Glossary
The encyclopedia of the tourist

T
Talas, region
Talgyy, pass
Tamga
Tamga-Tash
Tar, canyon
Tash-Aryk
Tash-Bulak
Tash-Kumyr
 Tash-Rabat
Tash-Tulga
Tegirmenty
Temir-Kanat
Temirovka
Teplokluchenka
Tian-Shan, mountains
Tokmok, town
Toktogul, town
Toktogul, reservoir
 Ton
Tortkul
Toru-Aigur
Torugart, pass
Tosor
Trym Pass
Turkestan Range
 Tuu-Ashuu
Tuuara-Suu
Tuura-Tash
Tuyuk
Tyup


Talas, region. Talas is a little known town in a valley of the same name. It is cut off from the rest of Kyrgyzstan by the mountain ranges and the «easiest» route is via Kazakhstan — involving the need for a transit visa. It is, however, possible to reach the valley by following the Tuu Ashuu pass and then turning north off the main Bishkek - Osh road after skirting the Suusamyr Plain.
This is known as the Land of Manas, reputedly it is the birthplace of the legendary hero, and has his mausoleum a few kilometres outside the city itself. In the grounds of the mausoleum is a museum dedicated to the story of the epic and it is overshadowed by a mound which was used as a lookout post by the sentinels whose duty it was to protect the valley. Archaeologists have made some interesting discoveries here and it appears that the mound may well be man-made - which, if true, is no mean feat.
This area marked the greatest extent of the Chinese empire - as in 751 the Chinese army was defeated by an Arab, Kyrgyz and Tibetan combined force at the Battle of Talas. For some time, China had been under the Tang dynasty - and they had succeeded in recovering lands that had been previously lost and stabilized the position on the Tibetan border. In the 740’s they gained control over Kabul and Kashmir. As they moved north and west, their forces under the Kao Hsien-chih (who led the army to victory in Gilgit and the Ferghana) they encountered the combined army and were defeated in the only battle between Arab and Chinese forces. The battle actually took place on the banks of the river Talas nearer the city of Taraz (Djambul) in Kazakhstan. It was more than just a military defeat for the Chinese, however, because amongst the prisoners rounded up after the battle were many experts in the manufacture of paper and silk - two closely guarded secrets by the Chinese - and their secrets soon found their way Westward to Europe. The Arabs were also well placed to extend the influence of Islam throughout Central Asia - and along the Silk Road, even if they didn't pursue the Chinese back into China.
The area has been settled since about the 9th century, but when the Russians seized the settlement in 1864, it was little than a village. The modern town was founded in 1877, as the village of Dmitrovskoye. At first there were about 100 houses built the settlers, who were mainly engaged in agriculture. The most significant building was a church built of brick in the 1920's.
There is a picturesque wooded park in the centre of the town, on the banks of the river and a large main square.
In the neighbourhood are some good examples of rock drawings and petroglyphs.
To the South of the City is the spectacular Besh Tash (Five Stones) Valley - just one of many valleys awaiting the more adventurous traveller.
The region also boasts the birthplace of the best known modern Kyrgyz author - Chinghiz Aitmatov - in Sheker, a small village near the Uzbek border.
There is a hotel in Talas, some guesthouses in Talas and Sheker, and yurts are available sometimes in the summer months. At least one local firm offer services for travellers.   Top

Talgyy, pass. Between Torugart and Irkesthtam, this mountain pass (3668 m.) once served as one of the main routes from China. Now the road from Osh stops short of the border at the village of Kek-Art.Top

Tamga. Barskoon and Tamga are twin Kyrgyz and Russian villages at the mouth of the Barskoon valley - which has an impressive waterfall and is a good centre for trekking and horse riding. The beach of red sand at the foot of the steep cove is one of the few on the Southern shore.
There is an old Soviet military sanatoria here, where Yuri Gagarin stayed after his historic first manned space flight. There is also a well appointed guest house, run by a local tourist company which can arrange tour services for those interested in exploring the Barskoon valley, and another similar guesthouse. Top

