Burana Tower & Balbal Stone Statues

We had a dreamy morning at the Karven Four Seasons Resort, enjoying a leisurely breakfast and heading down to the beach for a swim in the clear, warm waters of Issyk-Kul Lake. It felt like being on vacation, which we deserved after our long, arduous, albeit tremendously rewarding days of roughing it. We left at 11:30 and spent the next 7 hours making our way back to Bishkek, switching us back to travel mode. The journey was broken up with a lunch stop and a visit to Burana Tower, one of the oldest existing minarets in Central Asia. Dating back to the 12th century, it is located in the Karakhanid State. We climbed the dark, narrow steps inside the tower to get a bird’s eye view of the surrounding area, affording us the perspective of soldiers on vigil. Alongside the tower we also explored the collection of intriguing ‘Balbal’ stone statues- a series of curious nomadic tombstones steeped in tradition and superstition. A goodbye dinner back at Navat Restaurant brought the trip to a close and I will cherish all of the wonderful memories made in the last two weeks in Kyrgyzstan with these fine folks.Read more