THE GREAT SILK ROAD
This road has three branches:
1.Vakhan branch: ”Kuhilal–Vrang–Ishkashim – Langar – the
valley of the river Vakhandarya(Afganistan)– Tashkurgan(China)”
2.Shugnan branch: ”Barpanja – Khorog – Murgab – Toshkurgan.”
3.Karategin-Pamir branch: ”Darband – Tavildara – Kalaikhumb
– Kalayrokharv –( Vanch) – Yazgulom – Kalay Vomar(Rushon)
– Barpanja.”
Pamir, Badakhshan, occupies almost the half of the territory
of modern Tajikistan – it is 63.7 thousand sq. kilometers.
Pamir is surrounded in all sides by the chain of permanent
highest mountains and is considered to be one of the highest
mountain system of the world with the altitude of 7495 ms
above sea level.
The Badakhshan villages are staying along the valley of the
river, consisting of separate farms with a big patriarchic
families. Traditional way of life worked out for many centuries,
based on irrigational agriculture, and cattle-farming in a
high alpine areas with life in yurts let the mountain people
to be adapted for staying in the altitude of 1800-4000 ms
above sea level. They worked out an original type of high
mountain living house, consisting of the unique living and
farming buildings with a big five-columned h all(up to 100sq.ms),roofed
with staged wooden ceiling “chorkhona” and the light-smoke
hole “rausan”. This type of living houses were taken to Central
Asia by the indo-arian tribes and has analogies in the ancient
architecture of the vast region from Mediterranean up to China.
In Karategin-Pamir branch in the center of the of the existing
principalities there were some small castles: Kalai-khumb,
Kalay Rokharv(Vanch),Kalay Vomar (Rushon)- Kalay Barpanja(Shugnon),Kalay
Pyanj(Vakhan).A group of monuments concerning the trade in
Great Silk Road are situated in the main Vakhan road. In 47
kms from Khorog, on the top of the village Kuhilal, the same
named mountain with the resource of precious stone of rich
spinel,famous under the name of “Lali Badakhshon” is situated.
In 982 y Khudud-al-Alam, in XIII cc. the books of “Mineralogy”
of Biruni and the travel reports of Marco Polo say, that “Local
people digging out precious stones in the mountain of “Shigkhnan”
(Shugnan),under the order of Russian Tzar. About 500 ancient
mines were found in the mountain of Kuhilal from VIII-XI cc.
In 100 kms from Khorog and in 1.5 kms from the center of Ishkoshim,in
VI-XII cc.. on the bank of the river Pyanj there was functioning
a well strengthened pier-ford-caravansarai Dorkisht, from
here the road led to Faizabad (Afgan Badakhshan).In 13 kms
from Ishkashim in the village of Namadguti Poen,one of the
ancient castles of Western Pamir – “Qahkahqala”(from III c.B.C.
– to VII c.A.D.) was situated. It is staying in the middle
of the valley on the high rock with the length of 675 ms and
200 ms the width. It’s huge stone and mud brick double walls
have 56 round and square towers, some palace buildings are
situated in the western corner of the citadel. A small bridge
combined the main citadel with it’s part, built attaching
the river, and also fortified with towers. According to Steblin-Kaminsky,
the origin of the name of the village “Namadgut” is coming
from sanscrith ,“Namadgata-holy place”. The preislamic holy
shrine of ismailit’s - the cemetery of SHOHI MARDON HKAZRATI
ALI is located in this village.
Y A M C H U N
The other temple is called by the local people “Zamri Otashparast”(The
castle of fire worshippers) and it is situated on the top
of the village Yamchun,75 kms from Qahkahqala, it’s length
is 900 ms and the width is 400 ms. This castle is located
in a impassable part of the stony slope, rounded with two
deep canyons of the river. The majestic castle has three round
of double walls with 40 towers and the impressive citadel
in the highest part of it.
The famous Orientals A. Stein called these two castles “the
mountain version of finest central Asian fortification models”.
