Tash-Rabat – a medieval caravanserai
The stone fortress Tash-Rabat is located 525 km southeast of the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, in the Naryn region. Hidden in the remote gorge of Kara-Kaюн, at an altitude of 3500 m above sea level, not far from the border with China, lies a completely unusual and therefore very mysterious monument of medieval architecture in Kyrgyzstan – Tash-Rabat.
Historians and archaeologists still debate who, when, and most importantly, why built this unusual structure made of solid stone in such a sparsely populated area.
Some scholars believe Tash-Rabat to be a caravanserai from the late medieval period, while others lean towards the idea that this structure represents the ruins of a Nestorian Christian monastery.
Along with significant differences, the buildings often had common features, both architectural and functional. After all, it is no secret that monasteries never refused lodging to traveling merchants, and they warmly welcomed pilgrim monks in caravanserais.
This carefully restored stone building once served as an inn along the Great Silk Road. The exact date of its appearance is not established, but archaeological evidence suggests that this place was already occupied in the 10th century. 15 km higher, at the foot of the Tian Shan mountains, lies a beautiful valley nestled on the mountainside. There are reports that this was a place for both rest and worship, as well as a refuge for caravans heading to China and back from fierce weather and bandits even before the times of Tamerlane and Genghis Khan.
