Do you know where the most secrets are hidden? Maybe in ancient fortresses located as far away as possible from noisy cities and inquisitive people? It is here that the ancient walls are silent about something, hiding secrets that we will never know about.
Dzhampyk-kala is an ancient fortress located on the territory of Karakalpakstan, near the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River, near the Bagai-Tugai Reserve. Leaving the Urgench – Nukus highway, you will find yourself on a road running between hills crowned with black and green peaks. Approaching the cherished point, already from afar you will see bizarre protrusions, dilapidated towers and the silhouette of walls. Either a mirage in the middle of the desert, or a miracle created by the hands of an ancient civilization. And now, very close, being under the clay walls of the fortress, comes the realization of how ancient our world is, and how many unexplored secrets are left in the past with dilapidated walls.
Soviet archaeologist S. P. Tolstoy called Dzhampyk-kala the most beautiful fortress of Ancient Khorezm. It is really very spectacular, especially at sunset. And even at night, under the Milky Way galaxy, the fortress with an indescribable fading, as if it whispers about its former life. Who knows, maybe the spirits of the ancient Khorezmians live inside.
The exact date of the construction of the first version of the fortress is unknown. Perhaps it was built in the period from the IV century BC to the I century AD. The so-called initial version of the fortress has not been preserved. What we see today is this building of a later period, approximately IX-X centuries AD. The fortress was part of the ancient city of the Khorezm state. Residential and utility rooms have been preserved inside the fortress. Also, on the territory of the fortress there is a palace building and a citadel, on the walls of which you can see facade decorations. Such decoration was typical for the architecture of Ancient Khorezm.
To date, five towers have been preserved. One tower has an entrance to the interior. Other towers are monolithic. The entrance of the northern wall opens onto the cemetery. And on the southern wall there are traces of the break of the former Mongol invasion.
Looking out from behind the walls of the fortress, it is difficult to understand what made people build such majestic structures in the middle of the desert. Perhaps earlier there was not a desert at all, but a blooming oasis, or after all, the Khorezmians had something to hide from their contemporaries. We'll never know about it again.
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