Besides the trade caravans and military detachments the Great
Silk Road was the road of missioners and pilgrims and it was
possible to call it the “road of ideologies” Archeological
investigations show, that, Badakhshanians were multireligious
people, they worshipped to fire, sun, to ancestors and to
Buddha.(the last was badakhshan type of Buddhizm).On the village
of the Vrang, the Buddhian Temple encemble(IV-VII cc.),consisting
of three staged building raising in the courtyard, rounded
with high walls and towers was built on the foothill of the
mountain cliff. The Chinese traveler Syuan Tzyan in VII cc.
visited this area, and wrote about buddhist temples and translated
the Pamiri writing in the temple as “Narayana Win it!”.
Among the villages of Vakhan the popular one is Yamg, where
the local religious scientist, a poet, traveler Suffii Muborakkadam
lived(died in 1910). Iin a wide pasture, nearby to his house
there is a vertical stone with a hole in the middle of it,
with a help of which Sufii Muborakkadam defined the celebration
days of the calendar. In the house of one of the old Badakhshani
man Gulomiobaeva Atitana
(115 years old!) the original painting with the image of human,
animals, plants
and calligraphy made on the ceiling were preserved. Yamg village
is also popular for it’s musical instruments, the finest of
them is the popular multistringed “Balandmuqom” personally
made by Sufii Muborakkadam.
Our route ends in the last village of Vakhan – Langar, on
the top of it on the granite slopes the rock paintings with
the images of mountain goats, caravans, horse riders with
flags and with ismailith five symbols were discovered. The
big amount of historical and cultural monuments in Vakhan
branch of Great Silk Road allowed to the archeologist A.Zelinsky
to call this area “The Great Pamir Road”. As for the scientist
A.Stein, he characterized this road as: ”The Main Road connecting
the Western Asia with classic world, consequently
with far Central Asia and far East.
Shugnon Branch: It starts from the village of Barpanja, former
capital of Shugnon, which was connected with the other bank
of the river Pyanj through the ford, where the biggest Porshnew
village is situated. This village is popular for it’s holy
spring called “Pir Shonosir Chashma”, which comes from the
tajik poet, philosopher, and the religious teacher Nosiri
Khisrav, who came to Shugnon in the middle of XI cc., where
headed the Ismailith society and ended his life in the Yumgon
village of Afgan Badakhshan. Traditionally the village of
Porshnew was populated by Ismailith Peers,.(Authourities),who
came here from Iran. In the settlement of Saroi Bahor, they
organized the dispute of the poets, philosophers and the noble
men. And here is the place of the tomb – mazor (cupola) of
Piri Saidfarukhsho. This is not so big a square building,
covered with staged wooden ceiling “Chorkhona”, which has
a beautiful calligraphic imprints with the image of mithological
birds and plants, made by the local painter Shozodamamad.
In Porshnev in the present time the jeweler workshop is functioning,
where from the precious stones they produce souvenirs and
decorations.
In 12 kms from Porshnew, in both banks of the river Gunt
and in it’s confluence with Pyanj river, on the height of
2100 ms above sea level there is famous a Pamir Botanic Garden
with it’s unique flora, taken from the different parts of
the planet.
From Khorog the road goes into two, running in Eastern Pamir
area: one in the valley of the river Gunt, the other of the
river Shokhdara. We proceed our road
along the river Gunt to inland Pamir by the modern asphalt
road(as for the standards of the Soviet Union)”Khorog-Osh”.
In 30kms from Khorog on a high sloppy rock, well-seen in the
valley, in the village of Bogev, there is a well-excavated
castle “Kofir-Kala”, consisting of citadel, with the remains
of two round temples with radius of 11 and 9 ms. Both temples
had stone niches around the wall, stone monument in the middle.
The temples were roofed by staged wooden ceilings with holes
for the light. In combination with castle walls and the towers,
the temples were publicly used main center for worshipping
of the sun. The tradition of making round planned erections
with the solar symbols, was characteristic for sacs tombs
of Eastern Pamir. Often, these round kurgans were surrounded
by 1-2 walls. The diameter of some of them is about 60-63
ms. This kind of round erections connected with sun worshipping
is typical for architectural history of iranic people. For
example in the book of “Avesto” king Yima (Jamshed” built
round erection with three concentric fencing for saving of
all living being from the world catastrophe. After the village
Jelondy with it’s some thermal springs for water treatment,
the Koy-tezek pass(4271 ms) will start, leading to Eastern
Pamir plateau, to the sources of Gunt river, coming from picturesque
lake Yashilkul.
