Nestled in the fertile valley of the Syr Darya River, Otrar is strategically positioned at the confluence of the Arys and Syr Darya rivers. Known in scientific literature as the Otrar Oasis, this region has been referred to by various ancient names, including Tarband, Turarband, Turar, and Farab. Notably, Farab is the birthplace of the esteemed scholar, thinker, and philosopher Abu Nasr al-Farabi, who is recognized as a key figure in the continuation of Aristotle’s philosophical legacy.
In the years 1219-1220, Otrar fell under siege from the Mongolian troops of Genghis Khan. The great conqueror Timur met his end here in 1405. The geographical location of the oasis corresponds to the modern-day Otrar district in the South Kazakhstan region. To the west, the oasis is bordered by the Kyzylkum Desert, which stretches between the two great rivers of Central Asia, the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya. The right bank of the Syr Darya within the oasis presents a flat or gently rolling steppe with a sparse and uniform flora, culminating at the majestic Karatau mountain range. From its canyons flow the rivers Bugun, Boroldai, Chayan, and Arystandy, among others.
Throughout history, the Otrar Oasis has maintained a strategically advantageous position in Southern Kazakhstan. The Great Silk Road traversed through Otrar, making it a frequent subject in the writings of nearly all medieval Arab and Persian authors.
Otrar was situated at the crossroads of diverse geographical landscapes, literally forming the nexus of numerous trade routes. These routes led south along the Syr Darya toward Shash, Sogdiana, and further to Merv and Nishapur, while others extended north and west through Khwarezm to the Aral Sea, the Volga region, the Black Sea area, and into the Caucasus. It is difficult to find a location in Central Asia that was as advantageous yet as perilous as Otrar.
The millennia, marred by relentless wars of conquest, have left their mark: what once was a flourishing city now lies in ruins overrun with grass. A visitor, upon arriving for the first time, is often struck by the sight of the silent remnants of cities, villages, castles, and watchtowers. Parched fields are crisscrossed by deep main canals that have cracked from the heat, their beds devoid of water for centuries. This unique open-air museum “speaks” to us about the lives of our distant ancestors. Archaeological research and excavations in the Otrar Oasis have been ongoing since 1969, led by Kazakhstan’s archaeologists. The sites of Otrar, Kuyruktybe, Kok-Mardan, Altyntobe, and Mardan-Kuyik have all been excavated. In Otrar, urban quarters from the 16th to 18th centuries, the 14th to 15th centuries, and the 11th to 12th centuries; a pottery quarter from the 13th to 14th centuries; a bathhouse from the 13th to 15th centuries; a brick-burning workshop from the 13th to 14th centuries; and a mosque and palace from the late 14th to 15th centuries have all been uncovered.
One of the most remarkable structures of late 14th to early 15th-century Otrar is the grand mosque. Its construction is attributed to Timur, who commissioned the building of the mausoleum of Khoja Akhmed Yasawi in Turkestan and the mausoleum of Arystan-Baba in the Otrar Oasis. This significant architectural ensemble, the complex of the mosque in Otrar, represents the first such discovery in a medieval Kazakh city.
According to the historian Sharaf ad-Din al-Yazdi, “Having departed from the shores of the Seyhun River, Timur halted on the 12th of Rajab at the Otrar palace of Berdibek; all the princes, emirs, and close courtiers each occupied a separate room.” The palace of the ruler has yet to be excavated, an endeavor for the future, but it is known to have had a reception hall referred to as the “kurinshi-khana.” This is evident from the historian’s account: “At this time, a messenger from Tokhtamysh arrived, who had long wandered as a homeless vagabond in the steppes of Deshti Qypchaq. On the same day, Timur solemnly entered the reception hall and seated himself on a high throne.”
From 2001 to 2004, an international UNESCO project—Kazakhstan-Japan—focused on the “Conservation and Preservation of the Ancient City of Otrar.” The mosque, bathhouse, pottery workshops, and city walls are currently under conservation. Since 2004, a state program titled “Revival of Ancient Otrar” has been in effect. The vision of archaeologists and restoration specialists is to transform Otrar into a medieval city-museum, aspiring to become a unique equivalent to Kazakhstan’s Pompeii.
