Burana Tower - the remains of the ancient civilization of Kyrgyzstan. Building Legend
Burana Tower is one of the most famous historical monuments in Asia. It is located in Kyrgyzstan near the city of Tokmak. The name comes from the distorted word "monora", which translates as "minaret". That is why it is believed that this is one of the first temples built in Kyrgyzstan.
External structure of the Burana tower
Despite the fact that there are many minarets scattered in this area, the design of the tower differs significantly from other similar structures. Its height is 24 meters, but such a building was not always. According to conventional estimates, initially its dimensions were from 40 to 45 meters. The upper part was destroyed hundreds of years ago due to a strong earthquake. 
The shape of the monument resembles a cylinder, which tapers slightly towards the top. The main parts of the building are:
- foundation;
- podium;
- base;
- trunk.
The foundation goes underground to a depth of five meters, it rises about a meter above the ground and forms a podium. The dimensions of the base are 12.3x12.3 meters. The facing of the western and southern sides is made of marble, and the main part is made of stone based on clay mortar. The plinth is located in the center of the podium and has the shape of an octagonal prism. The towering trunk is made of curly masonry, which makes it look unusual in the photo.
The history of the creation of the monument and the legend about it
The Burana Tower, according to average estimates, was built in the 10-11th centuries. This period is associated with the development of the Turkic state of the Karakhanids. It happened as a result of the merger of several Tien Shan tribes who decided to move to a sedentary lifestyle. The capital of their state was Balasagyn. In its vicinity, majestic minarets began to be erected, the first of which was the Burana Tower. The fact that the structure was significant from the point of view of conducting ceremonies is evidenced by the numerous tombstones scattered around the cylindrical tower. 
Numerous excavations indicate that the tribes inhabiting this territory sought to strengthen Islam, which is why they developed various crafts and decorated their minarets with unusual techniques. It is believed that the first temple was also decorated with a dome, but due to an earthquake it was not able to survive.
According to legend, the collapse of the upper part occurred for a completely different reason. It is said that the Burana tower was erected by one of the khans, who wanted to save his daughter from a terrible prediction. The girl was supposed to die from a spider bite on the day of her sixteenth birthday, so her father imprisoned her at the top of the tower and constantly made sure that not a single insect got in with food and drinks. When the momentous day came, the khan was happy that the trouble did not happen. He went to his daughter to congratulate her, and took with him a bunch of grapes. 
By a tragic accident, it was in these fruits that a poisonous spider hid, which bit the girl. Khan sobbed so hard with grief that the top of the tower could not stand it and crumbled. Not only because of the unusual legend, but also because of the scale of the building, tourists tend to find out where the historical monument is in order to go on a fascinating excursion to Asian sights.
Burana Tower is a famous architectural monument of the Kyrgyz people. This is the oldest building in Central Asia, which is located 80 kilometers from the capital of Kyrgyzstan - the city of Bishkek and 12 kilometers from the city of Tokmak on the territory of the ruins of the Burana settlement. Its appearance is associated with Uzbek architecture. If you do not know what to see in Kyrgyzstan, be sure to visit this landmark and historical place.
Building Legend
There is a whole legend about the appearance of the Burana tower, one of the most popular and famous among the myths and legends of Kyrgyzstan. One Kyrgyz khan had a daughter Munar (the name in translation means “tower, minaret”), whom he loved and protected very much. But once the astrologer predicted that the girl would only live to sixteen years old and would die from a spider bite.
The khan built a high tower, at the bottom of which he imprisoned the astrologer, and upstairs, all alone, settled his daughter. She grew up in a tower, admiring nature only from the windows in the dome.
Servants brought water and food to the khan's daughter, while they were thoroughly searched. But, despite all the precautions, on the day of her sixteenth birthday, the girl was bitten by a spider, and she died.
Description
The Burana Tower in Kyrgyzstan is considered the earliest and most outstanding architectural structure in Central Asia. The word “Burana” means “minaret”. Similar buildings were erected near cathedral mosques. The tower consists of several elements: foundation, podium, plinth and trunk.
The foundation is made of stone at a depth of 5.6 meters, its upper part looks like a quadrangular podium. The eastern and northern edges of the podium are faced with marble blocks. Buildings adjoined the western and southern sides, so they do not have a ceremonial design.
In the center of the podium there is an octagonal plinth with a height of five meters. On all its faces, in the center there are arched niches with embossed filling of burnt bricks. Niches are decorated with rectangular ornamental frames.
A round and tapering trunk rests on the base, the surface of which is decorated with alternating stripes of figured and smooth brickwork.
Initially, the height of the minaret was forty meters, the top was crowned with a dome-lantern, which had four doorways - on the cardinal points. Today the height of the tower is 21.7 meters - the rest was destroyed during a strong earthquake in the 15th century.