EASTERN PAMIR (“Tsunlin as for Chinese sources and “Imau”
in the map of Ptolemey),sharply differs from the civilized
Western Pamir. This is the vast stony plateo with the very
few plants on the height of 3400-3500 ms, occupying more than
30.000 sq.kms(bigger than Belgium). Plateau is in the shape
of not deep plate at the edges of which is surrounded by the
mountain ranges with the height of 1000-1500 ms above it’s
surface. The slowly running rivers of Murgab, Alichur, Pamir,
Muzcol, make many lakes, locating in extremely high altitudes:
Turumtaykul(4216),Zorkul(4126),Karakul(3914).
The famous traveler Marco Polo was true in describing this
region: ”On traveling twelve days in the land called Pamir,
where one cannot find neither a living shelter, nor a plant,
and one should take food by himself. No birds here, because
of height and cold. Because of great cold, the fire will flash
unnatural and it is impossible to cook.”
Probably, one of the finest points of this region is – the
lake Sarez, situated in it’s central part. Being a moraine
type of the lake it was appeared after the earthquake of 18
February of 1911.The frequency of surface vibration was 8-9
balls according to Richter scale, and it resulted a gigantic
avalanche with the volume of 2 billion cube.kms burring the
village Usoi and closing the river. According to it’s size
the Usoi avalanche is one of the biggest in the world. It’s
height is about 600-700 ms, width 4 kms and the length is
4.5 kms. The absolutely mark of the water level is 3265 ms,
the square of the lake mirror is 80sq.kms,the length of the
bank line is 162 kms, the length of the lake is 60,2 kms,
width 1.44-3.3 kms, the depth is 500 ms, the amount of the
water is 17 sq.kms, which is equal to annual water of Amudarya
river. Besides the Sarez lake, in Pamir ,there are more than
800 lakes of moraine, tectonic,
ice-glacier type. Among them is the biggest the salty lake
Kara-Kul(Black-lake),with the square of 380 kms and with the
water amount of 26.6 kms.
In 40 kms south from Sarez, in the valley of the river Alichur,
on the height of 3734 ms above sea level, there is a picturesque
Yashilkul lake(Green-lake).It appeared in a very ancient times,
as reports say ,local people seeing for several times camel
like monster.
The firm high mountain plateau was explored in stone age by
the hot season hunters. The archeologist V.Ranov found 50
settlements of stone age. In the settlement nt of Aljilga
on the height of the 3800 ms above sea level, there were found
Petroglyph with multistage compositions, having ceremonial
meaning.(Sun-space shapes; horse-carts, men-animals).
Horse and carts are often represented as the symbols of iranic
sun goddess Mitra. Scientists connect these painting with
indo-arians, coming in the II cc.A.D to India. The most high
mountain(4200 ms)stone age paintings were found in the walls
of the cave Shakhti in 40 kms from Murgab.
In X-III cc. the severe high mountain plateau was explored
by the nomadic tribes of iranic sacs, who left here their
ancestors rom their tombs there were found metallic finds
like: knives, bronze ceremonial boilers, deers, mountain goats,
horses, made in famous dynamic mythological style expanded
in the vast “skith desert territories from Dunai up to China”.
In II-I cc.A.D, sacs tribes moved to eastern areas of Greece-Bactria,
parts of them remained in Western Pamir, forming one of the
ethno genesis of Pamir people.
The ethno of “sac” was kept in some of the names of the regions
of SAKNAN, SHAKHNAN(SHUGNAN), SAKASHAM, SKASEM(ISHKOSHIM),
which is translated as ”the country of sacs”. In the upper
stream of the Bazardara tributary of the river Murgab, on
the height of the 4200 ms above sea level, the high mountain
town of miners of XI cc., as dug out. In the densely built
settlement, among more than 80 living houses, there was a
half-round fire temple and the caravansarai. The Bazardara
town appeared in XI cc., during the silver crisis in Central
Asia.
Our itinerary ends in the pass of Kulma on the border with
China, opened in 1999 resembling the Great Silk Road, automobile
road. On the top of the pass, as it was many years ago in
the Chinese side the snow covered peak of Muztag-ata is seen
as a lighthouse, showing the way to travelers.
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