Cultural tourism has great potential in Kyrgyzstan, experts say, but the state does not want to develop it and invest money into this trend. There are two historical and cultural sites of the UNESCO heritage in the country. One of them is Mountain Sulaiman Too in Osh, and the second one are the objects of the Silk Road – Burana, Ak-Beshim and Krasnaya Rechka in Chui district. The first one is maintained and its location in the city facilitates access of tourists, and the second one is much harder to maintain.

Only fragments of ancient life remain after once crowded and well-developed hillforts on the Silk Road. And those remaining are in a bad state.

Once we got out of the car, we saw the following picture – the memorial made of a kind of strong marble was broken. The wind has nothing to do with it. The slab was seemingly ripped off the concrete pillars. The marble slab contains information about one of the ancient hillforts once located on the Silk Road – Nevaket. It is also called the Krasnaya Rechka hillfort because it lies along the homonymous river.

The historical monument is located 40 kilometres away from Bishkek and is the largest medieval settlement in Chui valley. The area of buffer zone is 4 thousand hectares. According to the manual for tour guides, the territory of the hillfort contains two Shakhristans (a part of the town inside the town walls – author's note) and the common peri-urban area enclosed by a wall 20 metres high.

What is beyond me is that, on the one hand, UNESCO is an international organisation that plays an important role in maintaining historical and cultural heritage sites of many countries, and, on the other hand, the current state of this monument, which will soon no longer exist.

The only thing that survived after the excavation in the ancient settlement is the temples located not far away from the ruins. In one of them, archaeologists unearthed an eight-metre high sleeping Buddha in 1961, whose fragments are now in the Hermitage at St. Petersburg. They installed a roof over the ruins and enclosed the territory of the temple.

In 2011, one more temple was unearthed in Kyrgyzstan, which contained the statue of Buddha in the lotus position. This discovery, according to historian Sergei Ivanov, became a sensation. The sculpture was in the altar of the temple and only the upper part of the statue was preserved.

The remaining parts of the body but head were later found at the same place. Currently, excavations are taking place in this area with participation of scholars from Kyrgyzstan, China and Russia (representatives of the Hermitage).

Participants of the tourism market of Kyrgyzstan seem to have no opportunity to earn money on cultural tours along the world heritage routes. This service is not the main product for tourists, but rather an extra option to the general travel programme. Local guides emphasise that in Kyrgyzstan tours along the Silk Road are in great demand, especially among Asian tourists from China, Japan and Korea.

However, according to Saparov, the tours in this direction are no more than a visit to one region in the north and one region in the south of Kyrgyzstan. They either travel from Bishkek to Issyk-Kul to see the ruins of the ancient town of Balasagun and the petroglyph drawings in Cholpon-Ata, or go to Osh from Tashkent or Dushanbe to visit Sulaiman-Too.

"Even if we take tourists to Burana, Ak-Beshim or Nevaket, we cannot stay there for long because there are no toilet rooms, roadside stations, cafes and recreational areas there. Where do our tourists need to relieve themselves? In the bushes? It is a wild thing for foreigners to do," Nurbek Saparov said.

Another world heritage site is located 12 kilometres away from Tokmok, the ancient town of Suyab or Ak-Beshim. The area, according to the official description of archaeologists, is divided into three zones: first and second Shakhristan, which are surrounded by the solid wall with towers, and Rabad (suburbs of the town).

The Buddha and Christian structures found by archaeologists demonstrate that the people from remote countries used to live there on a regular basis. However, we saw nothing but the memorial stone on the spot. The whole territory looks like a pasture with marshes in some places.

The only more or less visited site on the list of Tianshan Corridor sites in Chui region is the Burana Tower, which is located not far from the ruins of Balasagun settlement.

At that period (10^th century A.D.), the contemporaries described this area as one of the most developed and richest with over 200 mosques, madrasahs and khanqah (shelters for pilgrims and nomads – editor's note). Balasagun was the homeland for Yusuf Balasaguni, the famous medieval poet, the author of the first literary work in the Turkic language, the poem "Blessed knowledge".

"'Balyk' is a town, 'sagun' is a military ruler. Balasagun appeared on the site of the ancient settlement of the Turkic dynasty of the Karakhanids. Back then, it was considered one of the largest medieval towns in Chui region," Sergei Ivanov said.

However, all that remained from the legendary settlement is the Burana Tower, a few dozens of balbals (carved stone sculptures – author's note), and the ruins of Nestorian and Muslim mausoleums, according to historians.

Today, there is a small museum with interesting and unique exhibits (they may not be photographed) in the area of the world heritage sites, and a yurt is installed next to it.

A man-made pit toilet is located nearby. Entrance to the historical and architectural complex "Burana" is charged: just under one dollar per person, the amount depends on whether the tourist is local or foreign.

It is unknown how many people visit the cultural heritage site. According to the official reply of the Ministry of Culture to CABAR.asia, "cash receipts make it possible to maintain the site and to plan the budget for performing necessary regular works to maintain the heritage, renovate exhibits of museum complexes." However, the agency failed to specify the amount. The number of visitors of all museums, which are 67 across the republic, can be found online.

Storages of unique exhibits suffer from the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Even in this case, museums and other property available in a given historical location give an opportunity to make extra money by selling tickets, renting premises and gift shops. According to expert forecasts, the tourist flow will be restored over time.

However, neither Ak-Beshim nor Nevaket (Krasnaya Rechka) has museums, which makes them less attractive for visitors and for mobilising additional resources for their security.

