Burana Tower

부라나 탑

The Burana Tower is an 11th-century brick minaret, all that stands of the Karakhanid city of Balasagun. Once about 45 m tall, it lost its top to earthquakes and now rises 24 m above a field of carved stone figures (balbals).

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At a glance

Country: Kyrgyzstan
Location: Near Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan
Built: 1050
Height: 24 m
Type: Religious building

Quick answers

Where is Burana Tower?

Burana Tower is in Near Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan.

When was Burana Tower built?

Burana Tower was built in 1050.

How tall is Burana Tower?

Burana Tower is about 24 m tall.

The Burana Tower is an 11th-century brick minaret in the Chüy Valley of northern Kyrgyzstan, about 80 km east of the capital, Bishkek, near the town of Tokmok. A minaret is a tall tower attached to a mosque, from which people were called to prayer. This one is almost all that is left of Balasagun, a city founded by the Karakhanids, a Turkic dynasty, at the end of the 9th century.

Today the tower is only about 25 m tall, but it once rose roughly 45 m. Earthquakes slowly broke it down, and the last big one, in the 15th century, destroyed the upper half. It is one of the oldest buildings in Central Asia, and the site around it is now a small open-air museum.

What happened to the top?

When the tower was new it stood about 45 m high, which was very tall for its time. Over the centuries several earthquakes cracked and toppled it. The last major quake in the 15th century brought down the top half and left the tower at the height we see today.

In the 1970s a restoration project strengthened the foundation and repaired the west side, which was in danger of collapsing.

Visiting today

Visitors can climb to the top using an outside staircase and then a steep, winding stairway inside the tower. Around it you can see grave markers, earthworks and the remains of a castle and three mausoleums, which are tombs built like small houses.

A small building on the site shows artifacts found here and in nearby regions and explains the history of Balasagun.

Fun facts

Earthquakes cut it down from about 45 m to the 24 m that stands today.
The tower was used as a model for other minarets.
A local legend says a khan built the tower to hide his daughter from a prophecy that a spider would kill her, but a spider hidden in a fruit basket found her anyway.
Only about half of the original height survives.