Tamga-Tash, (letter stone). is a stone inscribed with ancient Tibetan runes in the Tamga gorge a few kilometers above the village. The rock is high above the water - quite difficult to find - and nobody knows how or why the inscription (some of which has worn away) comes to be here. Apparently it is an ancient mantra - still chanted by Buddhist monks today.
In the mountains 20 km to the east of the village is the Djuuku Canyon with warm mineral water springs.Top

Tar, canyon. The river Tar is a tributary of the Kara-Darya river which flows from the East to the South of Uzgen and then down into the Ferghana Valley. Canyons rich with a variety of fauna and flora including shrubs and pistachio trees, two lakes, petroglyphs, a cave 910 m long and many springs of mineral water.Top

Tash-Aryk. A few kilometers to the East of the town of Talas. Tash-Aryk is notable for the fact that it is home to the Manas Gumbez, (mausoleum). The mausoleum has been dated to about 1334, although it appears to have undergone at least two reconstructions. Made of bricks, held in place by clay, it measures a mere 5 meters square, and has a domed roof. The walls display a number of typical Islamic patterns. There are some inscriptions - but not all are readable. It is said that archaeologists discovered the corpse of a tall man inside.
In the grounds of the mausoleum is a museum dedicated to the story of the epic.
It is overshadowed by a mound which was used as a lookout post by the sentinels whose duty it was to protect the valley. Archaeologists have made some interesting discoveries here and it appears that the mound may well be man-made - which, if true, is no mean feat. There is also a large open field which is sometimes used as a hippodrome.Top

Tash-Bulak. Tash Bulak («Stone Spring») is a village sitting astride the Sokoluk river which flows through alpine meadows and woodland with many varieties of wildlife. The village is still known to many locals by it's Soviet name Belagorka, and it was the site of a very successful collective farm. Nowadays the village is not as prosperous but is still quite attractive with decorated houses. It can serve as the starting point for several walks. Nearby is the Pigeon»s waterfall - not to be confused by it's more famous namesake in the Alamedin valley - which plummets over the steep cliffs. There is a trail over the mountains to the Kochkor - Suusamyr road which used to be used to drive sheep over the mountains, but it hasn»t been used in recent years and is generally impassable now.
There is a route between the Sokuluk gorge and Ala-Archa over the Ozernyi pass (3900m).Top

Tash-Kumyr. A coal mining town which stretches for several kilometers on the side of the Naryn River below the Toktogul reservoir which serves as a starting point for trips into the Sary-Chelek reserve. The Bishkek - Osh road between the reservoir and Tash-Kumyr passes through a spectacular gorge.
Nearby is Kara-Suu where archaeologists have discovered the remains of a Stone Age settlement.Top

Tash-Rabat. Tash-Rabat, one of the rarest monuments of the ancient Asian architecture, is located in the picturesque Kara-Koyun Canyon. We know, according to the results of the archeological and architectural researches of the recent years, that Tash-Rabat was set up in the 10th century of our era. Perhaps, it was the Monastery of Christians-Nestorians (or Buddhists) even before the Mongols invasion and Islam extension. The fortress served, as a caravanserai (hotel) on the ancient caravan path from Semirechye to Kashgar during the Silk Way development. Tash-Rabat is nicely fitted in the surrounding landscape. It presents a rectangle of the 35.7x33.7m by sizes with several cupolas. The structure includes a big central hall (the plaster elements from “gancha”, i.e. the burnt clay, and paint signs have been preserved in its interior) and 31 rooms, located around the hall, crowned with 20 cupolas and 11 arches. Numerous underground passages are there in the fortress; there are secret exits and underground prisons (zindans). They were used, as shelters for refugees and hermits, as places to study religion and shelters for the trade caravans during centuries. Nobody knows: who has built Tash-Rabat. The construction remains to be a riddle. The history states, that it was Mukhammed Khan, the local Ruler.Top

