Travel Guide Ellik Kala

To the east of Kath, the first capital of Khorezm, stood a network of fortified citadels that defended the territory while enriching their position on the trade routes and on the border of the nomadic worlds. Their military and commercial role was shattered by invading raids, but some survived until the Mongolian tornado. Their many abandoned ruins still dot the desert with their enigmatic forms sculpted by centuries of erosion. Professor Tolstov's archaeological team unearthed and explored more than sixty sites dating from the 4th century BC to the 14th century AD. Only about twenty abandoned sites in the desert were excavated, the others are waiting alone for someone to come and awaken them. Since 1972, kolkhozes have been colonizing these desert steppes and getting closer to the ancient cities until they are surrounded by them, as is the case with Toprak kala. Unfortunately, they use the surrounding walls to fertilize the desert... Today, the fortified cities of Khorezm are in Karakalpakstan or Turkmenistan. From Khiva or Urgentch, one day is enough to see half a dozen of them. For those who plan to visit Nukus, a good solution is to hire a driver or take a taxi and negotiate that it goes through the fortresses rather than taking the motorway which makes the express connection between the two cities in 2h30.