Silk Road - 28 May 2009 - Burana, Kyrgyzstan

An important stop was at Burana which flourished from between the tenth and twelfth century CE. The city was destroyed by Geghis Khan when he came through. There was a tower which had been seriously damaged during an earthquake. It originally had a cupola, which fell off the tower during the earthquake. We saw the remains of the city walls and then a field of Balbals. There were also some petroglyphs. There were two relatively large balbals, which had their swords in their right hands and a cup in the left hand. One still had earrings visible, which is a sign that the individual was nobility. The Mustache indicates that the individual was a warrior. In fact the balbals were erected over the graves of warriors. Sun Symbol at Burana
Burana Tower remains - it was damaged in an earthquake


Yurt used as souvenir shop



Me in front of Burana Tower
Remains of City Walls

Balbals over warriors graves
Balbal

Me in front of a Balbal - Note Mustache on Balbal
Balbal

Large Balbal - Note right hand on sword and left hand holding a cup.

We had lunch at a former mayor’s home. The food was typical of the area. We were served a drink made of wheat and barley which is mildly alcoholic.