The Kyrgyz Ethno-Complex “Dasmiya” has been included in the World List of Special Tourist Attractions On June 1 in Moscow, certificates confirming inclusion in the World List of Special Tourist Attractions were presented. Among the list that includes the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Colosseum, this year a site from Kyrgyzstan has been added - the cultural and ethnographic complex “Dasmiya.” The honorary certificate of global recognition was brought back home by the head of “Dasmiya,”
Century-old Dungan Mosque Made of Pine and Fir The surroundings of Issyk-Kul are not only resort areas but also significant historical sites that embody several cultures and eras. One such historical landmark is the Dungan Mosque in Karakol. In 1877, Dungan refugees from China settled in the city of Karakol and established a community here. In 1907, an architect from Beijing, Zhou Si, was invited to the area, and together with a group of about 20 builders (roofers, stonemasons, woodcarvers),
Mazar in the Arslanbob Valley A unique monument of cult architecture from the 19th century is represented by the mazar in the Arslanbob valley. The mausoleum itself was destroyed in the 1960s, but the adjacent mosque still remains. The only evidence of the former decoration of the complex is a richly ornamented carved massive wooden door, the image of which is reproduced in the illustrations. In plan, the mausoleum had the shape of an elongated rectangle with dimensions of 5.7 x 9.9 m. The
Mausoleum of Shah-Fazil Safid-Bulan. Analyzing the architecture of the Kokand period, the renowned German art historian B. Brentees notes that “the structures of that time followed traditional forms, however, the internal architecture was strongly influenced by local craft traditions.” This is even more true for Kyrgyz traditional mausoleums, mosques, and madrasas in Kyrgyzstan. Such monuments of cult architecture, like mosques and madrasas, were prevalent only in the south of Kyrgyzstan and
Mausoleums of Natkala. In the Chatkal Valley, on the outskirts of the district center Yangibazar, there are two gumbezes. Whose tombstones they are and when they were built is no longer remembered by anyone; however, the legend attributes them to the mythical prophet Idris Paygambaru. A Kyrgyz archaeologist who previously worked here, Kibir, included photographs of these mausoleums in his report, dating them to the 18th century, but could not provide any further information about these
Types of Kyrgyz domes Niyazbek-korgon. The mausoleum of the Kyrgyz feudal lord Niyazbek, or rather its ruins, was excavated in Chon-Kemin in the summer of 1982. The first Russian traveler to visit the territory of the Chon-Kemin basin was the famous Central Asian explorer M. I. Venyukov. In 1859-1860, he traveled through the Zailiyskiy region and the Prichuyskiy land with a reconnaissance detachment, leaving information about the monuments of Chon-Kemin. Describing the numerous burial mounds
Gumbazes of Issyk-Kul. A distinctive feature of the gumbazes of the high-altitude Sary-Jaz is the use of wood in their construction: columns and logs, which connects them with the gumbazes of Altai. This is not accidental, as many northern areas of the Sary-Jaz ridge are covered with spruce and juniper forests (one site is even called — Forested).
Gumbazes of Ak-Beyit and Baytyka. The most original of all the Tien Shan mausoleums in terms of shape and architecture is the gumbaz of Ak-Beyit, located in the eponymous area along the road from At-Bashi to Torugart at an altitude of 3285 m.
Gumbaz of Tylak and Atantai. Among the monuments, there are some that are not marked on the map and until recently did not attract special attention from researchers. Yet they deserve to be not only studied but also included in the "Register of Historical and Cultural Monuments" of Kyrgyzstan, as a testament of memory and gratitude of the people to their heroes, the fighters for freedom and independence. This text will discuss a monument that has been unjustly forgotten by scholars
In the Kochkor Valley, half a kilometer northeast of the village of Don-Alysh, lies the Kyrk-Choroo Mausoleum Complex. Currently, the architectural form of 14 mausoleums has been relatively preserved. The monument continues to deteriorate catastrophically, and restoration is unlikely to be possible. Previously constructed drainage channels around the monument have yielded no results. In the places of many former mausoleums, piles of decayed raw bricks remain. The bricks are square, and traces
Jumgal Fortress is located in the Jumgal district in the middle reaches of the Jumgal River, on its right bank, in the Kar-Oy area, near the village of Kairma. Only traces of the once powerful fortress remain, with melted walls now crumbling due to rain, snow, and wind.
Cholok-Korgon Fortress is located two and a half kilometers northeast of the village of Konorchok in the Ak-Tal district. The fortress has a rectangular shape (35 X 40 m). Four towers protrude at the corners — oval in shape, appearing as truncated cones in plan. Remnants of two more towers can be seen on the eastern and western sides of the fortress. The fortress is divided into two unequal parts by a wall: the northern and southern sections. A row of loopholes runs along the entire wall and
Daraut-Kurgan Fortress is located in the village of the same name on the left bank of the Kyzyl-Suu River. The first information about this fortress was provided by A. P. Fedchenko, who visited it in the 1970s during his travels in Turkestan. A. P. Fedchenko paid a courtesy visit to the commander of Daraut-Kurgan Fortress, Ismail-Toksoba (toksoba is one of the lower feudal ranks in the administrative hierarchy of the Kokand Khanate). Ismail-Toksoba was appointed commander in 1870, when the
According to Russian sources, the fortress was built in the eponymous area in 1825 by the Kokand commander Lyashker-kushbegi on the orders of Madali-khan. At that time, it served as a major administrative center for the Kokand people in managing the Kyrgyz population in Semirechye, a base for tax collectors, a trading post, and a fortified outpost in the far northeast of the Kokand Khanate. The area of Pishpek initially covered 2.25 hectares.
