Ancient Monuments of Karakalpakstan

Contents

A painting of Ayaz qala 1 and 2.
From the frontispiece of "Ancient Khorezm", by Sergey Tolstov, Moscow, 1948.

In fact the richest district for finding qalas is just on the other side of the Amu Darya from Khiva - in the southern right-bank tumans or provinces of Biruniy, To'rtku'l, and Ellikqala. Ellikqala is particularly proud of its ancient heritage – its name means "fifty qalas" in Karakalpak. This tuman is the location of the "must-see" site of Ayaz qala, not one but actually three separate neighbouring sites located in a spectacular setting to the east of the Sultan Uvays Dag mountain range.

The early Amu Darya did not drain into the Aral Sea but into the Sarykamysh depression, located on the south-western border of Karakalpakstan. From there it flowed via the river Uzboy into the Caspian Sea. During the second millennium BC the Amu Darya changed direction, flowing to the east of the Sultan Uvays Dag and thence into the Aral Sea. This eastern channel is known as the Akcha Darya and it watered an oasis that became increasingly populated towards the end of the first millennium BC and into the first millennium AD. However by the end of the 9th century AD the Amu Darya had changed direction once again, still flowing into the Aral Sea but now via a north-westerly route. The Akcha Darya was left high and dry and its population forced to move. Consequently the monuments dating from that intervening period are now located in the desert well away from the modern centres of population.

There are also many other historical sites in the northern part of Karakalpakstan, although many of these date from a later period. Some are quite difficult to reach. The most well-known site close to No'kis is Mizdahkan and this can easily be reached from the city in less than an hour.

Just beyond Mizdahkan lie the ruins of Old Urgench, the former capital city of Khorezm for a period of over 600 years. Today it is on the Turkmenistan side of the border, which is difficult to cross as a day tripper even with the appropriate visas. However if you are planning a circular trip around Central Asia we recommend that you enter Turkmenistan by road from Karakalpakstan and visit Old Urgench before continuing on to Ashgabat, either directly by road across the Qara Qum or by taking a domestic flight from Dashoguz.

Recommended Itineries

The 4th to 3rd century BC hilltop refuge of Ayaz qala 1 on the right
and the fortified residence of a feudal lord on the left dating from the late 7th to early 8th century AD .

If you have more time available we strongly advise you to visit more of the sites in this region at a more relaxed pace, either on the way from Khiva to No'kis or vice versa, spending one or preferably two nights at the Ayaz qala Yurt Camp in between. This is a spectacular location to stay, offering the chance to walk up to Ayaz qala 1 before breakfast or to go and visit the nearby qalas at sunrise and sunset, the most magical time for viewing or photography. The Yurt Camp is run by a Karakalpak woman (although most of the yurts are Qazaq) who with the rest of her team takes every effort to make her guests comfortable and to feed and water them well. There is a separate toilet and hot shower facility, a plentiful supply of beer, wine, and vodka, and often local musicians and dancers to entertain. You can either eat outside in the starlight (taking care to apply mosquito repellent beforehand) or in the cosiness of your yurt. However to stay there you must make an advance booking through your local agent.

On the day of your arrival begin at Qızıl qala before moving on to Topraq qala and then drive to the Yurt Camp for lunch (this needs to be booked at the time of your reservation). In the afternoon walk up to explore Ayaz qala 1 and get good views of Ayaz qalas 2 and 3. Then take a drive to visit Big Qırq Qız qala and Qurgashin qala, timing your return for just before sunset.

The early medieval feudal fort of Ayaz qala 2 as seen from the edge of Ayaz qala 1.

On the second day your priority should be to visit the wonderfully remote site of Janbas qala, but this is best visited in the afternoon when the front of the site is no longer in shade. In the morning head for Gu'ldu'rsin qala, 18km south of Bostan, and then take a quick look at Angka qala, which is on the left hand side of the road as you drive north-west towards Janbas.

If you stay at the Yurt Camp for a second night you can leave after breakfast and head towards No'kis, visiting some of the monuments located along the Amu Darya on the way - the Sultan Bobo mausoleum and cemetery, Janpıq qala, southern Gyaur qala, and Shılpıq. Even if you leave the previous day after visiting Janbas qala you will still have time to see at least one of these sites along with Shılpıq, which is almost impossible to miss and very easy to visit. Out of all four sites Janpıq qala is by far the most interesting but unfortunately the least easy to get too.

