PETROGLYPHES

Behind the runway of the old airport of Cholpon-Ata is a huge site of petroglyphs, made between the Bronze Age and the Middle Ages.

More than 900 rocks form a veritable open-air museum in which you can walk around discovering drawings of sheep, horses, camels, hunting scenes... Most of the paintings date from the pre-Kyrgyz period, from the 8th century BC to the 1st century AD. It seems that the local priests used the site as a place for sacrifices and rituals dedicated to the sun. The engravings that can be seen are more recent, and date from the Turkish period from the ^5th to the 10th century. The walks are rather done in the morning or late afternoon to have a low light. At the entrance to the site, a large sign gives a few warnings about what to do to preserve the site. Take the time to go around this sign: you will discover the signposted routes to the petroglyphs that will save you from wasting time wearing out your eyes on virgin pebbles. Take a picture of it on your mobile phone to find the directions that you have not memorized, because the signposting on the site is unfortunately not the most effective. And despite their large number, not all petroglyphs are obvious. Some are hidden by moss or worn out by erosion, while others had been painted white by the Soviets, to stand out better, and remained more easily spotted.