The Burana Tower is the remains of the ancient civilization of Kyrgyzstan.

Burana - unique monument history, survived many centuries and saw many events in his lifetime. The mosque and other buildings standing next to the minaret have long collapsed, and people began to perceive it differently: either as a watchtower, or as part of a once huge and beautiful castle. It is not surprising that over time, the tower began to acquire various legends and myths (the beginning of the story about the Burana tower).

Here I want to tell about two similar legends, which to this day go among the local population of nearby villages. In many ways, their plots are similar and are connected with the khan's daughter, who died from the bite of a poisonous karakurt.

Legend of the Burana Tower No. 1

According to one of them, once a powerful khan lived in these places, and he had a beautiful daughter. Khan loved her very much and wanted to see her happy. And somehow the khan called all the wise men to him and demanded from them a prediction regarding the future daughter. Almost all of them said the same thing, that "in the whole universe there will be no person happier than the khan's daughter."

photo of Buraninskaya tower

But at the very end, the oldest and wisest of all the soothsayers came out to the khan and said: “Oh, great ruler, order me to be executed right now if you wish, but first listen to my bitter truth about the sad fate of your daughter. Barely reaching adulthood, she will die from the bite of a black karakurt.

View from the top of the Burana tower

The khan looked at him menacingly and furiously, but the oracle stood his ground. The khan could not stand it, he shouted “Damn your prophecy!” - and immediately ordered his servants to build a high high tower, and so that its top rests on the sky. And under this tower they dug a deep cellar, where they put the old oracle.

And the Khan's daughter began to live in a small bright room at the very top of the tower. The servants brought food to her along the narrow, steep stairs, but before that they double-checked whether poisonous karakurt was hiding among the tasty dishes or in the folds of their clothes.

Photo of the Burana tower, 1960s.

So time passed, and now the khan's daughter was already sixteen years old. She blossomed like a flower, was beautiful and fresh, like morning dew. “Finally, it means that the prophecy will not come true,” the khan was delighted and went to his beautiful daughter. He brought with him a huge tray of ripe amber-colored grapes, and placed it at his daughter's feet.

The Khan's daughter stretched out her hand to the grapes, took the largest bunch and at the same moment cried out loudly - it was stung by her karakurt, which lurked in the grape brush.

The old khan could not bear the death of his beloved daughter, and soon he himself died of grief. And since then, the tower stands alone in that place, and only casual travelers and vagabonds admire its proud appearance and the skill of the human hands that created this beautiful tower.

Buraninskaya tower - a place of worship

Legend of the Burana tower №2

According to another legend, one powerful khan named Baityk decided to capture the city of Tokmak. Not far from the city, in a mountain gorge, he left his only daughter with her retinue, and he himself went to the city with a large army. Having captured Tokmak, he brutally dealt with the townspeople - there was no mercy for anyone: neither the elderly, nor women, nor children, and he ordered to kill everyone. But one old woman miraculously managed to escape.

Burana, immersed in flowers

This old woman came to Baityk and said: “You did not spare anyone, you killed everyone, including my sons. And for this you will be punished, your beloved and only daughter will soon die from the bite of a deadly karakurt.

The enraged Khan immediately ordered the fortune-teller to be killed and a tall tower to be built immediately. At the very top of the tower, he settled his beloved daughter with two faithful maids. They took food for the khan's daughter only through a door made high above the ground.

Photo of the Burana tower, 70s. 20th century

One day the servants handed over a dish of black grapes to the Khan's daughter. But none of them noticed that karakurt hid in the clusters. The Khan's daughter extended her hand for grapes, screamed from the bite of a poisonous insect, and soon died. And since that time, there has been an empty and abandoned tower not far from the city of Tokmak.

The majestic Burana tower and no less majestic mountains Alatoo

But it was the only true option, not to spend the night in the courtyards of the capital.

By two cars we got first to the city of Tokmak (Kyrgyzstan Tokmok), and from there, from the monument to the legendary historical figure Manap Biy, we were taken by a young “Kent” in a bright jacket to the turn to Burana.