Isfidzhab, the largest central city on the Great Silk Road, is first mentioned in the travelogue of Xuanzang in 629 AD as “the city on the White River.” Later, Mahmud al-Kashgari notes, “Sairam is the name of the white city (Al-Medinat al-Bayda), which is called Isfidzhab. It is also referred to as Sairam.” Researchers suggest that the etymology of the toponym Isfidzhab, meaning “white water,” is derived from the Sogdian language. The city known as Sairam has survived to the present day, and there is little doubt that the archaeological site located there corresponds to medieval Isfidzhab. The Sairam archaeological site dates back to the 1st to 19th centuries AD and is included as a priority historical and archaeological site in the state program “Cultural Heritage.” Sairam is home to a remarkable abundance of mazars (sacred graves). The following mazars still exist: the parents of the illustrious poet and religious mystic Khoja Akhmed Yasawi, Karashash Ana (18th century), Ibrahim Ata (13th to 19th centuries), Abd al-Aziz Baba (15th to 19th centuries), Khoja Talig (13th to 19th centuries), Mirali Baba (late 19th to 20th centuries), and the medieval minaret of Khizr (13th to 19th centuries).
In the 10th century, the geographer Ibn Hawqal wrote about the city of Suykent. He noted, “Suykent lies to the west of the Shasha River (Syr Darya); it has a mosque, and in it gather Turks from the Oguz and Karluk tribes who have already embraced Islam; they are brave and wage war against other Turks, making them inaccessible.” In the 11th century, Mahmud al-Kashgari includes Suykent among the cities of the Oguz. (Mahmud al-Kashgari, originally from Kashgar, lived in the 11th century and authored “The Dictionary of Turkic Dialects” in three volumes, which contained an extensive array of material on the language, culture, history, and ethnography of the tribes and peoples of Kazakhstan and Central Asia.)
Sources indicate that at the beginning of the 15th century, Timur’s army passed through Suykent. The name of the city has persisted in the name of a modern village. Nearby are two archaeological sites, one dating from the 8th to 12th centuries and the other from the 13th to 15th centuries. These correspond to medieval Suykent, which changed its location over time.
Sygnaq, first mentioned in sources from the 10th century, is noted by Mahmud al-Kashgari in the 11th century as one of the cities of the Oghuz. By the 12th century, it emerged as the capital of the Kipchak state union. The 13th-century historian Juvayni described the city’s destruction by the Mongols in 1219 as retaliation for resistance. He recounts how Juchi’s troops moved down the Syr Darya, capturing one city after another. Accompanied by two local merchants, Hasan-Khodja and Ali-Khodja, Hasan-Khodja was sent to persuade the inhabitants of Sygnaq to surrender. However, the residents killed the merchant and put up fierce resistance. After a grueling seven-day siege, Sygnaq fell, and its entire population was slaughtered. Life in the cities along the Syr Darya came to a standstill, with many left in ruins. Twenty-five years later, the traveler Plano Carpini recorded in his journal, “In this land, we found countless devastated cities, ruined fortresses, and many desolate villages.” Yet, Sygnaq managed to rise again, reclaiming its former glory. Perhaps it was the inhabitants’ spirit of freedom and disdain for their enemies that played a role in this revival. Indeed, one poem echoes this sentiment:
In the past, this land was free from cares,
A haven for those who seek wisdom,
From here came the author of “Nihaya,”
And the interpreter of the difficult passages of “Hidaya.”
If fate allowed us to live once more,
We would again embrace the identity of Sygnaq.
