Akyrtas

Akyrtas is a rectangle of massive red sandstone blocks laid out in the steppe below the Kyrgyz range, the foundations and lower courses of a building around 180 by 145 metres with courtyards, halls and colonnades planned but apparently never completed. Dating and purpose are both debated, with proposals running from an eighth-century Arab governor's palace to a Nestorian monastery to a Karakhanid caravanserai, and the scale and the quality of the stonework are out of proportion to anything else in the region. Water was brought by a channel from the hills. It is one of the eight Kazakh sites included in the transnational Silk Roads Chang'an-Tianshan corridor World Heritage inscription of 2014.

The main sights

• The stone foundations - the massive sandstone blocks of the plan.
• The building outline - courtyards, halls and colonnade bases in the ground.
• The water channel - the aqueduct line running from the hills.
• The steppe setting - the open plain below the Kyrgyz range.

When to go

April to June and September to October; the site is exposed with no shade and summer is severe. Spring gives green steppe and flowers. Low sun early or late shows the plan best.

Practical notes

Nothing stands above waist height, so the site is a plan on the ground rather than a building. Interpretation is limited and the dating remains unresolved. There is no shade or water. The access track leaves the highway unsigned in places.

Nearby

Taraz lies west; the Kyrgyz border is south.

Key facts