Baysun

Do you want to take a trip through time that will take you to a protected land that preserves the memory of the culture of the Greek-Bactrian and Kushan kingdoms that have sunk into eternity; pagan rituals of fire worshippers and shamanic cults?

Here, through the Iron Gates in a narrow mountain gorge, trade caravans have been moving for thousands of years. The armies of Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Amir Timur marched this way.

The Teshik-Tash cave is famous all over the world, where the remains of Neanderthals were found. Nearby, in the mountains of Kugitanga, one could see rock carvings of the “magical bull hunting” of the Mesolithic era. All this is BAYSUN.

Just two hours drive from Termez (the center of the Surkhandarya region of Uzbekistan) towards the Baysuntoga mountains and you find yourself in a completely different world, where the centuries-old way of life and relationships between people have been preserved almost in their original state.

The names of the settlements: Rabat, Derbend, Padang, Kofirun - sound like magical music, promising a journey into a fairy tale. That's where you find yourself after crossing the hot steppe expanses at the foothills of Baysuntog. Walnut and sycamore groves are replaced by juniper forests. The alpine lawns, covering the ground with an emerald carpet, delight the eye with bright greenery. The crystal water of mountain streams creates a special microclimate that has a beneficial effect on all living things. In the spring, dehkans cultivate the land in the old-fashioned way on mountain plots. They make furrows by leaning on a horse-drawn plow. And it's not exotic, it's life.

Baysun residents decorate their houses with bright suzans, self–woven carpets – light, durable and warm, and clothes and shoes with intricate ornaments and embroidery. There are painted ceramic dishes on the tables, and carved chests along the walls. In the courtyard of each house there is a tandoor, a clay oven in which fragrant tortillas are baked. Flour for them is ground in hand or water mills from grain grown in their own field. Blacksmiths are also famous for their craftsmanship, which still produce various tools, tools, utensils and jewelry for the residents. Each family, mahalla, village carefully preserves and passes on from generation to generation the craft traditions, the culture of household management and family rituals.

The most remarkable thing is that Baysun is not a myth or a theatrical performance. Not a fantasy. This is reality. A small island far from civilization really exists.
Every holiday, every event in a person's life (birth, marriage, death) is accompanied by certain rituals that are filled with special meaning and preserve echoes of pagan beliefs. It was here, among the Uzbek family “kungrat”, that the heroic epic “Alpamysh” was formed on the basis of a folk song.

The folklore traditions of the Baysun peoples are truly unique. Folk songs, dances, legends, costumes, handicrafts, rituals and customs here constitute the natural way of life of the population. People, nature and the cosmos have merged together, creating a beautiful harmony of existence. It is for this reason that the first Open Folklore Festival “Baysun Spring” was held in the ancient land of Baysun at the end of May 2002. It brought together folk performers from all over Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The audience saw and heard ceremonial songs and dances, touched the fascinating skill of the Akyn storytellers – keepers of legends and legends.

The festival was attended by guests from Japan, South Korea, France, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. They had a unique opportunity to see in the Surkhan oasis a careful and respectful attitude to the cultural and spiritual wealth of the Uzbek people.