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Beleuli Caravanserai

Ruined 14th-century caravanserai on the Ustyurt plateau, on the old route from Khorezm to the Volga, with 14 rooms and a carved relief of two lions.

Archaeology14th century

About the place

Beleuli stands alone on the Ustyurt plateau in Qoʻngʻirot district, on the caravan road that linked Khorezm with Saraychik and the Volga in the Golden Horde period. It is usually dated to the 14th century, though some sources place it as early as the 11th.

The two-storey building had 14 rooms around a courtyard. Its portal once carried a carved relief of two lions, a rare decoration in the region. Getting here is a desert expedition by four-wheel drive, usually combined with other Ustyurt sites; on site, half an hour is enough.

Why go

  • Relief of two lions on the portal
  • On the Khorezm to Volga caravan road
  • Remote Ustyurt setting

Nearby

  • Ustyurt Plateau and the Aral shoreNature

    70 km away

    Ustyurt Plateau and the Aral shore

    A flat desert plateau that ends in tall pale cliffs above the remaining waters of the Aral Sea, reached on multi-day trips by four-wheel drive.

  • Saigachy State ReserveNature

    120 km away

    Saigachy State Reserve

    A vast protected area on the north-western Ustyurt plateau, set up in 1991 to protect the saiga antelope and its breeding grounds.

  • Aral SeaNature

    146 km away

    Aral Sea

    Once the world's fourth-largest lake, the Aral has shrunk to a fraction of its size since the 1960s, leaving the Aralkum desert behind.