What is inside
The entrance to the tower is located on the south side. From it to the top of the minaret there is a spiral staircase with steps made of burnt bricks and covered with juniper boards. It is quite narrow - one person can hardly walk along it. Along the course of the stairs, there were skylights cut right into the trunk. The top of the tower offers a beautiful view of the settlement.
Surrounding area
The Burana Tower in Kyrgyzstan is located on the territory of a city that was once very technological and modern. It had a plumbing system made of clay pipes.
Water came to them from the nearby mountains. On the territory of the settlement there is a huge burial place, decorated with unusual idols - stone sculptures of babals. These sculptures are made with a careful study of facial features and headgear. There are also simple petroglyphs (rock carvings).
Tower restoration
Studies of the tower have been carried out by Russian scientists since the middle of the 19th century. Under Soviet rule, measures were taken to preserve the architectural monument and archaeological study of the settlement. Excavations made it possible to establish that the settlement has a complex layout and consists of the ruins of a quadrangular fortress.
In 1970-1974, the employees of the Ministry of Culture of the Kyrgyz SSR carried out the restoration of the Burana tower. As a result, the destroyed places were restored along the preserved height of the tower, the octagonal base was re-laid.
One of the main attractions; located 12 km south of Tokmak. There are several versions among the people about the origin of this tower. According to one of them, it has existed since the middle of the 10th century, since the time of the existence of the Karakhanid state. Today it is a valuable architectural monument and belongs to the version of our site.
It is believed that the height of this building, which was once a Buranin minaret, reached 40 meters. However, after one earthquake, only a little over 20 meters remained from the tower. The top was knocked to the ground. The tower is made of baked bricks and tapers towards the top. It consists of a foundation, plinth and trunk. The entrance is located at a height of 6 meters. A spiral staircase leads to it. The Burana Tower has historical significance for the Kyrgyz and is considered a museum-reserve.
The way to the sight lies through the Kyrgyz ridge. Geographically, it is located on the left bank of the Chu River. If you go by car from Bishkek towards the Kegety gorge, then in a couple of hours you can reach the Burana tower.
Attraction photo: Burana Tower
But this was the only correct option, not to spend the night in the courtyards of the capital.
In two cars, we first got to Tokmok city (Kyrgyz Tokmok), and from there from the monument to the legendary historical figure Manap Biu, we were taken by a young “Kent” in a bright jacket before turning to Burana.
And we overcame the last stretch with a local Kyrgyz, who was very worried about our today's overnight stay. When he found out that we were going to the Burana tower, he offered to ask the guard of the architectural and archaeological museum to go to the house, he would suddenly allow us. So we decided to do it.
At the entrance to the archaeological complex we were greeted by two idols and, thank God, the gate was still open for visiting. The tower is not difficult to notice, because relative to the half-meter ruins nearby, it seemed high, which attracted the eye. In the setting sun, the Buranovskaya tower looked very beautiful. We were afraid of only one thing - not to have time to climb to the very top. Burana is a distorted “monara” (minaret), and since ancient times it means the entire surrounding area.
Burana tower(it is also called Buranin minaret) - built in the X-XI centuries. and is located among the ruins Buranino settlement, 12 km from the city Tokmok v Kyrgyzstan, On the left coast Chu river... According to historians, the settlement is all that remains of Balasangun city- the ancient capital dynasty of Karakhanids("Black khans")
There was no need to look for the guard, he himself went out to meet the last visitors. Quiet Kirghiz, after talking with us, allowed him to stay in his house. True, he said that we would have to sleep on the floor at the entrance. It's not scary, we are no longer used to it.
Burana tower and its legend.
Then he handed us the key to the grate so that we could climb the tower. Leaving our backpacks in the house, we rushed headlong to the rickety monument.
The height of the tower (minaret) was originally 46 meters, but after the earthquake only 24 meters remained. There is, of course, another version, which is more legend than true:
“One powerful khan had a beautiful daughter named Monara, who was predicted to die from a spider bite on her 16th birthday. Khan was upset and ordered to build a high tower, in which he placed his daughter all alone.
Servants brought her food and water, searching the contents of the basket and their clothes down to the thread to make sure there were no insects. And finally, the day of Monara's 16th birthday came, the khan himself came to congratulate his daughter, happy with the thought that the prediction did not come true. He brought his daughter a bunch of grapes, in which a spider was hiding, which bit Monara. The girl died, and the khan, seized with grief, knocked on the tower so hard that the top of its head fell off, leaving after the ruins that we see now.”
Climbing the stairs, we were at the very top, from where you could admire not only the sunset, but also the surroundings. From here we saw:
- leftovers palace complex or temple that existed here until the 10th century;
- the ruins of two mausoleums;
- a whole field with stone sculptures.
