Bishkek, June 20 (US): In the interpretation of dreams, going up the spiral staircase is a sign that you are on the right path of spiritual growth and that good things are coming your way.
This hopeful explanation might be great, but now I’m in a dark place, trying to climb incredibly steep stairs and feeling that without the light coming from the phone of my dear friend and comrade Izzat climbing in front of me, I would have been defending vertically.
Unable to see anything in the dark when the phone light is off, my left hand on the step above and the right on the wall, I strive to support myself, doing my best for balance so I don’t fall back.
The winding path inside the Purana Tower is so small that it requires strong determination to continue climbing the cumbersome stairs and not slip to the bottom.
Halfway through the climb, a small window provides some light and hope that the challenge is almost over.
I hear the screams and laughter of the young students who have already reached the top. For many boys and girls in their early teens, the Burana Tower, the impressive old minaret that still stands today as one of Kyrgyzstan’s major historical sites, is another opportunity to learn history and culture through gentle fun.
I finally made it to the top where I was rewarded with an amazing view of the Chuy Valley and the Ala-Too mountain range in northern Kyrgyzstan.
The land stretching in every direction is almost empty, but in the period between the ninth and eleventh centuries, it was filled with houses, bazaars, shops, baths and squares as part of Balasagon, the ancient city built by the Karakhanids in the ninth century.
According to UNESCO, Balasagon sat on a caravan route connecting China, India, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The capital of the Karakhanid Empire was inhabited throughout the tenth and fourteenth centuries.
In 940, the Qarakhanids, the first Turkish dynasty to officially convert to Islam, invaded Balasagon, which became their state capital, along with Kashgar.
After the partition into the eastern and western khanates in 1041-1042, it remained the main city in the eastern part of the empire.
From 1130 to the early 13th century, it was the capital of Western Liao (Kara-Khitan, Kara-Kitai), and from 1211 to 1218 of the Naimans. Under the rule of the Mughals, at the beginning of the thirteenth century, the city was called Gopalik “beautiful city” and it existed until the fourteenth century.
Balasagon is located in the Chui region of northern Kyrgyzstan about 70 kilometers east of today’s capital, Bishkek, and was a major city from the Middle Ages.
“The numerous stone foundations remaining of houses, market squares and various buildings indicate that Balasagon was a large and highly developed city. According to historical documents, about 16,000 people lived in Balasagon with an area of about 30 square kilometers. It was present in its time. Life was in full swing here New caravans came after others. The passage of caravanserais packed with foreign goods is confirmed by the finds of all kinds of coins, jewelry, ceramics and often other items of European origin. The city was prosperous and became one of the richest cities in Central Asia. “
The Burana Tower, with an initial height of 46-47 meters, is one of the most famous minarets in Central Asia. It is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The minaret has a width of 9.3 meters at its base, and at the top it ends with a width of only 6 meters.
The minaret consists of foundations that are 5.6 meters high and are deep in the ground of an octagonal shape. The trunk is decorated with octagonal straps. The entrance to the tower is located at a height of one meter above the ground. A spiral staircase made of brick leads to the top from the inside, and on the east side at a height of 12 meters there is a window of light.
For UNESCO, the majestic and magnificent Purana Tower was the minaret of the Jameh Mosque and is considered one of the first buildings of this type in Central Asia.
Minarets were usually built in or near mosques and were intended to call the faithful to prayer. Historians and archaeologists believe that the mosque was located on the western side of the tower. Like the majority of minarets, the Purana Tower is crowned with an onion-shaped crest, which has four doors facing the cardinal directions.
“The tower, built of baked bricks, has the shape of a cylinder that rolls upward. The Qarakhanids used it as a minaret and a watchtower. In the upper part there was always a certain person explaining the way to distant caravans with lanterns so that they would not get lost on the way. “
Izzat, in his calm voice, says that according to legend, the tower was built by Khan to protect his only daughter, whose beauty and intelligence won the love of people, after a priest predicted that she would die from the bite of a karakurt (black spider).
Beauty lived at the top of the tower, and every visitor was carefully screened. However, on her sixteenth birthday, the Khan did not check the grapes he had brought for her on her special day. In the midst of the grapes was a karkot. The venomous bite killed the girl.
Over the centuries, frequent earthquakes destroyed the minaret, reducing its height to 24 meters. It was restored in 1970-1974 to address fears of its collapse.
Today, the 89-acre area is an open-air historical and architectural complex that features mud mausoleum foundations, 2nd-century BC rock carvings found in the Chui area, and several memorial stones for dead soldiers from the 6th century BC. Turkish era.
Small stone figures were reportedly used to honor the dead and at times burial places, ancient tombstones, millstones, and boulders were marked with carvings.
The majority of stones are shaped like Mongolian-looking men, with a mustache, beard, and sometimes a braided hairstyle. The mug was often carved in the right hand, and the left hand rested on the handle of a sword or dagger suspended from a belt.
I easily managed to read the inscriptions in Arabic on the many stones that are stretched out.
Although time has not escaped Balasagun, the Burana Tower and the surrounding area have survived and are still an outstanding testament to the power the city once wielded and to the rich history of Kyrgyzstan.
The site is an interesting source of immersion in the rich past of the region and Kyrgyzstan for the many tourists and students on school trips we met during the visit.