The Sunken City of Issyk-Kul: Legends of the Warm Lake
Why is Issyk-Kul salty, and what lies beneath its blue water? The Kyrgyz tell of a drowned city, a girl’s tears and a well that was never closed.
The Khan with Donkey Ears: An Issyk-Kul Legend
A cruel khan hides a terrible secret under his turban and executes every barber who sees it — until a poor widow’s son and three flatbreads change everything.
Cholpon and the Two Winds: The Legend of Ulan and Santash
Why do storms suddenly sweep across Issyk-Kul? The legend of the beautiful Cholpon, two heroes who loved her, and the winds that still fight over the lake.
Jeti-Oguz: The Legend of the Seven Bulls and the Broken Heart
Seven red cliffs, a heart-shaped rock and hot springs in a green valley near Karakol — and three legends that explain how they came to be.
Burana Tower: The Legend of the Khan’s Daughter and the Spider
A khan builds a tower to the sky to protect his daughter from a prophecy — but fate arrives in a bunch of grapes. The legend of Burana Tower near Tokmok.
Tash-Rabat: The Legend of the Caravanserai in the Mountains
A stone caravanserai hidden in a high valley on the Silk Road — and the legend of two brothers, one who built it for travellers and one who turned it into a robbers’ den.
St Matthew and the Lost Monastery of Issyk-Kul
A 14th-century map marks a monastery on Issyk-Kul holding the body of the Apostle Matthew. Explorers, archaeologists and pilgrims have searched for it ever since.
The Lost Treasures of Issyk-Kul: Gold, Monks and Genghis Khan
A golden boat, a caravan of Christian monks fleeing the Mongols, and the secret grave of Genghis Khan — the treasure legends of Issyk-Kul, and the people who went looking.