This tourist area includes two ancient monuments — the caravanserai Tash-Rabat and the settlement of Koshoy-Korgon. They are located on the banks of the Kara-Koyun River, sixty-eight kilometers apart: the caravanserai is situated in the middle reaches of the river, while the settlement is in the lower reaches.
The Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve is referred to as a realm of magical beauty, located on the southern slopes of the Chatkal Range, in the basin of the Khoja-Ata River in the Jalal-Abad region. The territory of the reserve stretches from the foothill steppes to the snow-capped peaks. Towering mountain ranges and blooming valleys, sheer weathered cliffs and turbulent rivers, deciduous and coniferous forests, snowy summits and blue lakes, high grass meadows and impenetrable thickets — all of this
In the Talas Valley, at the foot of the rocky hill Manastyn Chokusu, stands the Tomb of Manas, known to every Kyrgyz. Such a rare structure made of burnt brick and carved terracotta could be a provincial counterpart to the famous tombs of ancient Sogdiana, built by masters from Samarkand and Bukhara. However, when researchers delved into the study of the very distinctive ornaments of the Tomb, they were surprised to find that in terms of style, they were close to the patterns of Kyrgyz
In the middle reaches, the Sokh River receives the tributary Abghol (a river from the lake), at the mouth of which, on a river terrace, lies the village of the same name. Above the village of Abghol stands the Khan Fortress, embodying the power of the Kokand Khanate (17th century). The fortress has been well preserved to this day. In the courtyard, there is a stone slab with rock engravings of animals and horsemen on camels. The drawings are, of course, much older than the fortress walls and
The city of Uzgen was founded in the 8th-9th centuries on a steep terrace of the Kara-Darya River. It is known that a trade route from Fergana to Semirechye passed through Uzgen. From the 10th to the 13th centuries, Uzgen was a major trading center, a powerful fortress, and the southern capital of the Karakhanid state.
Single-Chamber Mosque of Takhti-Suleiman is unique in its location, as it is built on the eastern peak of Suleiman Mountain. In recent decades, this structure has been associated with the name of Muhammad Zahiriddin Babur - a descendant of Timur (Tamerlane) and has been referred to as Babur's House. In his work, Mr. E. de Youfalvi de Mezo-Kovesd - the head of the French ethnographic expedition of 1877 to Central Asia, describing the city of Osh, provides quite detailed information about
Rinat Abdullakhan Mosque is located in the center of the city of Osh at the southeastern foothills of Suleiman Mountain. The name of Abdullakhan II (1534-1598) from the Shaybanid dynasty has preserved the architectural monument in popular tradition. The mosque was built in the mid-16th century during the period of Abdullakhan II's greatest power, when as a result of his military campaigns, he managed to unite under his rule not only Maveraunahr (the region between the Amu Darya and Syr
Osh - one of the oldest cities in Central Asia, located on the southeastern edge of the Fergana Valley at the northern foothills of the Pamir-Alai. Surrounded by greenery, it stretches along the banks of the mountain river Ak-Buura at an altitude of 940-1070 meters above sea level.
Mausoleum of Shah-Fazil is one of the most significant architectural monuments of the XI-XII centuries. The mausoleum is located in the Ala-Buka district, in the ancient village of Safed-Bulan, the name of which unites two great cultures - Arab and Turkic.
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.
Tash-Rabat Caravanserai, located on the banks of the Kara-Koyun River, is undoubtedly the most significant representative of historical architecture that emerged during the activation of the Great Silk Road in the Tian Shan mountains. Among the mighty ridges rise the ruins of a fortified caravanserai, built by the local ruler Muhammad Khan on the ancient caravan route from Semirechye to Kashgar. The caravanserai was constructed in the 15th century (1408-1415) and served as an inn for merchants
Archaeologists claim that the region of Pre-Issyk-Kul was inhabited by ancient humans during the Lower Paleolithic era, with around a thousand ancient tools found as evidence. Underwater research was conducted on Lake Issyk-Kul from 1985 to 1989, searching for the remnants of sunken cities. Several historically valuable items dating back 2000-2500 years were discovered, along with nine from medieval settlements and three from antiquity. One such find is the city of Chigu (the city of the Red
In the Dzhergalansk fauna complex, in a deep river-eroded cliff, the history of the earth is visible through its layers and deposits. Here, an almost complete skeleton of a rhinoceros, a mammoth tusk and tooth, a bison jaw, and remains of a glacial elephant were found, among others.
Tamga-Tash. At an altitude of 1684 m, in a beautiful old park on a steep cliff by Lake Issyk-Kul, is the military sanatorium "Issyk-Kul." The area near the village of Tamga, from the word "mark," was once a well-known place for many travelers and also for Buddhist monks. The Buddhist monuments, represented by Tibetan rock texts, gained worldwide fame. The most significant are inscriptions on four stones, located 1 km apart and situated 5-7 km from the lake. Tamga-Tash
In 1888, the great Russian traveler and explorer of Central Asia, Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky, stopped in Karakol. During his fifth expedition, having arrived from St. Petersburg to Pishpek, he contracted typhoid fever and died in Karakol on October 20. Initially, a wooden cross with a commemorative plaque was erected at the grave of the great scientist. Later, a competition was announced for the best design of a memorial monument. Out of 89 projects, one was approved - the project by a
