Pozabljene trdnjave antičnega Khwarazm-a, Uzbekistan

Težko si dandanes predstavljaš, kako je nekaj stoletij nazaj izgledal blišč Khwarazmijske civilizacije v zahodnem Uzbekistanu. Kakšnih 1000 ostankov peščenih trdnjav je le še ostalo iz tistega časa in še te so polne skrivnosti in nepojasnjenih zgodb. Večinoma gre le za ruševine a na podlagi njih si lahko vsaj malo predstavljaš, kako je izgledal tedanji svet v delti znamenite reke Amu Darje. Med vožnjo iz Bukhare proti zahodu Uzbekistana smo prvih nekaj 100km skozi okno avta opazovali le kilometre brezoblične, dolgočasne puščave, o kateri nima smisla zgubljati besed. Občasno monotonost je prekinilo mogoče le kakšno prašno rudarsko mestece ali pa postojanka za lačne voznike. Ko smo zagledali pastirja z nekaj 100 glavo čredo koz, je bila to že super glavna atrakcija. Zadnji del poti pa so stvari že bolj zanimive. Prikažejo se prva polja, z njimi tradicionalne vasice, hkrati pa kilometre dolgi namakalni rokavi reke Amu Darja. Ostanki večine trdnjav so odmaknjeni od glavnih cestnih poti in zaradi tega težko dosegljive. Na srečo pa jih nekaj najdemo tudi blizu “civilizacije”, med drugim tudi najbolj znano Ayaz Kalo, veliko Kirkkiz Kalo in nekaj bližnjih. Do mogočne trdnjave Ayaz Kale smo prišli proti večeru, ko se je sonce že počasi odpravljalo na drugo stran zemljine poloble. Tik pod njo smo najprej srečali simpatičnega gospoda pastirja v poznih 70 letih, s katerim smo izmenjali nekaj besed, potem pa ga spustili, da je s svojo čredo koz počasi nadaljeval proti domu. Ayaz Kala ni le ena trdnjava temveč gre za sklop nekaj, med seboj nepovezanih kompleksov. Mi smo obiskali le glavnega, ki leži na najvišji vzpetini, s katere je res dober razgled na celotno pokrajino in trdnjavo nekaj sto metrov nižje. Tisto vandranje med mogočnimi peščenimi ruševinami je bilo res nekaj posebnega.

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It is hard to imagine today how the majestic Khwarazm civilization in western Uzbekistan looked like a few centuries ago. About 1000 remains of sand fortresses are left from that time and these are still full of secrets and unexplained stories. Most of them are just ruins, but based on them you can at least imagine what the world looked like in that time in the mighty delta of the famous river Amu Darya. While driving from Bukhara to the west of Uzbekistan, for the first few 100km we observed only kilometers of shapeless, dull desert landscape. Occasional there were some dusty mining towns or stops for hungry drivers. When we spotted a shepherd with a big herd of goats it was like we are seeing a fairytale. 🙂  The last part of the route, however, is already more interesting. First you spot kilometers long irrigation channels, then fields and small villages everywhere. The remains of most of the fortresses are away off the main roads and therefore difficult to reach. Fortunately, some of them are also found close to “civilization”, including the most famous Ayaz Kala, also Kirkkiz Kala and a few close ones. We reached the mighty fortress of Ayaz Kala at the end of the day, when the sun was already slowly setting off to the other side of the earth. Just below it, we first met a friendly local shepherd in his late 70s. We exchanged a few words with him and then let him proceed slowly towards his home. Ayaz Kala is not just one fortress but it is a set of several, unrelated complexes. We visited only the main one, which lies on the highest hill, from which there is a really good view of the whole landscape and the fortress a few hundred meters below. It was truly something special wondering round the remains and I would recommend this place to everyone who plans to travel to Uzbekistan.