By the mid-13th century, Sygnaq is mentioned only once under the name Sgnaq in the list of cities visited by Armenian King Hetum I. In the second half of the 14th century, the city became the capital of the Ak Orda. Sygnaq was ruled by khans Erzen, his son Mubarak-Khodja, Uruz Khan, and Tokhtamysh. A mint operated here, and construction activities flourished. After Tokhtamysh’s failed campaign against Timur, the city was seized by Timur’s grandson, Ulugh Beg, who sought to establish his dominance along the Syr Darya but was defeated in 1423 and pushed back into Central Asia by the troops of Barak, a grandson of Uruz Khan.
It is evident how significant Sygnaq was, positioned at the border of the ever-turbulent steppe. To dominate this area, one had to possess Sygnaq and the fertile plain surrounding it, cultivated and maintained by farmers. Sygnaq served not only as a strategic stronghold but also as a major economic and political hub.
During the 16th to 18th centuries, Sygnaq was under Kazakh control and became the largest city in the lower Syr Darya region. Its markets buzzed daily with goods from 500 camel loads, while fields nourished by canals such as Ordakent, Kyzyltal, Buzgul-Uzyak, and Tyumen-Aryk thrived in the vicinity. Sygnaq was known as the “Harbor of Desht-i Kipchak.” Among the various goods traded, it was famed for “the finest bows and arrows” brought by the steppe nomads, who purchased grains, textiles, and luxury items in return. Historian Ruzbihan noted that in addition to agriculture, crafts, and trade, the residents of Sygnaq engaged in hunting. “The steppes surrounding Sygnaq are covered with grass and trees, where flocks of wild goats, rams, and other animals graze like sheep. The locals hunt them in the summer and store meat for the winter; game here is exceptionally cheap.”
Today, the remnants of the ancient city are surrounded by a dry steppe, overgrown with saxaul and thorny bushes. Low mounds with ruins of burnt bricks and glazed tiles indicate that there were once considerable architectural structures in the vicinity of Sygnaq.
In 1901, a member of the Turkestan Society of Archaeology, V. Kallaur, surveyed and photographed the remains of the stunning 14th to 15th-century mausoleum, Kok-Kesene. By 1914, the building had collapsed, and when the Orientalist A. Yu. Yakubovsky examined the site in 1927, only the remnants of the southern arch’s portal and a heap of ruins remained. “It was sufficient to take a few strokes of a chisel,” wrote A. Yu. Yakubovsky, “to reveal a large number of blue, turquoise, and white glazed tiles. The glaze quality is exceptional… The blue glaze, differing markedly in tone from those of Samarkand and Bukhara, rivals the best among them… A large piece entirely covered in tile mosaics was found, showcasing blue, white, blue, yellow, and red inserts. Finally, a piece of carved unglazed terracotta brick was discovered on the surface. A cursory inspection was enough to conclude that Kok-Kesene was a magnificent structure adorned with tiles.”
The mausoleum’s architectural design was particularly distinctive: a square portal structure topped with a slender blue conical dome transitioning from a square to an octagon and then to a hexadecagon. The mausoleum housed a crypt, and above it, a tomb adorned with Arabic inscriptions graced the dome.
Researchers believe the mausoleum was constructed over the grave of the famous steppe khan Abulkhair, whose grandson, Khan Shaybani, destroyed the Timurid state in the early 16th century.
By the early 19th century, the city had become desolate, like many other cities along the Syr Darya, but tales and legends persist, preserving its memory as a significant trading hub along the Great Silk Road.
Written records indicate that the city of Sauran (Savran) was located a day’s journey from Shavgar. Founded by the Oghuz and Kimak tribes, Sauran served as a border city where the Oghuz came to trade and forge peace treaties. The city was fortified and functioned as a powerful stronghold, capable of withstanding a prolonged siege for several months due to its unique constructions and independent supplies of food and water.
In a 13th-century travelogue by Hetum I, the city is referred to as Savran, “which is very large.” In the 14th century, Sauran became the capital of the Ak Orda, coinciding with the peak of ceramic production. Accounts from the 16th and 17th centuries describe Sauran as a large and wealthy city surrounded by agricultural settlements, orchards, and fields. People continued to inhabit the fortress until the mid-17th century.
