Tash Rabat is Kyrgyzstan’s most impressive monument © Radiokafka, Shutterstock
High in the mountains near the Chinese border lies Kyrgyzstan’s most intriguing monument: a small but perfectly formed 15th-century caravanserai that sheltered an array of merchants on the Silk Road.
Tash Rabat is probably Kyrgyzstan’s most remarkable monument; indeed, it is one of the most interesting sites in the entire central Asian region and its presence is in complete contradiction to the popular tenet that Kyrgyzstan is all about landscapes rather than historical sights. Tash Rabat is a Silk Road monument par excellence: a small but perfectly formed 15th-century caravanserai that sheltered an array of merchants and travellers along one of the wilder stretches of the Silk Road. Its location is even more remarkable: tucked away from sight, half-buried in a hillside, up a valley at 3,530m above sea level.