Tash-Tulga. On the southern shore of Lake Son-Kul - ancient stone circles which arte supposed to have associations with the legendary hero Manas.Top

Tegirmenty: A village at the head of the Chon-Kemin valley - thereare some ancient barrows (burial mounds) nearby. Top

Temir-Kanat. A village at the Eastern end of the Kongur-Olun valley - which runs parallel to the main road, the other side of the mountain range between the Western end of the lake and Bokonbaevo, on the Southern Shore. There is a yurt camp here.Top

Temirovka: A village to the East of Chopon-Ata, with a number of ancient barrows (burial mounds). Top

Teplokluchenka. (Warm Springs). A village, 12 kilometers to the East of Karakol, at the foot of the Ak-Suu and Altyn-Arashan valleys.Top

Tian-Shan. The Tian-Shan also commonly spelled Tien-Shan, and known as Tangri-Tagh ("celestial mountains" or "mountains of the spirits") in the Uyghur language, is a mountain range located in Central Asia. The now widely-used name Tian-Shan is a Chinese translation of the original Uyghur name. The range lies to the north and west of the Taklamakan Desert in the border region of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China. In the south it links up with the Pamir. It also extends into the Chinese province of Xinjiang and into the northern areas of Pakistan and some parts of Jammu and Kashmir where it meets with Hindu Kush.
The Tian Shan are a part of the Himalayan orogenic belt which was formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates in the Cenozoic era. They are one of the longest mountain ranges in Central Asia, stretching some 2,800 km eastward from Tashkent in Uzbekistan.
The highest peak in the Tian-Shan is Jengish Chokusu which, at 7,439 m or 24,406 ft, is also the highest point in Kyrgyzstan and is on the border with China. The Tian Shan's second highest peak, Khan-Tengri (Lord of the Spirits), at 7,010 m, straddles the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border. Mountaineers class these as the two most northerly peaks over 7,000 m in the world.
The Torugart Pass, 3,752 m or 12,310 ft high, is located at the border between Kyrgyzstan and China's Xinjiang province. The forested Alatau ranges, which are at a lower altitude in the northern part of the Tian-Shan, are inhabited by pastoral tribes speaking Turkic languages. The major rivers rising in the Tian-Shan are the Syr-Darya, the Ili river and the Tarim River. The Aksu Canyon is a notable feature in the northwestern Tian-Shan.
One of the first Europeans to visit and the first to describe the Tian-Shan in detail was the Russian explorer Peter Semenov in the 1850s.Top

Tokmok. Is a small town about 60 kilometers east of the capital, Bishkek. The name means «hammer» in Kyrgyz. It is the commercial center of the Chui valley.
Tokmok was the site of one of the forts established by the Khokand khanate to protect trade routes and was the regional centre for the local administration when the Russians arrived. In 1878, a series of floods occurred and the milary engineers persuaded the bureaucrats to move the administrative centre to nearby Pishpek (Bishkek).
A couple of kilometers short of Tokmak, to the right of the main road, are the remains of another large ancient city - Ak-Beshim - and here, too, archaeologists have unearthed a Buddhist temple and a Nestorian church. Ak Beshim is mentioned in medieval texts as a large flourishing city and it served at one time as the capital of the Western Turkic State.
To the south, some 15 kilometers, lies the Burana Tower.
However, Tokmok played the role of fort and a large trading centre.
After the Russian forces took over the fort in 1860, people started coming here - Russians, Settled Kyrgyz and Uzbeks started building houses. Later the Dungans and Uygurs joined them.
Tokmok became a prosperous city during Soviet times, but shared the fate of all small towns after the collapse of the Union. Top

Toktogul. A small town located on the Northern shore of the Toktogul reservoir - named for it's famous son - the akyn Toktogul Satylganov (1884-1933).Top

