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All Kyrgyzstan Burana Tower

Burana Tower

Lonely minaret stump of a destroyed city.

Kyrgyzstan

Added By
Tawsam
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The suspended entrance to the minaret (Commons Wikimedia)   http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category...
The suspended entrance to the minaret (Commons Wikimedia)   http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category...
View of the lonely minaret (Commons Wikimedia)   http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category...
The steep spiral staircase inside (Commons Wikimedia)   http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category...
Close-up of grave markers (9th-11th century)   Ruby Slippers / Atlas Obscura User
Stairwell inside the Burana tower   Ruby Slippers / Atlas Obscura User
Burana tower   Ruby Slippers / Atlas Obscura User
Kalpak Travel Burana Tower   Kalpak Travel
Burana, Kyrgyzstan   KalpakTravel / Atlas Obscura User
It wasn’t destroyed by the Mongols. it has their seal of approval. That has to count for something!   dumbBunny / Atlas Obscura User
  KalpakTravel / Atlas Obscura User
  dumbBunny / Atlas Obscura User
Long view of the Burana tower with grave markers   Ruby Slippers / Atlas Obscura User
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About

This 25 meter tower, located in the Chuy Valley, east of the Kyrgyz capital city Bishkek, is the last remains of the mosque of the medieval city of Balasagun.

Balasagun, established by the Karakhanids in the 9th century, has virtually disappeared. Only a few mausolea remains, some remnants of a fortification and this half minaret are still visible from Balasagun.

Numerous earthquakes have destroyed the rest of the city, with fragments reused for newer buildings. Earthquakes have also taken its toll on the minaret, and the top half toppled after a major earthquake in the 15th century. The fall reduced its height from 45 to 25 meters. In the 1970s, the minaret was renovated. Centuries of repeated earthquakes in one of the most seismically-active regions in the world had severely damaged the minaret, and it was in danger of collapse.

Strangely, the entrance to the minaret is not on ground level, but a couple of meters above via a metal staircase. Inside the minaret a steep spiral staircase runs to the top of a the final remaining structure of a lost city. A small museum, close to the minaret, holds minor finds excavated in the area.

Related Tags

Architectural Oddities Ruins Architecture

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Burana, Chuy Oblast, Kyrgyzstan

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Community Contributors

Added By

Tawsam

Edited By

hrnick, Kalpak Travel, KalpakTravel, dumbBunny...

  • hrnick
  • Kalpak Travel
  • KalpakTravel
  • dumbBunny
  • Ruby Slippers

Published

October 20, 2011

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Sources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burana_Tower
  • Lonely Planet Central Asia; 4th Edition; July 2007
Burana Tower
Kyrgyzstan
42.746398, 75.250415

Nearby Places

Great Emptiness Museum

Orto Say, Kyrgyzstan

miles away

Bishkek Circus

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

miles away

Frunze Museum

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan

Asia

Places 19
Stories 4

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Great Emptiness Museum

Orto Say, Kyrgyzstan

miles away

Bishkek Circus

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

miles away

Frunze Museum

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan

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Stories 4

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