Barskoon ( ky, Барскоон; russian: Барскаун, Barskaun;
fa, ) is a settlement on the southern shore of Lake
Issyk Kul
Issyk-Kul (also Ysyk-Köl, ky, Ысык-Көл, lit=warm lake, translit=Ysyk-Köl, , zh, 伊塞克湖) is an endorheic lake (i.e., without outflow) in the Northern Tian Shan mountains in Eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is the seventh-deepest lake in th ...
in the
Issyk-Kul Region
Issyk-Kul Region ( ky, Ысык-Көл облусу, Ysyk-Köl oblusu; russian: Иссык-Кульская область, Issyk-Kulskaya oblast) is one of the regions of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Karakol. It is surrounded by Almaty Region, Kaz ...
of
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
. Its population was 9,040 in 2021.
It is on the A363 highway between
Bökönbaev to the west and
Kyzyl-Suu to the east.
Geography
Barskoon is a village located at the mouth of the Barskoon valley. The valley connects the southern shore of Lake-Issyk-Kul to the inland
Ala-Bel plateau, the upper
Naryn
Naryn ( ky, Нарын, translit=Naryn, Mongolian : Нарийн, Nariin, Traditional Mongolian ᠨᠠᠷᠢᠨ) is the regional administrative center of Naryn Region in central Kyrgyzstan. Its area is , and its estimated population was 41,17 ...
river valley, and further towards
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
and northwestern China.
History
![Kashgari_map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Kashgari_map.jpg)
Its prominent location made Barskoon an important trading post in the Middle Ages. A route of the ancient
Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
passed through here, passing over the
Bedel Pass
Bedel Pass (Kyrgyz: ; ) is a mountain pass in the Tian Shan Mountains range between Kyrgyzstan and China's Xinjiang. It has an elevation of .
The pass linked China to Barskon, a settlement on the southern shore of lake Issyk-kul.
History
Histor ...
into
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. There are ruins of an ancient
caravanserai
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...
in Barskoon, providing testament to the times when caravan routes dispersed from here
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
in the East and South. After the end of the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
and the gradual
decline of the Silk Road after the 1400s, the town began to lose prominence.
The modern town began as a Russian military post after the
Russian conquest of Central Asia
The partially successful Territorial evolution of Russia, conquest of Central Asia by the Russian Empire took place in the second half of the nineteenth century. The land that became Russian Turkestan and later Soviet Central Asia is now divide ...
. During the 1916 uprising of the Kyrgyz against colonial rule known today as
Urkun
The Central Asian revolt of 1916, also known as the Semirechye Revolt and as Urkun ( ky, Үркүн, lit=Exodus, translit=Ürkün, , ) in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, was an anti-Russian uprising by the indigenous inhabitants of Russian Turke ...
, large numbers of Kyrgyz attempted to flee through the Barskoon valley into China, and many perished at Bedel and
Seok Pass
Seok Pass, Söök Pass or Suyak Pass (russian: перевал Сёок, ky, Сөөк ашуусу) is a mountain pass in the Terskey Alatau mountain range of Kyrgyzstan. Its elevation of makes it the third highest mountain pass in Kyrgyzstan af ...
. The name of Seok Pass ("Bone Pass") stems from this incident.
After the establishment of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, the ancient trade road became important for frontier defense against China. The border crossing at Bedel Pass was closed, and a new road, present-day A364, was built over
Barskoon
Barskoon ( ky, Барскоон; russian: Барскаун, Barskaun; fa, ) is a settlement on the southern shore of Lake Issyk Kul in the Issyk-Kul Region of Kyrgyzstan. Its population was 9,040 in 2021. It is on the A363 highway between Bök ...
and Seok Pass towards
Kara-Say, then east towards
Ak-Shyyrak and
Engilchek.
In 1997, the
Kumtor Gold Mine
The Kumtor mine ( ky, Кумтөр, Kumtör) is one of the largest gold mines in Central Asia. The mine has been producing gold since 1997 and has produced over 13.8 million ounces of gold as of June 30, 2022. At 13,000 feet, the mine is the secon ...
was opened, and the road through the Barskoon valley became the main access road of the mine. In the spring of 1998, a lorry carrying cyanide used in the gold refining process was involved in an accident - leaving the road and crashing into a stream. The resulting pollution temporarily decimating the tourist industry around
Lake Issyk Kul as many tourists cancelled their planned holidays.
Population
Etymology
The name appears as variants in medieval sources. The first mentioning is in the 9th-century
Book of Roads and Kingdoms by 9th-century geographer
Ibn Khordadbeh
Abu'l-Qasim Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah ibn Khordadbeh ( ar, ابوالقاسم عبیدالله ابن خرداذبه; 820/825–913), commonly known as Ibn Khordadbeh (also spelled Ibn Khurradadhbih; ), was a high-ranking Persian bureaucrat and ...
