The mud walls
Over the plain.
Yakov Fedorov — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Man77 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Man77 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · t_y_l — CC BY-SA 2.0 · t_y_l — CC BY-SA 2.0 · t_y_l — CC BY-SA 2.0 · t_y_l — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Man77 — CC BY-SA 3.0
The ruins of an old Silk Road city about 43 km northwest of Turkistan, near the Syr Darya. The Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi described it in the 10th century as «a large city surrounded by seven walls, with the mosque in the inner city». Its massive mud walls still stand in long stretches, rising like rock outcrops over the plain, and excavations inside have uncovered the foundations of houses, a madrasa, squares and brick buildings, linked by a wooden boardwalk between the gates. Sauran was known for brick and tile, and it supplied the bricks and tiles for the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi when Timur ordered it in 1389. In the 15th century it had diplomatic ties with Ming China, and the poet Zayn al-Din Vasifi, who visited in 1514-1515, described its underground karez water channels. The city declined with the Silk Road and the region's power struggles. The site has no shade, so go in the morning with water, and ask at the entrance about any fee.
Over the plain.
Between the gates.
And foundations.
About 43 km northwest of Turkistan, near the Syr Darya
It supplied the bricks and tiles for Yasawi's mausoleum when Timur ordered it in 1389; it lies about 43 km northwest of Turkistan.