Travel Guide Burana

70 km east of Bishkek, in the Chuy Valley, on the road to Issyk Kul. The village of Tokmok branches off towards one of the ancient Karakhakan capitals: Balasagoun. A city that Genghis Khan spared during his conquests in the 13th century and that the Mongols renamed "Gobalik", which means "good city". However, it did not keep its pre-hordes glory and finally vanished in the 15th century. Don't expect a ghost town, only a few burial mounds and the minaret at the foot of the Kyrgyz Alaa-Tau remain, but the setting is well worth the 12 km detour on the main road. Burana would be the alteration of Murana, which means minaret. Built in the 11th century, this minaret was originally 45 m high. Since an earthquake in the 15th century, only 25 m remain. Soviet archaeologists carried out a thorough restoration because the minaret, which had been looted by Russian settlers who were running out of bricks, was in danger of collapsing at the end of the last century. Slightly tilted, it is decorated with geometrical motifs in relief due to a clever arrangement of bricks. The high steps of the interior staircase leading to the summit are a real delicacy for trekkers, but can leave serious curvatures. Several dozen türk funerary statues, called tach balbaldar, are displayed in the field at the foot of the minaret. They date from the 6th to the 10th century.