. The etymology of the name is not clear. Popular folk etymologies link it to the
snow leopard
The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a Felidae, felid in the genus ''Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central Asia, Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red ...
, called ''ilbirs'' in
Kyrgyz and ''bars'' in many
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic languag ...
. Another etymology is brought forward by
C. E. Bosworth, who mentioned that it was "so named because in ancient times, one of the rulers of Persia had settled in Turkestan and become a ruler there. He was called Pārsi-khwān that is, one who is literate in Persian, and this became contracted to Barskhan."
Notable people
The 11th century scholar
Mahmud al-Kashgari
Mahmud ibn Husayn ibn Muhammed al-Kashgari, ''Maḥmūd ibnu 'l-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad al-Kāšġarī'', , tr, Kaşgarlı Mahmûd, ug, مەھمۇد قەشقىرى, ''Mehmud Qeshqiri'' / Мәһмуд Қәшқири uz, Mahmud Qashg'ariy / М ...
(also known as Barskhani) was a native of this area. His father Husayn was mayor of the village. Mahmud al-Kashgari is best known as the author of the
Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk
The ' ( ar, ديوان لغات الترك, lit=Compendium of the languages of the Turks) is the first comprehensive dictionary of Turkic languages, compiled in 1072–74 by the Turkic scholar Mahmud Kashgari who extensively studied the Turkic ...
, the first comparative dictionary of the
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic languag ...
, which he wrote whilst living in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
in 1072-4. His map of the then known world has Barskon at the centre of the world. His tomb is in
Upal
Upal ( zh, s=乌帕尔镇; ug, ئوپال) is a town in Shufu County in Western Xinjiang, China.
Karakoram Highway
Today Upal is on the Karakoram Highway, which follows the old Silk Road route from China to Pakistan. Travelling from China, it ...
, a small town in present-day
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
southwest of
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...
on the
Karakoram Highway
The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in ...
to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
Barskoon is also known as the birthplace of
Abu Mansur Sabuktigin. Born there in 942, he was later sold as a slave to
Alp-Tegin
, image = Pınarbaşı 5.JPG
, caption = Bust of Alp Tegin as one of the founders of the "16 Great Turkic Empires", part of the "Turkishness Monument" (''Türklük Anıtı'') in Pınarbaşı, Kayseri (opened 2000, 2012 ph ...
, the
commander-in-chief of the
Samanid
The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan origin. The empire was centred in Kho ...
rulers of
Bukhara
Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...
. Sabuktigin became one of the most prominent generals of 10th-century Central Asia, married Alptigin's daughter, and became the founder of the
Ghaznavid dynasty
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
, which ruled large parts of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and northwestern India until 1186.
Sights
Barskoon is a popular tourist destination and home to tourism companies, such as Shepherd's Way Trekking.
Barskoon Valley in Orexca.com
/ref> The Barskoon valley has an impressive Barskoon waterfall and is a good centre for trekking and horse riding. There are two interesting sights along the road - a Soviet lorry mounted on a plinth and a bust of Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...
, who holidayed on the South shore of Issyk Kul
Issyk-Kul (also Ysyk-Köl, ky, Ысык-Көл, lit=warm lake, translit=Ysyk-Köl, , zh, 伊塞克湖) is an endorheic lake (i.e., without outflow) in the Northern Tian Shan mountains in Eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is the seventh-deepest lake in th ...
after his historical first manned space flight.
West is the village of Tamga, which is famous for a rock ("Tamga-Tash") with a Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
inscription dating from the 3rd to 8th centuries, which the locals interpreted as a Tamga
A tamga or tamgha (from otk, 𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga, lit=stamp, seal; tr, damga; mn, tamga; ; ); an abstract Seal (emblem), seal or Seal (emblem), stamp used by Eurasian nomads and by cultures influenced by them. The tamga was normally the e ...
.
In the mountains to the south-east is a region known as syrt - an "alpine cold desert" located at average altitudes around . A364, one of the few good roads into the mountains in southern Issyk-Kul Region, goes south down the valley, over the Barskoon
Barskoon ( ky, Барскоон; russian: Барскаун, Barskaun; fa, ) is a settlement on the southern shore of Lake Issyk Kul in the Issyk-Kul Region of Kyrgyzstan. Its population was 9,040 in 2021. It is on the A363 highway between Bök ...
and Söök Passes to Kara-Say in the Naryn valley and then east to Ak-Shyrak. There is a border police post located at Kara-Say, and a border area permit is needed for onward travel. The through road beyond Ak-Shyrak to Engilchek is currently not passable as of 2017.
References
External links
A map of Kyrgyzstan showing the location of Barskon
{{Jeti-Ögüz places
Populated places in Issyk-Kul Region
Populated places along the Silk Road