Ak-Terek
— a village in the Jeti-Oguz District of the Issyk-Kul Region of Kyrgyzstan. It is the administrative center of the Jarlygach rural district. The population is 3,586 people.The village of Ak-Terek is located on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul and is part of the resort area. A regional highway runs through its territory. Administratively, the village is the center of the Jarlygach rural district, within which the ruins of an ancient settlement have been preserved. In ancient times, its territory was surrounded by massive walls that served as protection against enemy attacks.
There is a version that the founder of the settlement was a woman named Sherbet-ene, known in these parts for her wisdom.
The settlement occupies a square area of about three thousand square meters. The cultural layer is of minor thickness, and the finds include clay pottery from the 10th to 12th centuries. The Ak-Terek settlement was one of the fortifications built along the trade route that existed from the 10th to 12th centuries along the southern shore of Issyk-Kul, being one of the branches of the Great Silk Road. The remains of this ancient settlement were studied in 1962 by an archaeological expedition led by D.F. Vinnik. During the excavations, a cultural layer was revealed, and the main finds were remnants of clay pottery and household items from the 10th to 12th centuries.
Five kilometers south of the settlement, along the left bank of the Ak-Terek River, rock paintings depicting animals—deer, goats, horses, and camels—were discovered. Scientists have suggested that this area was an ancient sanctuary for tribes that inhabited the region in the 2nd to 1st centuries BC.
In the vicinity of the village, there is a small forest dominated mainly by silver poplars. Among the locals, there is a belief that it is located in an anomalous zone. While approaching the settlement, one might suddenly see snakes in other places, but they are absent in the forest, and the entire area seems to be enveloped in a bright aura. This creates a special microclimate that prevents reptiles from entering the mysterious forest zone.
The outskirts of the village are also known for the presence of healing springs, whose water has long been used by locals for curing various ailments. Tourists visiting the village are told amazing stories by the old-timers related to these places. One of them, known as the duck story, tells of a local resident who raised ducks for meat production. When it was time to harvest the meat, he discovered that the stomachs of the domestic birds were covered in gold. The old-timers know more than ten such stories, and each is told with a high degree of plausibility.
Villages
