The Great Silk Way: the Interaction of the Culture of East and West

The Great Silk Way: the Interaction of the Culture of East and West
5-12 March 2006

Organizer: Fondazione Del Bianco

Project Leader: Aleksej Shkaev (Kyrgyz State University of Construction Transportation and Architecture - Kyrgyzstan)

Author: Yuri N. Smirnov, Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic university, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic

The Generation of Historic Recreational Architecture Objects on the grat Silk Way Route in Kyrgyzstan Nowadays the problem of interaction ecology as a science of habitation area of human being in biosphere, and design of the architectural environment – eco-design within the framework of implementation of the National Program for sustainable development of recreation and tourism as well as establishment of progressive national architecture succession gains greater urgency. In history of Kyrgyz material culture and architecture there are many examples, showing rather early period of the architectural mastering of terrain for settling and recreational activity. It is known that Since the end of II age B.C. a trade way, connecting Orient and West passed through the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan. The Great Silk Way went from Sian to Dunihuan through Lanichzhou, where it divided: if its south part lies to Baktriya, Parfiya, India and to the Near East, the north road got through Turfan, hereinafter crossed Pamir and went to Fergana and Kazakh steppe. The latter branch of the way up to the late middle ages passed through Chui valley and Yssykkul Lake hollow in the north. In un-inhibited mountainous terrains on trade ways there were raised caravan-serais (hotel for merchants). It also known that a lot of cities along the north route of the Silk Way with "long earthen walls" bordered two extended circular form territory the area of up to 30 square kilometers. Such cities in early middle ages presented some of the function-planning parts. A high fortress with strong wall and tower was situated on terrain hill, included palace of the ruler, mint, and prison. Cities were surrounded with battlement, protecting them, but limiting growth of the territory that brought about significant tightness town structure in the process of the increase of the population. Thus, the particularities of the historical formation of people’s culture on the territory of present day Kyrgyzstan are conditioned by routes of the historical Great Silk Way, lying along the north and south mountain chains route history. This fact of the historically established cultural and commercial trips on the territory present-day Kyrgyzstan with stops in caravan-serais and the other objects in the structure of the multiple town settlements was reflected in modern intensive development of business and commercial tourism. Nowadays this type of "compelled" touristy trips is connects with need for job placement and increase of economic well-being of large part of the country population. Recreational terrains and objects on the territory of present-day Kyrgyzstan were formed almost at the some time simultaneously with settlement areas and were characterized by rather early historical period of mastering of "curative" terrain and cities as the centers of pilgrimage (attraction of people). Around such terrains and objects there appeared, as a rule, nomadic and agricultural settlements (Osh – at the beginning еру first millennium B.C.; Issykata in II or III A.D.; Jalalabad – 946–1000 A.D., and others), established in accordance with traditional national architecture. The settlements and separate dwelling groups locates, as a rule, on lowered territories of sloping relief, whereas deep recreational formations and mazares –holy places and totems of worship and belief in curing from illnesses – in deep mountainous sloping and mountainous canyon terrains. Thus, already in ancient times within the territory of present-day Kyrgyzstan in shaping the settling and recreation were laid the bases of the intensive mastering of territory in the mountainous relief. The earliest mentioning about mastering of curative resource of terrains on the territory present-day North Kyrgyzstan belong to II or III A.D., when on the base of mineral sources in Issykata gorge spontaneously appeared one of the first centers of “pilgrimage” for the reason of cure from illnesses. Later a similar mazar – an object of recreational pilgrimage was formed near the present-day city Jalalabad. Pilgrims from all corners ends of Central Asia, Afghanistan, China and even India flows together here for the reason of curing from different diseases. Most for recreational buildings were pits dug out on the place of the spring and covered with made of from branches, where curative water flowed down. Sick people were placed not far away in an open air or in houses by themselves – yurts (a nomad's tent), fig.1. Later, near the springs started to be constructs capital buildings and buildings of caravan-serais (in Issykata, Osh, Jalalabad and others).
