Settlement Kulan, VI–XIII centuries

Kulan Settlement, 6th–13th Centuries

The first information about Kulan settlement appears in the travel records of Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang. Many medieval travelers left records about the city. Arab historians Ibn Khordadbeh and Qudama (9th century) state that Kulan settlement is located 14 farsakhs west of Taraz. Qudama wrote: "To the north of Taraz and Kulan lies sand, and a sandy and rocky desert stretches to the borders of the Kimaks." Al-Maqdisi (10th century) noted: "Kulan is a fortified city with a mosque, standing on the great Taraz road." Yaqut, the author of a 13th-century geographical dictionary, wrote: "Kulan is a beautiful city on the border of Turkic lands from the Mawarannahr side." The city's topography reveals a shahristan, an inner fortress, and traces of an unfortified rabad on the eastern side.

Status: Archaeological monument of national significance. In 2014, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the "Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor." Since 2017, it has been included in the list of regional sacred sites under the "Geography of Sacred Places of Kazakhstan" project of the "Rukhani Zhangyru" program.