Silk Roads Sites

Kyrgyzstan is one of the countries in an early contact zone. The Silk Road is represented in the country's south and north by several parts that are well portrayed and designated by significant historical and cultural landmarks. Silk Roads Sites in Kyrgyzstan are part of Kyrgyzstan's tentative list in order to qualify for inclusion on the World Heritage List.

Silk Roads Sites in Kyrgyzstan is a serial nomination consisting of 5 clusters of 12 separate sites. It is made up of the vestiges of long-distance diffusion of trade, ideas, and human flourishing along the Silk Road networks from the 2nd century BC until the end of the 16th century. It includes remnants of road infrastructures such as caravanserais or protective fortresses, cities ranging from local nomadic rulers' quarters to regional citadels and large cities, religious monuments such as the mausoleum attributed to Manas, the Kirghiz national epic hero, or natural sacral mountains of various religions ranging from archaic belief to Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Islam, or Christianity.

Its few sites are particularly breathtaking, since they are always positioned in the most dramatic locations, in the middle of nowhere, more than 3,000 meters above sea level. It's hard to believe that hundreds of traders with camels and horses traveled over those paths and mountains for decades. Without a question, they were the most genuine travelers.