Climb the minaret
Inside stair.
Kalpak Travel — CC BY 2.0 · Bala Biott — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Adam Harangozó — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC0 · Adam Harangozó — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zossolino — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zossolino — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dan Lundberg — CC BY-SA 2.0
A large 11th-century minaret in the Chüy Valley, about 80 km east of Bishkek near the town of Tokmok, and one of the oldest buildings in Central Asia. Together with the remains of a castle, three mausoleums and grave markers, it is all that is left of Balasagun, a city founded by the Karakhanids at the end of the 9th century. The minaret was originally 45 m tall, but earthquakes battered it over the centuries, and one in the 15th century brought down its upper half, leaving 25 m. Its foundations and west face were restored in the 1970s, and visitors climb an outside staircase and then a narrow winding stair inside. Around it in the field stand dozens of balbals, carved stone grave markers with human faces raised by the ancient Turks, gathered from across the region, and a small museum shows finds from the site. A folk tale says a khan built the tower to shield his daughter from a prophecy that she would die of a spider bite. Entry is about 170 som, per visitor guides, and it is usually combined with a trip to Lake Issyk-Kul.
Inside stair.
Carved stones.
Behind the tower.
Chüy Valley near Tokmok, about 80 km east of Bishkek
Yes, by an outside staircase and a narrow winding stair inside; entry is about 170 som, per visitor guides.