Qizil Qala — Attraction in Republic of Karakalpakstan

In the morning of October 31, we gathered at the Turkish restaurant "Sofram," where we had a big breakfast, planned our trip, and got some explanations about the project from Mr. Singh. We left the restaurant at nearly 12:00pm. According to our plan, we had to visit 4 kalas and the Baday Toqay reserve, but we could visit 3 kalas: Kyzyl Kala, Toprak Kala, Ayaz Kala, and Akchakul Lake. All of the destinations are situated in the Ellikkala district. We took a minibus, the Toyota Hiace. Not only was the vehicle with 10 seats very comfortable, but also the driver was a kind and helpful person.

The closest big cities to Ellikkala district are Nukus and Urgench. There are 2 ways to go to Ellikkala from Nukus: by train and by car. If you choose the train, you have to take a taxi from Ellikkala train station, which is nearly three kilometres away from Kalas. From Urgench to Ellikkala, you can go only by car.

The first destination was Kyzyl Kala, which is situated nearly 135 kilometers away from Nukus International Airport and nearly 56 kilometers away from Urgench International Airport. We arrived at Kyzyl Kala at 2:30pm. It took us nearly two hours from Nukus. Kyzyl Kala means "Red Fortress," which was built in the 1st–4th century CE. The Kyzyl Kala fortress is located near Toprak Kala, about 1 kilometre away, and was built possibly as a fortified defence for Toprak Kala. Archaeologist Sergey Pavlovich Tolstov discovered the Kyzyl Kala fortress in 1938. According to legend, an underground tunnel connected Toprak Kala and Kyzyl Kala, although excavations were unable to confirm this. Yet another legend claims that a storehouse of the treasure, which was guarded by snakes and supernatural forces, lay hidden in the fortress. For centuries, the fortress served as a refuge for local inhabitants during nomadic raids. Kyzyl Kala was restored in the early 21st century. Half of the walls of the fortress were rebuilt, and a new staircase was built to ascend to the top of the fortress. The eastern side of the Kyzyl Kala is surrounded by trees. The small ditch flows on the western side of the architectural monument.

When I visited all the Kalas, I felt like I was in ancient times. I felt how the ancient people lived. Then, we came back to Nukus at 9 pm and had the delicious Karakalpak national dish "Bes barmaq" at "Neo" restauran

Suggestions

If you are going to Ellikkala from Nukus, I suggest you prepare some games, otherwise it would be very boring. On our occasion, Mr. Singh prepared interesting logic questions in advance, which helped us fight boredom.

I recommend visiting the Kala in spring or in autumn since in winter it would be freezing weather and in summer it is so hot.

Also, I strongly recommend bringing some water and food.

List of used websites

•    en.m.wikipedia.org

•    orexca.com

•   ...

Recently we went to Kalas and a lake which are located in Ellikkala. They are Ayaz kala, Kyzyl Kala, Toprak kala and the  lake "Aqcha ko'l". Our trip was so amazing and  we are so grateful to everybody that made it happen. Before going we were assigned a driver whose name is Davlet for the one day  and he is so outgoing and good at driving. He came to the Kalas several times. That's  why we could find them easily and as there wasn't any problem with the car. Our trip  started from Nukus to Ayaz kala. First, we went to Kyzyl kala. It takes  about 2 hours from Nukus to get there. Kyzyl kala is more spectacular than I could have imagined. It looks like a big castle when you see it from  outside. But when we  entered the inside, we saw  a large land and in some places we saw little black holes. When we looked at nature from the top of the Kyzyl kala. We also saw a beautiful scene of the village. This place was built in the 1st and 4th century CE. It is part of the "Fifty fortresses” oasis  in...

Kyzylkala looks outstanding and indestructible. It seemed to me that there were 4 floors because the wall had been divided into 4 parts via wood, as well as new stairs which were constructed recently during the reconstruction, were for 4 floors. However, the reconstruction has been stopped since the kala ought to remain how it is. Exploring the Kyzylkala we have found some holes, and they are connected to each other according to local boys. Nevertheless, it has not been proved yet by archaelogists. Another point, one should be careful while going up the Kyzyl kala since there are lots of bees...