The remnants of Sauran, featuring its still-standing but heavily damaged walls, lie 40 kilometers west of Turkestan. Researchers believe that the archaeological site of Karatobe, located 3 kilometers to the east and dating from the 1st century CE to the 12th century, corresponds to Sauran in the 9th to 12th centuries. Since 2004, the site has been studied as part of the state program “Cultural Heritage.” Eventually, it will be developed into the Sisan Archaeological Park.
According to Al-Idrisi, “from Astura to Sisan, it is a twelve-day journey eastward by land, but shorter by river.” The city was situated in the valley of the Irtysh River, though its exact location remains unknown.
Urban settlements also flourished on the fertile lands of Semirechye, notably Sujab, which stands as the most renowned medieval city of the region. Sujab served as the capital of the Western Turkic, Turgish, and Karluk khanates.
The earliest references to Sujab, dating back to the first half of the 7th to 8th centuries, are found in Chinese sources. In 629, the Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang traveled through Semirechye on his way to India and encountered the city along the Sui River. He described it as having a circumference of approximately 6 to 7 li (about 2.4 to 2.8 kilometers). It was home to merchants from various lands and Sogdian traders. The fertile lands were suitable for cultivating millet and grapes. To the west of Sujab, there existed several dozen independent cities. Xuanzang further characterized the inhabitants of Semirechye, detailing their customs, clothing, and traditions, concluding that these cities housed both farmers and merchants. In 677, sources, including the “Old Tang History,” reported that the Chinese launched a campaign against the Western Turks, capturing their khan, Duchji, and sending him to Sujab.
During the period of Turgish dominance in Semirechye, Sujab housed the main horde of their khan. In the first decade of the 8th century, the city is mentioned in the context of internal strife. In 740, one of the Turgish princes, Mohe Dagan, allied with rulers from Fergana and Tashkent, defeated the son of Turgish khan Suli near Sujab and subsequently assumed leadership of the Turgish. However, his rule was short-lived; in 748, the governor of Eastern Turkestan, Wang Zhen-sun, led a military expedition westward, destroying the city walls and establishing a Buddhist temple in the city.
Chinese interference in Western Turkestan affairs came to an end after their defeat at the hands of the Arab commander Ziyad b. Salih in 751 at the Battle of Talas. The Karluks seized control of Semirechye, taking Sujab as their capital in 766. By the mid-8th century, the first Muslim references to the cities of Semirechye, particularly Sujab, emerged. In the works of Ibn Khordadbeh and Qudama, Sujab is listed among the cities along the Great Silk Road. An anonymous text, “Hudud al-Alam,” along with Gardizi’s “Zayn al-Akbar,” based on accounts from informants who lived no later than the mid-8th century, describes Sujab as “a large settlement, home to around 20,000 people. The ruler of the city was the brother of Jabgu.”
Following this period, Sujab vanished from historical records. Researchers have identified Sujab with the archaeological site of Akbesim, located near the city of Tokmak in the Kyrgyz Republic. Excavations here have uncovered a citadel from the 10th to 12th centuries, two Buddhist temples from the 8th to 9th centuries, a Nestorian monastery from the 8th to 10th centuries, and a church. The site dates back to the 7th to 12th centuries and is recognized as one of the prominent historical and archaeological monuments from the medieval era.
Balasagun first appears in the account of the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk (11th century), who recounts the conquest of Balasagun by the infidel Turks shortly before 943. After capturing Balasagun, the Turks (Karakhans) embraced Islam. Balasagun became the capital of one of the fiefs within the Karakhanid state. By the late 10th century, according to al-Maqdisi, Balasagun was described as “a large settlement, rich in resources.” Mahmud Kashgari notes other names for the city, including Kuz-Ulush and Kuz-Urdu. He also mentions that the inhabitants of Balasagun spoke Sogdian and Turkic, and that the “Sogdians—people living in Balasagun—were from Sogd and appeared Turkic, having adopted their customs.”
