Glossary
The encyclopedia of the tourist
N
Naryn. Naryn is the provincial administrative
center of the Naryn Oblasty in central Kyrgyzstan, with a population
of 40049 (1999). It is located at situated on both banks of the Naryn
River, one of the main head waters of the Syr Darya, which cuts a picturesque
gorge through the town. The city has a regional museum and a hotel,
but is otherwise residential.
The population of Naryn oblast is 98% Kyrgyz, discounting
the Russian army presence along the border. The economy of Naryn
oblast is dominated by animal herding (sheep, horses, yaks), with wool
and meat as the main products. Mining of various minerals developed during
the Soviet era has largely been abandoned as uneconomical. Today the
oblast is considered to be the poorest region in the country. It does, however,
boast beautiful mountains, alpine pastures and Son-Kul lake which during
summer months attracts large herds of sheep and horses with their herders
and their yurts.
From Naryn, the main road (one of the branches of the
ancient Silk Road) through the sparsely settled, central Kyrgyz highlands
leads to Torugart Pass and China. At present, this is the main transport
link from Kyrgyzstan to China.
Naryn hosts one of three campuses of the University of
Central Asia (UCA). The University was founded in 2000 by the governments
of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, and His Highness
the Aga Khan. It is the world’s first internationally chartered institution
of higher education. The UCA currently operates a School of Professional
and Continuing Education (SPCE), with a School of Undergraduate Studies
and a Graduate School of Development in the process of being established.Top
Naryn, river. Impetuous and violent, the largest
river in the country, the 600 km long Naryn, flows unrestrainedly down
the mountain canyons. It got it's name after the junction of the Big and
Small Naryn rivers, 44 km. from Naryn itself, at a place called Eki-Naryn,
at an altitude of 2250 m. Nature itself created the original green oasis
with luxuriant vegetation, which draws the tourist's attention like a magnet.
Top
Nusket, fort-hill (VI-XII centuries).
Archaeological studies show that Nuzket was a huge city. It consisted of a
citadel and shakhristan with a total area of 1 km². The citadel towered over
the rest of the fort-hill. It housed the ruler of the castle, the most important
government agencies, farm buildings to serve the family of the ruler and
those living with him. In shakhristan, the ringed citadel, there were estates
of the nobles and officials, cathedral Mosque and bazaars concentrated there.
The total area of the city was about 6000 acres, bringing together the current
number of villages and the northern part of Kara-Balta. The city was surrounded
by a long shaft having a shape of an irregular polyhedron of a perimeter
of over 12 km. Part of this shaft was destroyed during the construction of
reservoirs and sumps of sugar factory. There was the second shaft also, covering
an area of about 50 km². The shafts strengthened powerful towers, the entrance
was defended by a drawbridge. The town was laid out into streets, where buildings
of farmsteads used to rise, as well as irrigation canals, guiding flood waters.
Four construction horizon walls indicate that the city has been attempted
to be completed four times. Nuzket fort-hill was the center of culture. It
produced many household items, in particular, ceramic-ware made both manually
and on a potter's wheel. They were of high quality and exquisite ornamentation,
confirming that its maker is a master artist with great skills. Noteworthy
in this regard, are the objects found with lid handles in the form of birds,
animals, humans, etc. Nuzket by the virtue of its location, which converges
the caravan routes across the plains from the west and the north, and across
mountain passes to the south, from Osh direction, became one of the largest
medieval settlements in the Chui valley. Nuzket survived since VI to XII
century, before the Mongol invasion, after which only ruins and ashes were
left in the city, and around many tens of kilometers is a complete abandonment.
More than VI centuries, nomads avoided this place. There is every reason
to believe that Nuzket was the capital of the Karluk state of VIII - IX centuries.
Only with the formation of the Kokand Khanate in Khan Madal's power, a military
fortress of Shish-Debe was built. Top
