Saymaluu-Tash is a small plateau hidden at an altitude of over 3000 meters among the peaks of the Fergana Range near the Kugart Pass. Saymaluu-Tash translates to "patterned, painted stone," but it is not just a stone or a solitary rock covered in petroglyphs; it is a vast gallery of tens of thousands of stones scattered chaotically by nature, on the black surfaces of which one or two, or even several highly artistic drawings can be clearly seen.
In the rock paintings of Saymaluu-Tash, there is no background. The figures of animals and people are freely placed on the surface of the stone. Depending on the angle of sunlight, they either blaze brightly, sharply contrasting with the color of the stone's surface, or completely blend in with it.
The drawings depict: animals, carts, plowing, ritual dances - there is no doubt that the ancient farmer, invoking a happy birth and fertility in nature, directed his prayers to the sky and the sun. The cultic nature of such scenes is emphasized by pairs of men and women symbolizing fertility.
The enormous number of solar symbols in the Saymaluu-Tash drawings convinces us that sun worship was the primary form of religion. The images of the sun left by ancient artists in Saymaluu-Tash take the most whimsical and incredible forms.
The drawings of Saymaluu-Tash spread across both sides of the Fergana Range. On the northeastern slope of the range, there are 91,900 images. On the southwestern slope, there are 15,625. In total, the stone gallery contains 107,525 images. The center of their concentration is marked on the eastern slope of the range, near a small glacial lake, which was apparently revered as sacred. Both Fergana farmers and Naryn herders would come to it.
