I’ve visited here.
Kyrgyzstan Travel Guide

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT KYRGYZSTAN?

See my Kyrgyzstan Travel Guide

To help you plan your trip to Kyrgyzstan:

  • A self-guided tour of the Soviet monuments in Bishkek
  • The strange Bishkek monument built for weddings
  • The best food to eat in Kyrgyzstan
  • See the Soviet murals left in Osh
  • Discover why this mountain has been sacred for centuries
  • You need to see Sary Chelek Lake for yourself to understand its beauty
  • Spending three days on a horse exploring the mountains
  • Would you drink horse milk? This place may change your mind!
  • Burana Tower is part of Kyrgyzstan’s Silk Road World Heritage Site
  • One of the mnost interesting Silk Road sites in the country

Let someone else do the work for you:

You may also want to consider taking a tour of Kyrgyzstan, rather than organising everything on your own. It’s also a nice way to have company if you are travelling solo.

I am a ‘Wanderer’ with G Adventures and they have great tours of Kyrgyzstan.

You could consider:

  • Highlights of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan (9 days)
  • Best of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan (14 days)
  • The Five Stans of the Silk Road (26 days)

When I travel internationally, I always get insurance. It’s not worth the risk, in case there’s a medical emergency or another serious incident. I recommend you should use World Nomads for your trip.

Reader Interactions

    Comments Cancel reply

  1. hemp cord |

    December 1, 2016 at 7:32 am

    Reply

    I appreciate that you wrote this post. I hope travel bloggers in India get their due soon. Yes, there should be good compensation for digital content creation. So stunning pics. Thank you so much for sharing it.

  2. Golden Triangle Tour with Varanasi and Khajuraho |

    December 2, 2016 at 12:50 pm

    Reply

    This looks amazing! I have always wanted to visit, and these photos make me want to go even more badly! Thank you so much for sharing it.

  3. same day taj mahal tour by train |

    December 3, 2016 at 9:13 am

    Reply

    wow,what a great pictures you shared,you explore Burana Tower very well,i like your post so much,thanks to share it,every click make your blog interesting,glad to find your blog..

  4. tehreem |

    December 4, 2016 at 6:01 pm

    Reply

    Awwwwwwwesom thanks for sharing.

  5. Jaipur day tours |

    December 5, 2016 at 6:30 am

    Reply

    Great, that is awesome palce and full with beautiful things. You recommend so good things of that palce and statues are the best attraction of that place. So stunning photos you shared of that place.

Primary Sidebar

This is the website of travel writer, Michael Turtle. After working in broadcast journalism for a decade in Australia, Michael left Sydney to travel the world indefinitely and write about the places, people and experiences he discovers. This isn't a diary - these are real stories from the world.

Want Occasional Updates?

Sign up to be the first to hear the latest about the adventures of Time Travel Turtle. You'll also get access to special offers and exclusive news.
Thank you! You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter.

Search

  • PRIVACY POLICY