And we overcame the last segment with a local Kyrgyz, who was very worried about our overnight stay today. When he found out that we were going to the Burana tower, he offered to ask for a house to the guard of the architectural and archaeological museum suddenly resolve. So we decided to do it.

At the entrance of the archaeological complex, we were met by two idols and, thank God, the gates were still open to the public. It is not difficult to notice the tower, because compared 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 has denoted the entire surrounding area.

Burana Tower(also called Burana minaret) - built in the X-XI centuries. and located among the ruins Buraninsky 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 – ancient capital the Karakhanid dynasty(“black khans”)

There was no need to look for a guard, he himself went out to meet the last visitors. The quiet Kyrgyz, after talking with us, allowed us to stay in his house. True, he said that we would have to sleep on the floor at the entrance. Don't worry, we're used to it.

Burana tower and its legend.

Then he handed us the key to the lattice 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 only 24 meters remained after the earthquake. There is, of course, another version, which is more a legend than the truth:

“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 the construction of a high tower, in which he placed his daughter all alone.

The 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 at 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, overwhelmed with grief, hit the tower so hard that the top fell off, leaving behind the ruins that we see now.”

Having climbed the stairs, we ended up at the very top, from where we could admire not only the sunset, but also the surroundings. From here we saw:

leftovers palace complex or temple that existed here until the tenth century;

ruins of two mausoleums;

a whole field with stone statues.

Therefore, immediately after the descent, we naturally went to inspect all the listed “finds”, which we studied in more detail in the morning.

Stone statues - "balbals".

Stone statues (balbals)- a type of monuments, common on the territory of Northern Kyrgyzstan in the habitats of nomads - the Turks. They are collected from the destroyed ancient Turkic burial grounds mainly from 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 primitively made sculptures. Now you understand why we inspected them in the morning, I 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 - women.

Monuments - epigraphs.

Represented by tombstones with inscriptions in Arabic. They were collected from Muslim cemeteries in the places closest to the Buraninsky settlement and date back to the 14th - first half of the 20th 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 stones laid out in several parallel rows. On the territory of Kyrgyzstan cave drawings can be found in the regions of Naryn, Issyk-Kul, Talas, Alay, and others. BC e. - XVI century.

stone tools

In addition to stone sculptures, I was surprised to meet here such stone “wheels” - millstones (X-XII centuries) found on the territory of the Buraninsky 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 history 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 had just boiled the kettle, treated us to something: tomatoes, cookies, apples. We also took out all the food that we found in the backpack. It's a pity that the Kirghiz was not talkative, they decided to go to bed so as not to sit in tense silence.

As I already said, in the morning we walked around the territory of the Buranovsky settlement again, and finally, at his request, we left 10 soms (7 rubles) for helping the guard and for the ticket. The last thing I wanted to see in Kyrgyzstan is. I understood that this big lake with all kinds hiking trails over the nearby mountains, for which we no longer have the strength or desire. But to be in Kyrgyzstan and not even look at Issyk-Kul is a crime, as many of the travelers would say. So we decided to stop there on the way home.

The Burana minaret is rightfully considered the cultural heritage of Kyrgyzstan. The Burana Tower is located among the ruins of an ancient settlement, a ten-minute drive from the city of Tokmak on the left bank of the Chu River.

This architectural monument is famous interesting history. Scientists believe that the medieval capital city of Balasagun, which belonged to the large and powerful Turkic feudal Karakhanid Empire (X-XII centuries), used to stand in this place. Being on the Silk Road, the city flourished and was considered one of the most glorious Central Asian cities. In the XIII century, the Mongols captured the city, and two centuries later it completely disappeared from the face of the earth. Only the tower of Burana, the ruins of a fortress and defensive structures remained from its former grandeur. During the excavations, the remains of water pipes, luxury items and other mute witnesses of the former grandeur of the capital city of the Karakhanids were discovered.

The Buraninsky minaret was built of burnt bricks, and on this moment is a part cultural heritage Kyrgyzstan. Initially, the tower rose above the ground to a height of 40 meters, but subsequently earthquakes destroyed the upper part, literally “cutting off” about 18 meters. But this does not prevent witnesses from “drawing up” the former minaret in their minds and touching antiquity through the ages. The Burana tower consists of a base, a plinth and a trunk. The foundation is made of a solution of clay with stone and looks like a quadrangular podium. Two faces are decorated with marble facing, others, apparently, adjoined the already destroyed buildings.

