This September morning began early as the night before I was determined to get up and go to see the Burana Tower. Knowing I have to leave the next day at 3am my concern was to get back in time for some sleep . After a good breakfast in the hotel I almost changed my mind. I was feeling a bit tired and lazy. Again, I had to push myself and just roll with it.
Two mashrutcas (local buses) later I got to the Vostok Artovokzal (East Bus Station) with the help of the information given by the hotel’s front desk. Besides the mashrutca’s numbers I asked them to write in Cyrillic letters all of the bus destinations as well. Once at the East Bus Station, bus # 353 goes to the city of Tokmok. It left me in a big intersection and the indicator I had seen before showed 10 km to the tower, even if my map said 12-13km. With the help of my compass on the cell phone I made sure which direction South was and began walking. I could have walked all of the 10-12 km but to do it back and forth would have been too much, so I knew I would have to improvise. Passing a driver that was just getting in his car from a shop I decided to ask if I am going in the right direction, and if any “mashrutca” goes that way. He shook his head as there was no bus that way and asked me to get in the car. His car was facing the direction of my walk so I kind of guessed before asking, that he might go at least a portion of the way towards the Burana Tower. I realized later that he went to some degree out of his way to take me to the tower’s gate. I offered some money for the trip, but as with a lot of these nice people, I had to leave the car money in hand. My good luck put me at the site early, before any other visitor. It was great to have the whole place to myself and to enjoy such a vast, peaceful and quiet site in the morning.
The entrance fee was just 50 Som (about $1). I first visited the museum of the site and found out later that a lot of the artifacts found here were moved to Russia during the communist regime. The yurt behind the museum served as a gift shop but prices were kind of high. I just got some nice postcards and admired the yurt’s interior.
The Cemetery of Balbals (Balabal is a stone warrior) was the main attraction for me as I had never seen such stones before. They are a 7th century tradition as people were making them back then in the honor of dead warriors. They were found in differed areas of Kyrgyzstan and moved here for posterity. Some of the petroglyphs here date back to the 8th century. I took a lot of pictures and loved having the site to myself. Such an immense site and just the nature to be heard! The soft breeze, insects and birds were all I could hear until buses of tourists came in later. Now I was glad that I got up early and got here before of all of them.
The Burana Tower was built in the 11th century, while there was a big city on the Great Silk Road. It was 45 meters high at the time and it was used as a watch tower, a landmark for traders and travelers, and as a place to call local people to pray. The city’s name was Balasagun and traders would sell their goods and spend the night here. Sometime during the 15th century an earthquake hit the place and shortened the tower by almost half. There are 24 meters left of it, reinforced and restored. The city of Balasagun had clay buildings and time has covered them up. The inhabitants left after the earthquake as they perceived the place as being damned by God.
The interior tower can be seen as well, with stairs to climb for an upper view too. The challenge is the very abrupt, narrow and dark staircase. If you are not the only one in the place make sure no one goes in the opposite direction while you climb or descend. Also the steps are four brick and mortar layers high, topped with one thick wood piece.
My piece of advice is an obvious one: go there early. Should I also mention that a travel agency asked for $200 to take me there from Bishkek with a driver and maybe a guide? Maybe as a group you can get the price down but my whole adventure came to less than $6 and I was back to my hotel by 4-5pm.