Therefore, immediately after the descent, we naturally went to inspect all the listed “finds”, which we studied in more detail in the morning.
Stone sculptures - "balbals".
Stone statues (balbals)- a type of monuments widespread on the territory of Northern Kyrgyzstan in the habitats of nomads - the Turks. They are collected from the shattered ancient Turkic burial grounds mainly in the Chui valley, but there are also statues from Issyk-Kul and Tien Shan.
On the territory of the archaeological museum, there are 80 sculptures, which are figures with a careful study of the face, hairstyle and other objects, but there are also primitive sculptures. Now you understand why we examined them in the morning, we wanted to see them all :).
Before the spread of Islam, such sculptures were installed on the graves or ritual structures of the Turks themselves. In the collection, for the most part, you can find images of male warriors, less often - of women.
Monuments - epigraphy.
Presented by gravestone steles with inscriptions in Arabic. Collected from Muslim cemeteries in the places closest to the Buranino settlement and date back to the XIV - the first half of the XX century. On the steles, you can see sayings from the Koran, as well as the name and year of death of the deceased.
Rock paintings - petroglyphs.
Petroglyphs in the form of images of various animals (mainly deer) can be seen on the stones, laid out in several parallel rows. On the territory of Kyrgyzstan, rock carvings can be found in the districts of Naryn, Issyk-Kul, Talas, Alai and others. They date back to the 2nd thousand years. BC NS. - XVI century.
Stone tools
In addition to stone statues, I was surprised to find here such stone "wheels" - millstones (X-XII centuries) found on the territory of the Buranino settlement.
Overnight on the territory of Buranovsky settlement.
We walked around the territory of the archaeological museum almost until dark, I don't remember the last time architectural monuments aroused such interest in me.
By the way, the whole story can be read right on the territory of the settlement, next to the house they put special “iron books” in two languages - Russian and Kyrgyz.
We returned to the guard, he just boiled the kettle, treated us to what it was: tomatoes, cookies, apples. We also got everything edible that we found in the backpack. It is a pity that the Kirghiz was caught not talkative, they decided to go to bed so as not to sit in tense silence.
As I said, in the morning we walked through the territory of the Buranovo settlement again, and finally, for helping the guard and for a ticket, we left 10 soms (7 rubles) at his request. The last thing I wanted to see in Kyrgyzstan -. I understood that this is a large lake with all kinds of hiking trails through the nearby mountains, for which we have neither the strength nor the desire. But being in Kyrgyzstan and not even looking at Issyk-Kul is a crime, as many of the travelers would say. Therefore, it was decided, we will wrap up there on the way home.
The Burana Tower is part of the Burani settlement, located at a distance of 12 km from the city of Tokmok. The results of archaeological research of the settlement suggest that these are the remains of the city of Balasagyn, which from the 7th to the 13th centuries was the capital of the developed and powerful Karakhanid kaganate. This state was created by the nomadic peoples who inhabited the Tien Shan. Already in the 10th century, the eastern borders of the kaganate were Semirechye, and the western ones were the delta of the Amu Darya. At this time, nomadic tribes became sedentary, crafts and trade relations developed.
The capital of the kaganate, Balasagyn, was located at the intersection of trade routes and was a city with a fairly developed infrastructure. With the arrival of the Islamic religion on these lands, religious buildings - mosques - began to appear. Minarets were built near them, Arab. "Manara", whence the name Burana came from.
The main purpose of the minaret was to call the faithful to prayer; this building was built of baked bricks similar to Arab lighthouses. The square foundation of the tower is deepened by 5 meters, the height of the octahedral base is 4 meters, and the barrel of a circular cross-section tapering towards the top rises by 18 meters. The upper part of the tower, supposedly about 20 meters high, destroyed by earthquakes, was a dome-lantern. It was possible to enter the minaret on the roof of the mosque or, in our time, on a ladder, since the entrance is located 6 meters from the ground. The top of the tower is climbed by a spiral internal staircase.
Archaeologists believe that the Jami mosque (late 10th - early 11th centuries) was located on the western side of the Buran minaret. To the east of the tower are the ruins of three mausoleum-tombs. According to legend, the Burana tower was erected by the ruler of the city for his daughter, wishing to protect her from the predicted death. However, the death of the girl from the bite of a black scorpion could not be avoided, the tower served as her tomb, and soon her father was buried nearby.
The city of Balasagyn survived the invasion of the Mongol horde without loss, thanks to the significant amount of ransom presented to Genghis Khan. The Mongols noted the benevolence of the townspeople by calling the city Gobalyk, i.e. "Kind, good." However, this did not bring the desired prosperity, according to archaeological finds, Balasagyn became extinct from the plague in the XIV century.
Now the ruins of the once flourishing capital of the Karakhanid Kaganate are an archaeological and architectural open-air museum.
Video: Burana Tower