Toktogul, reservoir. The reservoir was created in 1976 - after 14 years construction work on the Toktogul Dam was completed - when the Ketmentub valley was flooded. Some 26 communities were displaced and relocated along the main road which was forced to swing round the Eastern end of the rervoir when the valley was flooded, and archaeologists completed several excavations of barrows dating from the 8th and 9th centuries.Top

Ton. A village on the shore of the lake, near to Bokonbaevo. Nearby are radon mineral water springs - Ton is the home of Bar Bulak mineral water. The site of a medieval town - dating from between the 6th and 12th centuries.Top

Tortkul. Some 1.5 km to the East of the reservoir there is a burial site dating from between the 1st-5th centuries. Top

Toru-Aigur. Toru Aigur is a village about 20 kilometers East of Balykchi. Near the village, archaeologists have discovered the remains of an ancient settlement where petroglyps and stone statues were discovered. Near the lakeside a potter’s workshop has been unearthed and from time to time ceramics, coins and other artifacts are found washed up after storms.
The road into the mountains leads to the canyons of Kalmak-Suu, Taldy-Bulak, Dure-Suu, Kabyrga and Toru-Aigur.Top

The Torugart pass is a pass in the Tian-Shan mountain range in Central Asia at the elevation of 3,752 m (12,310 ft). lake Chatyr-Kul lies in the vicinity of the pass.
The pass is the main border crossing between the People's Republic of China (Xinjiang province) and Kyrgyzstan. The nearest large Chinese city is Kashgar, the nearest Kyrgyz city is Naryn. The road on the Kyrgyz side, from Torugart to Naryn and then to Balykchi and Bishkek, is narrow and in winter often impassable due to heavy snow and frequent avalanches, so that transport and trade between Kyrgyzstan and China are difficult and costly. The People's Republic of China is now considering to build a railway linking Kyrgyzstan to Kashgar.

Tosor. Tosor is a village, a short distance to the West of Tamga on the Southern shore of the lake. It marks the site of an ancient settlement - said to date from 50,000 (!). Above the village is the Tosor Canyon.Top

Trym pass. a remote mountain pass in the Parmir Alai.Top

Turkestan range. Glaciers, spectacular scenery eroded by wind and ice and tremendous temperature changes created peaks such as Asan (4200 m) and Iskander (5120 m) that look like a row of sharks teeth, surrounded by lush pastures, with a wide range of fauna and flora.Top

Tuu-Ashuu. The Tuu-Ashu Canyon is best known because the pass (actually Ashu means «pass» in Kyrgyz) at the top is the highest point on the Bishkek - Osh road at 3586 m - and the gorge from the town of Kara-Balta is well worth the journey in itself with steep walls and spectacular views. At the top, the old road can be seen climbing over the very summit of the pass, but there is now a tunnel burrowing through the mountain, (apparently built by the same construction team responsible for the Leningrad and Moscow metros) . Emerging out of the tunnel on the other side of the pass is a splendidvista of the Suusamir plain.Top

Tuuara-Suu. A little to the south of Bokonbaevî - there are barrows (burial mounds) dating from the 6th to the 5th centuries BC.Top

Tuura-Tash: At the southern end of the village of Bujum lie a burial site which date from between the 2nd century BC and the 3rd century AD.Top

Tuyuk.
1. Between the Issyk-Ata and Kegety gorges are tucked away two small gorges - Tuyuk and Kok-Moinok, connected by the Kok-Moinok pass (2911m). Nestled under the «Sugar Head» peak sits lies the Kok-Moinok lake.
2. Twelve kilometers into the Shamsy valley is the junction of the Shamsy and Tuyuk rivers. (Not to be confused with the Tuyuk river of Kok.Top

Tyup. A town at the extreme eastern end of lake Issyk-Kul.
This was the site of a crushing defeat in the Kyrgyz uprising in 1919.
To the West, on the peninsular jutting out into the lake archaeologists have found the site of the ancient settlement of Chigu, dating to the 2nd century.
Nearby is the 19th century Balbay Gumbez (mausoleum). Top

Kyrgyzstan travel