Around 1130, Balasagun fell to the Karakhanids, who were defeated by Khwarezmshah Muhammad in 1210. The residents of Balasagun seized this opportunity, refusing to allow the defeated Karakhanid forces into the city. However, after a siege, the city was stormed and plundered, resulting in the death of around 47,000 people. In 1218, Balasagun was captured by the Mongols without a fight and was renamed “Gobalik,” meaning “Good City.”
During the Mongol era, written records of Balasagun are scarce, and it is not mentioned in the accounts of Timur’s campaigns in Moghulistan. The author of the geographical treatise “Bahr al-Asrar” (“Sea of Secrets”), who lived in the 17th century, Mahmud ibn Wali, wrote: “Balasagun is one of the cities of Turkestan, known (under the name) of Moghulistan, and before the Mongol invasion, it had a purely Muslim population. Many scholars emerged from it. Mustawfi states: ‘Balasagun is a vast and natural land, from the sixth to seventh climates. Its climate is very cold.’ Some chronicles note that ‘the width of its fortress wall was two and a half (gazas).’ Balasagun had forty congregational mosques and two hundred weekday mosques, twenty khanqahs, and ten madrasas.” After the Mongol invasion, Balasagun remained prosperous and flourishing until the customs of the Mongols began to affect it negatively. Since that time, it has been in a state of desolation and abandonment. A traveler from Kashgar, while writing about this in Balkh, recounted: “Once, the ruler of Kashgar invaded Moghulistan to condemn and punish the Kalmyks. After two months, moving from east to north, we reached a place where the roofs of tall buildings—minarets, palaces, arches, and madrasas—rose four to five zira from the sand: their remnants could be seen from four farsang distances. Nearby, we caught up with the Kalmyks, and a battle ensued between us. We captured many of these infidels as prisoners, and upon returning to the site where we had previously seen the remnants of the buildings, we asked the captives the name of that place. They said: ‘We know that there was once a city here called Balasagun.’ In short, this city was once one of the finest cities in this region.”
In general, researchers believe Balasagun was known as early as the mid-8th century. In the works of medieval geographers, “Beklig” (“Beklilig”), which in Sogdian sounded like “Semekna,” is mentioned among the settlements of Semirechye. The ruler of this settlement held the title of Badan-Sangu, or in Turkic, Iinal-tegin; he commanded 3,000 warriors, and the city itself could muster 7,000 soldiers. The settlement of Beklig (Beklilig or Semekna) corresponds to Balasagun, and this is why. The term “Beklig” translates simply as “city,” while “Balasagun” can be interpreted as “city of Sengun.” In Sogdian, “Beklig” was called “Semekna,” and V.V. Barthold considered it a Sogdian colony. Supporting this viewpoint is the analysis of lines 52-53 of the runic inscription honoring Kültigin (8th century), which refers to a Sogdian diplomatic mission, one of whose leaders was Nek Sengun, who presumably ruled Beklig—Semekna—Balasagun. The Sogdian population in Balasagun persisted into the 11th century, and it is no coincidence that Mahmud Kashgari noted, “Sogdians are the people living in Balasagun.” This further corroborates the identity of the Sogdian city of Beklig—Semekna with the city of Balasagun, where Sogdians resided.
Balasagun is identified with the archaeological site of Burana, located near Tokmak in Kyrgyzstan, which is currently being studied by Kyrgyz archaeologists. Here, Islamic mausoleums and a bathhouse have been uncovered, along with the remaining minaret of the 10th to 14th centuries, confirming the capital role of the city of Balasagun at this location.
Located 115 kilometers west of Kyzylorda, on the right bank of the old riverbed of the Syr Darya (Janadarya), the ruins of the ancient city of Jend—known as Jankala—are remarkably well-preserved. The city covers an area of approximately 40 hectares and is laid out in a clearly planned grid. The main street is prominently visible, with alleys branching off at right angles. In the northwestern corner, a square mound serves as the citadel, surrounded by large houses. The fortress wall, adorned with remnants of towers, still stands up to 8 meters high. At the center of the eastern wall lies the entrance, protected by two towers that allowed defenders to launch a double barrage against intruders. Surrounding Jend are the remnants of small fortifications, homesteads, and evidence of medieval irrigation systems. Adjacent to the site, a garden-park complex with a trapezoidal enclosure housed the ruler’s summer palace. Undoubtedly, Jend was the center of a vast, densely populated region in the Aral Sea area, and it is not surprising that the Aral Sea was sometimes referred to as “Jend’s Sea.”