The imposing citadel within the walled city of Janpıq qala.

Once you are in No'kis it is less than one hours drive to the huge necropolis of Mizdahkan and the adjacent site of the northern Gyaur qala fortress. The nicely located Karakalpak necropolis of Qırantaw is also easily accessible from No'kis in about an hour.

No'kis is also a good starting point for a visit to a number of important historical sites just across the border in Turkmenistan. Unfortunately in the madhouse world of modern Central Asia what was once a short and simple trip now requires a Turkmen visa and an encounter with bureaucratic Uzbek and Turkmen immigration and customs officials which, if you are unlucky, could take up a significant portion of your day. You also need to arrange separate transport on the Turkmen side of the border, making it almost impossible to cross and return on a day trip.

If you are visiting Karakalpakstan as part of a general tour of Central Asia and want to visit northern Turkmenistan we recommend that you plan a circular itinerary. Starting in Tashkent make your way to No’kis via Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva. From No'kis cross into Turkmenistan at the Xojeli - Kunya Urgench border checkpoint and arrange for your Turkmen driver to meet you at the border and to show you the local sites. Then continue to Ashgabat by plane from Dashoguz or by car across the empty Qara Qum. Try to plan to be in Ashgabat for the famous Sunday bazaar. Visit the archaeological site at Merv, crossing back into Uzbekistan at Turkmenabat and completing the circle back in Bukhara.

The one "must see" site on the Turkmen side of the border is the Kunya Urgench Archaeological Park, the remains of the Golden Horde city of Urgench, which was destroyed by Timur (Tamerlane) in 1388 along with the rest of Khorezm. Some of the buildings still standing may date from the 12th century, prior to the earlier successful siege of Gurganj by Chinggis Khan and his four sons.

There are many more archaeological sites on this side of the border. If you have time before your flight we also recommend a quick visit to Zamakhshah, which is not far from Dashoguz airport.

Useful Maps

Topraq qala on the 1:100,000 Soviet map, sheet number K41-074.

The sheet that covers the prime region north of Biruniy is K41-074, while K41-075 includes Janbas qala and Qoy Qırılg'an qala. Ayaz qala appears on the very bottom of K41-063.

The 1:200,000 series is more practical for driving around but sadly does not mark the majority of the qalas. The key sheet covering the region north of Biruniy is K41-19.

The region north of Biruniy covered by the 1:200,000 Soviet map K41-19.

The best relatively up-to-date road map of the Republic of Karakalpakstan is the much bigger scale 1:1,000,000 (10km per cm) map published by "Kartografiy" Uzgeodezkadastra in 2004 and available from booksellers in Tashkent for a few dollars. It was made in 2002-2003 but is not particularily good for the most important region to the north of Biruniy.

The "Kartografiy" Uzgeodezkadastra map of Karakalpakstan.

The more detailed 1:400,000 sister map, covering the neighbouring Khorezm Oblast or viloyati, also includes the To'rtku'l, Ellikqala, and Biruniy tuman of Karakalpakstan. This is the best up-to-date road map for this particular region. Even so it irritatingly does not mark any of the major archaeological sites in the region.

For those just wanting a rough idea of where they and the sites that they are visiting are then a map published by Professor Sergey Tolstov, the Director of the famous Khorezm Archaeological-Ethnographical Expedition may be sufficient. The map is in Russian and does not show any roads but it does indicate the relative position of the most important sites. Note that Shabbaz is the modern town of Biruniy. To download a better quality copy click here.

Map of the qalas in Russian from Tolstov's "Ancient Khorezm", 1948.

A more up-to-date map was published by Professor Vadim Yagodin and Associate Professor Alison Betts in a small UNESCO booklet titled "Ancient Khorezm" in 2006. It has now gone out of print but we still recommend that you purchase a copy if you can find one. Professor Betts has kindly given us permission to reproduce the map below. To download a better quality copy click here.

Map of the main archaeological sites in southern Karakalpakstan.
Reproduced with the kind permission of Associate Professor A. V. G. Betts, University of Sydney.

Although completely impractical for on-the-spot navigation, the best way to familiarize oneself with the location of the main qalas is to identify their position on Google Earth.

Google Earth Coordinates

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