The Kul Tigin stele
Old Turkic and Chinese script.
Chongkian — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Vezirtonyukuk — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Betta27 — Public domain · Betta27 — Public domain · Vezirtonyukuk — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Khoshoo Tsaidam Museum, also known as the Gokturk Museum, holds the famous Orkhon inscriptions in the Orkhon Valley of central Mongolia, near Ogii Lake. It is an important stop for anyone interested in the history of the Turkic peoples, as it contains the oldest surviving texts in a Turkic language. The place is simple but its value is great. These steles were raised in the early 8th century to honour Prince Kul Tigin and his brother Bilge Qaghan, and they are written in Old Turkic and Middle Chinese. They tell of the origins of the Turks and their golden age. An expedition led by Nikolai Yadrintsev found them in 1889, and the Danish scholar Vilhelm Thomsen deciphered the Old Turkic alphabet in 1893, a breakthrough in the study of their history. You enter a closed hall to see the two great steles, with grey stone and characters carefully cut into the sides, some parts worn or broken. Around them are finds from the site, including statues and architectural pieces. Outside, the broad steppe holds remains of an old memorial complex, and you can imagine the steles standing in the open. It lies about 40 km in a straight line north of Kharkhorin and can be combined with Ogii Lake. A private car is the best way to get there. Photography inside the hall may be restricted, so ask. Copies of the steles stand in other museums, but these are the originals, kept at their own site.
Old Turkic and Chinese script.
The text of his elder brother.
Broad steppe around the museum.
Orkhon Valley, near Ogii Lake, Arkhangai Province, Mongolia
They are the oldest surviving texts in a Turkic language, and deciphering them in 1893 opened up the study of Turkic history.
Yes. It is about 40 km in a straight line and suits a day trip by private car.