In the middle of the podium is an octahedral base five meters high. The edges of the plinth have arched niches with drawings and are framed by frames. The plinth serves as a support for a gradually tapering trunk, adorned with stunningly beautiful brickwork. From the south is the entrance to the minaret less than a meter wide. You can climb to the top of the tower by a spiral staircase with burnt brick steps with plank ceilings. Previously, during the ascent, one could see the street through the windows in the tower shaft.

Not without legends and legends. The Burana tower is shrouded in an aura of sadness and mystery. One of the legends tells about a khan who had a daughter worthy of all praise. Her beauty and intelligence won the love of the people, and, it would seem, happiness and a peaceful existence awaited the Khan's daughter. But the soothsayer prophesied her a terrible death from the bite of a black spider, which at that time were found in abundance in these parts. Fearing for the life of his daughter, the khan decided to build a tower that would save her from the predicted danger. The Khan's beauty lived at the very top, and each visitor was carefully checked. But you can't escape fate. On her daughter's birthday, when she turned 16, the khan himself brought a black spider in grape leaves. And the promised poisonous bite killed the young daughter. Mad with grief, the khan hit the wall of the tower with his fist and instantly demolished two dozen

The 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. Her appearance associated with Uzbek architecture. If you do not know what to see in Kyrgyzstan, be sure to visit this landmark and historical site.

Construction Legend

Regarding the appearance of the Burana Tower, there is a whole legend, one of the most popular and well-known among the myths and legends of Kyrgyzstan. One Kirghiz khan had a daughter, Munara (the name in translation means “tower, minaret”), whom he loved and protected very much. But one day, an astrologer predicted that the girl would live only to the age of sixteen and die from a spider bite.

Khan built a high tower, at the bottom of which he imprisoned an astrologer, and at the top, in complete solitude, 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 carefully 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 structures 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 faces of the podium are lined with marble blocks. Buildings adjoined the western and southern sides, so they do not have a front decoration.

In the center of the podium there is an octagonal plinth five meters high. On all its faces in the center there are arched niches with a relief filling of burnt bricks. The niches are decorated with frames made of rectangular ornamental frames.

A round and tapering trunk rests on the plinth, 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. A spiral staircase with steps made of burnt bricks and covered with juniper boards goes from it to the top of the minaret. It is quite narrow - it is difficult for one person to pass through it. Along the stairs there were light windows made right in the trunk. From the top of the tower there is a beautiful view of the ancient 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 nearby mountains. On the territory of the settlement there is a huge burial, decorated with unusual idols - stone sculptures of babals. These sculptures are made with careful study of facial features and headdress. There are also simple petroglyphs (rock paintings).

Tower restoration

Research of the tower has been carried out by Russian scientists since the middle of the 19th century. Under the Soviet regime, measures were taken to preserve architectural monument and archaeological study of the settlement. The 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 according to the preserved height of the tower, and the octagonal base was re-laid.

The Burana tower is part of the Buraninsky 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 Khaganate of the Karakhanids. 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 borders 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 crossroads 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", from where the name Buran came from.

The main purpose of the minaret was to call believers to prayer; this building was built of burnt bricks, similar to Arab lighthouses. The square foundation of the tower is deepened by 5 meters, the height of the octagonal base is 4 meters, and the trunk of a round section tapering towards the top rises by 18 meters. The upper part of the tower, presumably 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 reached by a spiral staircase.

Archaeologists believe that the Jami mosque (late 10th - early 11th centuries) was located on the western side of the Burana minaret. To the east of the tower are the ruins of three tomb mausoleums. According to the legend, the ruler of the city erected the tower of Burana 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 a significant amount of ransom presented to Genghis Khan. The Mongols noted the goodwill of the townspeople, calling the city Gobalyk, i.e. "kind, good" However, this did not bring the desired prosperity, according to archaeological finds, Balasagyn died out from the plague in the 14th century.