Archaeological findings of pottery allow historians to pinpoint the city’s existence from the early centuries AD until the 16th century. During the pre-Mongol period, Jend was one of the capitals of the Oghuz, later becoming associated with the Kipchaks.
The Mongol invasion in 1219 brought devastating upheaval to the cities of the lower Syr Darya. Throughout that year, Mongol forces conquered Sighnaq, Barchinlygkent (Barchkent), Ashnas, Jend, and Yangikent. However, in the post-Mongol era, Jend managed to revive and become a significant center in the Aral region. A mint operated here, producing coins. In a historical account from the early 14th century, it is stated: “The city of Jend was once a notable place, recently devastated; yet it remains an active trading hub where merchants compete in the importance and profitability of their dealings, with the scales on its market constantly swaying.” Jend thrived until the 15th-16th centuries, maintaining its status as a crucial center of the Aral region along the trade route to Khwarezm.
Saraychik (also known as Saradjuk, Saradjik, or Saraydjuk) is situated on the right bank of the Zhaiyk River, 55 kilometers north of the modern city of Atyrau. According to historical accounts, the city was founded in the mid-13th century by Khan Batu (1227-1256) at a strategically advantageous location, crucially at the intersection of Europe and Asia. It served as a pivotal point along the Great Silk Road, connecting Europe and the capital of the Golden Horde, Sarai Berke on the Volga, with the cities of Khwarezm, Kazakhstan, India, Iran, and China. Numerous descriptions from traders and travelers document the course of this route. In the “Roadbooks” of Hamdallah al-Qazwini, written around 1339, there are detailed accounts of waypoints along this path, complete with distance measurements. Similar information can be found in the works of the Arab geographer al-Omari (14th century). The trade route from Saraychik to Urgench, spanning a “month’s journey,” was equipped with wells and caravanserais. Saraychik also served as an important political center, where the enthronement ceremonies for various khans of the Golden Horde, including Janibek (1341-1357) and Berdibek (1357-1359), took place.
The city’s rapid development was spurred by the adoption of Islam by Khan Berke (1257-1266) and his brother Tukay-Timur, and subsequently, by its establishment as the official state religion of the Golden Horde under Uzbek Khan (1290-1312). These significant events unfolded in Saraychik, highlighting its unique role as the spiritual heart of the entire Golden Horde. Several khans of the Golden Horde and other historical figures were buried in Saraychik, including Mengu-Timur (1266-1281), Toktay (1280-1312), Janibek (1342-1357), Berdibek (1357-1359), and the Kazakh Khan Qasym (1511-1518).
Following the disintegration of the Golden Horde around 1391, Saraychik became the center of the Mangyit Yurt, which eventually formed into an independent state—the Nogai Horde—by the 1540s, serving as a political union of steppe tribes.
Around 1580, Saraychik fell to siege and was destroyed by Cossack forces. Although the city was soon rebuilt, this marked the beginning of a gradual and irreversible decline into desolation. Economic upheaval, socio-political turmoil within the Nogai Horde, and adverse external factors contributed to this decline.
Archaeological research conducted between 1996 and 2000, and again from 2002 to 2004, at the ruins of Saraychik yielded rich insights into the urban culture of Kazakhstan during the Golden Horde era, as well as the dynamics of the city’s trade, economic, and cultural connections with centers of medieval civilizations in both the East and West.
The urban culture of Saraychik and its surrounding area possessed distinctive characteristics, reflecting its deep steppe roots and close interactions with Deshti Kipchak, the cities of the Aral region, and the Syr Darya.