	Fig.1. Examples of architectural objects, formed in “internal” spaces of recreational ambience: Above –in the North Kyrgyzstan: а – general view of the stop of yurts in Issykata gorge; б – general view and scheme of the plan of the yurt; в – plan and scheme of the location of Tash-Rabat caravan-serai; г – the main facade of Manakeldy caravan-serai; Below – in the South Kyrgyzstan: а – an architectural structure of the slate territory near the migrant and “pilgrimage” place; б – a plan of the hotel-house in pilgrimage place; в – the cult building in recreational terrain on the Takht-i-Suleiman grief (scheme of the cut, plan), Osh town.
In the cases, when springs were situated in available terrains, there appeared settlements. Here should be to referred an ancient kishlak (settlement) Hazret-Ayub on the place of the present-day resort of Jalalabad. This settlement appeared as servicing one due to need of provision with temporary dwelling and catering of pilgrims flowed together here: they got a job on temporary work for inhabitants of the village, thus earning on bread and shelter. In the process of the origin of similar recreational devices there were created and the first objects of the architecture, which have a row of specific common features and differences between separate types under influence of social and natural and climatic factors. If in the southern territory of Kyrgyzstan in the region of the location of the curative places appeared high-density (refer to fig.1) adobe settlements (near the city Jalalabad, Osh and others) then in northern, less accessible mountainous terrains temporary mobile settlements organized from yurts plays the main part. Formation the similar settlements beginning from ancient times is characteristic for curative terrains of Issykata, Jetyoguz, Aksu in mountainous gorges of North Kyrgyzstan and Issykkul hollow. It is necessary to note the importance of the inclusion in subject filling of ambient interior of the recreational places of this deeply national type of nomadic mobile houses – a nomad's tent yurt . Having much to do with yurts of nomadic and half-nomadic peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan , individual it's of Kyrgyz yurts is expressed in external and internal furnishings mainly. Here one can see people's skill and knowledge, artistic taste and general strict canons, confirmed by centuries-old custom and tradition are preserved. At the same time, a yurt's interior due to its beautiful barriering material –thick felt, is more rational in ecological attitude, preventing from chill in winter and sunshine in summer. At the same time thus nomadic dwelling's interior's expressiveness can be compared with the feeling got from perception of hall space of Roman Pantheon, whose lighting is similarly made in the shape of 9 meter circular opening. In poetic of the architecture this space can be a comparable to interior of the ambience of the visible world. There were worked out a row of methods and principles of adjustment of dwelling to rather severe living conditions in the continental hot climate in the process of the historical interaction of Kyrgyzstan 's people with nature and climate of the region. Many different types of houses demonstrate both typical architectonics, and application of architectural and ecological methods of interaction with region's climate and landscape. This comprises one of the most important sides of ecodesign , new direction in methodology of design of architectural ambience, presupposing establishment determination of the rational correlation of aesthetic and pragmatic factors of the architectural formation of inhabited interiors of natural and anthropogenesis ambiences of ecos (oikos) – a notion of native home, a dwelling, native lands in antique ethics. Thereby, resort and recreational terrains and objects on the territory of present-day Kyrgyzstan were formed nearly simultaneously with settlement areas and were characterized by rather early historical period of mastering of curative terrains and cities as the centers of pilgrimage and other forms of balance migration of people. Hereunder, already in ancient times when shaping the settling and recreation base of the rational mastering of deep territories of mountainous relief. The historical fact of cultural and commercial trips with stops in caravan-serais and the other objects established on territory present-day Kyrgyzstan in the structure of the multiple town settlements was reflected in modern specifics of business and commercial tourism, as well as other exotic recreational types. The interconnected structure 0f re-erected newly raised recreational complexes, reviving forgotten types of caravan-serais and of the yurt hotels in spatial context of ambient “interiors” of the mountainous country, is called to improve the ecological conditions and architectural and aesthetic look appearance of cities and villages, as well as multiple and unique natural terrains as the centers of attraction of flows of international recreation and tourism along the route of the Great Silk Way on the territory of Kyrgyzstan. Here below you can see some of the pieces fo the Exhibition:

Gallery