Glossary
The encyclopedia of the tourist
U
Ur-Maral. In the mountains to the South
West of Talas, South of Leninpol, is the river Urmaral - and here are
some petroglyphs dating from the 7th to the 6th century BC. Top
Uyum-Tash. On the way to Sary-Chelek -
renowned as an ancient place of judgment. A person who had committed
lots of sins would try to pass through he would get stuck, squeezed
or crushed but a pure person would pass through unharmed. If someone
was suspected of lying or stealing, they were asked to visit this place
- and the fear this potential experience could inspire was sufficient
to lead to full confessions. Top
Uzgen, town, which is situated on the right bank
of the mountain river Kara-Darya (60 km away from Osh), was founded in the
8-9th centuries. The fourth city according to its size after Axiket, Kuba
and Osh it was a large trade centre on the outskirts of the state of Samanids.
From the second part of the 11th century till the beginning of the 13th
century this mighty fortress, Uzgen, was the capital of Ferghana apanage
of the Karakhanid State. In the 13th century it was destroyed by Genghis
Khan and only the Uzgen Tower (Minaret) and three mausoleums preserved. Nowadays
there are sites of ancient settlement; the ruins of the citadel and shakhristan
(inner city). Uzgen Minaret of the 10-12th centuries, built near the Muslim
mosque, still keeps some remains of its decoration.
Uzgen mausoleums of the 11-12th centuries, the Northern, Middle and Southern,
were built in the centre of the city not far from each other. In mausoleums
rulers of Karakhanids dynasty are buried. There is a supposition that in
the Middle one, which was built at the beginning of the 11th century, founder
of the Karakhanids dynasty Nasr Ibn Ali was buried. The latter one - Northern
mausoleum was built in 1152-1153 years, there is a remains of Hasan Ibn Husein
Ibn Ali in it. Name of a man that was buried in the third - Southern mausoleum
isn't known, but the carved terracotta keeps the date - 1187 year. Mausoleums
are decorated with the carved polished bricks with belts of aphorisms in
kufi writing on the portals.
The monuments of Uzgen are called encyclopedia of the Karakhanids culture,
because one can observe clearly progress stages of an architectural forms
as well as of the decorative art of the 11-12th centuries. Top
Uzun-Akmat. In the Uzun-Akmat
canyon there is a Forest reserve of 500 hectares, with a «hunting
farm», and several historical monuments. Top