The preservation of Saraychik’s cultural remnants is an urgent issue, as the yearly erosion of the banks of the Ural River causes cultural layers of the settlement, measuring between 2 to 3 meters in width and extending up to 600 meters in length, to vanish. Urgent measures are undoubtedly needed to safeguard this unique monument of Kazakhstan. Addressing the study and conservation of Saraychik is linked to the state program “Cultural Heritage.” All of this information will certainly be of interest to visitors and tourists in Atyrau.
According to ancient legends, during the great flood, Noah’s Ark made its stop in various significant locations, including the Al-Judi Mountains in Arabia, the Ararat Mountains in the Caucasus, Sinai in Palestine, and the Kazyghurt Mountains in Kazakhstan. This legendary site is situated approximately 40 kilometers from the city of Shymkent, nestled in the foothills of the Talas Alatau (the western ridges of the Tien Shan mountains). To this day, around fifty legends have been preserved among the people, each attributing a sacred significance to these mountains. Locals firmly believe that the very spot where the Ark came to rest can still be seen in the mountains. This revered location is known as “Kemekalgan.”
Remarkably, the dimensions of the local Ark align with descriptions found in one sacred text: “The length of the Ark is 300 cubits (150 meters), its width is 50 cubits (25 meters), and its height is 30 cubits (15 meters).” Archaeologists have uncovered thirty-three architectural monuments scattered throughout the mountains and the nearby Kazyghurt lands. The natural complex of Shilter-ata also resides among these sacred places. The rock formations known as Adam and Eve symbolize the belief that they were the ancestors of the human race. Between two towering cliffs, each standing thirty-three meters tall, lies a narrow passage, which can only be traversed by a person of pure heart. Within Shilter-ata, one can find stone statues of animals, described in sacred texts. The very earth of the Kazyghurt National Park seems to exude a supernatural aura.
The town known as Kayalyk during the X to early XIII centuries served as the capital of the Karluk Jabgu. Notable references to this city can be found in the diary of William of Rubruck, who passed through a city he referred to as Kayalyk in the autumn of 1253 on his way to the encampment of the Mongolian Khan Möngke. As described by Rubruck, it was a large city with a bustling marketplace frequented by numerous merchants. In addition to the local population, there were also settlers from Iran and other countries, and alongside mosques, the town housed Buddhist and Manichaean temples. The remnants of this ancient city have been discovered near the village of Antonovka, located 220 kilometers east of Taldykorgan. Excavations at Kayalyk have unearthed a Buddhist temple dating back to the mid-thirteenth century. Among the findings is the estate of a wealthy citizen, covering an area of 400 square meters. Its living quarters were heated by kanas, a system of underground heating channels. The collection of imported artifacts gathered during excavations—including Iranian lusterware, Chinese ceramics, and Syrian glass—attests to the city’s robust trading connections. In the southeastern part of the site, excavation has begun on a large palace complex, where a palace bath made of baked brick has already been uncovered. This bath, with its cross-shaped layout, includes hot and cool washing areas, a series of baths of varying sizes, and an underground heating system. Kayalyk was a significant center in the region of Pre-Dzhungaria, and its archaeological site is currently under investigation and preservation through the state program “Cultural Heritage.” It dates back to the VIII-XIV centuries.
The name of the city appears in the travelogue of the Armenian king Hetum I (Gaiton), who passed through Semirechye in 1254 on his way to the Mongolian capital of Karakorum. He refers to it as Ilanbalakh. Other sources identify the city as Ilanbalyk or Ilanba-lik, meaning “the city on the Ili River.”
While the exact location of Ilibalyk remains uncertain, recent archaeological investigations along the right bank of the Ili River allow for the possibility of associating it with the ruins of a medieval settlement found near the contemporary village of Kocktal in the Panfilov District, not far from the city of Jarkent. The site is believed to date back to the XI-XIV centuries.
Visit the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Explore historic launch pads
Tour the Space Museum
See iconic space artifacts
Witness rocket assembly facilities
Visit the Gagarin Start Pad