"For example, local capacities should be established at Ak-Beshim and Krasnaya Rechka: a museum must be built, full-time equivalents should be employed, security should be provided, and the condition should be monitored. However, we cannot say how much it will cost. It depends on the facility," said Ainura Tentieva, expert on the World Heritage of the National Commission for UNESCO of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Moreover, the international organisation, according to Tentieva, does not build the infrastructure around the world heritage cites. The UNESCO can allocate money only for manufacture, installation of enclosures and signs if requested by the state. For example, information panels were installed at Burana, Ak-Beshim and Krasnaya Rechka after consent of the authorities of Kyrgyzstan under the partnership project of UNESCO and the European Union "Silk Roads Heritage Corridors in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Iran – International Dimension of the European Year of Cultural Heritage".

This is about the marble slabs, one of which was broken in Nevaket. Each of slabs, according to Tentieva, costs 2,635 dollars (plus transportation and installation in three hillforts – nearly 4,070 dollars). It is unknown who will pay for the repair of the information panel. Dedicated agencies are responsible for the security of sites."

"The state is a party to the World Heritage Convention, is responsible for the World Heritage sites located in its territory. International assistance should be provided in addition to the national efforts to maintain and manage the world heritage sites and sites on the Tentative List in case when the state won't be able to ensure the sufficient level of resources," said the expert on World Heritage.

According to the ministry of culture, property damage incidents take place but rarely. In such cases, local government bodies work jointly with the law-enforcement bodies to identify and correct violations, according to the message.

In the near term, one of the damaged sites on the Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor – Burana Tower route is expected to be repaired. Waterproofing materials are going to be used to repair the upper part of the prayer tower and its walls are going to be protected from earthquakes by means of earthquake resistant measures. The project is funded by the U.S. Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation. The restoration works feature more than 200 thousand dollars in funding, according to the message.

UNESCO means United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

UNESCO's mission is to contribute to the building of a culture of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.

According to the National Commission for UNESCO of the Kyrgyz Republic, the status of a "world heritage site" gives:

• additional guarantee of maintenance and preservation of unique natural and cultural sites;
• the prestige of areas and institutions that run them;
• publicity to the touristic sites on the list;
• priority in funding to the world cultural and natural heritage sites, primarily, to the sites from the world heritage fund;
• organisation of monitoring and supervision over the preservation of sites;
• development of alternative natural management (eco-tourism, traditional industries, etc.).

However, as we can see, particular historical sites of Chui region located on the Silk Road do not enjoy all the benefits. To know why it happens, let's see the website of UNESCO.

According to the report for 2021, foreign experts strongly encourage Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and China to inscribe the boundaries and buffer zones of all inscribed component sites on cadastral maps. However, it is impossible to hold monitoring without the use of new technologies. Therefore, the World Heritage Commission members encourage the parties to pay special attention to this matter. The Committee requests an updated joint report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of all recommendations for examination by December 1, 2022, according to the message.

According to available data of UNESCO, a few foreign countries have defrayed some expenditures required for the implementation of the above tasks.

In general, the funds for the projects meant to preserve the UNESCO sites are allocated from the World Heritage Fund, which is formed out of mandatory and voluntary membership fees of states participants to the World Heritage Convention.

Kyrgyzstan, according to the National Commission for UNESCO, is bound to pay nearly 90 dollars a year. However, Kyrgyzstan can get a few thousand dollars within a large project, such as the "Silk Roads Heritage Corridors in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Iran – International Dimension of the European Year of Cultural Heritage", whose implementation is scheduled for 5 years.

According to open data, the project was implemented by almost 80 per cent and will be completed next year. According to the interactive chart that provides breakdown by beneficiaries, Kyrgyzstan's planned expenditures are 497,162 dollars.

The "Silk Roads Heritage Corridors in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Iran – International Dimension of the European Year of Cultural Heritage" project comes to a close. So far, the impression is that it has not reached its purpose in Kyrgyzstan because the UNESCO website specifies that the implemented programme will "strengthen the contribution of culture to sustainable development, notably through heritage-based tourism development, diversifying tourism products and delivering high-quality visitor experiences."

This is what the head of KATO, Nurbek Saparov, was talking about in the beginning of his interview. Namely, the country has no opportunities to develop a new tourism product specially for those who are interested in the Silk Road and to promote it separately on foreign markets.

However, the National Commission for UNESCO of the Kyrgyz Republic asked us not to jump to conclusions so far. According to the agency, some events under the project that are directly related to tourism development on heritage sites have been suspended because of Covid-19.

In early September 2021, the new programme "Travelling along the World Heritage of the Silk Road in Central Asia" was launched. The countries now need to promote it by joint efforts.

Thanks to the project, according to Ainura Tentieva, a double-sided illustrated map of 64 sites from the UNESCO List in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) will be printed. Besides, she said, guides have been trained to tell more to tourists about the Tianshan corridor of the Silk Road, and museum photographers have been trained to take pictures of the historical sites in 3D format this year.

However, the matter of possible construction of infrastructure around historical sites (Krasnaya Rechka and Ak-Beshim), which is quite essential, according to tour operators, is not on the agenda.

"The state is responsible for implementing the recommendations given by the World Heritage Committee, including funding. International assistance is requested in emergency, for example, for events that cannot be funded by technical or other resources available in the state," according to the official letter of the National Commission for UNESCO of the Kyrgyz Republic.

We, together with Nurbek and Sergei, visited the ruins of ancient towns (Krasnaya Rechka and Ak-Beshim) to understand if we can organise unique educational tours for tourists, including local schoolchildren and students, and if it will be interesting for them. However, when I arrived at the site and saw no signs of cultural heritage and toilets, I gave up.

On the one hand, officials of the ministry of culture emphasise the value and significance of UNESCO sites, which, according to them, are the true indication of the Silk Road. On the other hand, they emphasise the need for shaping the commitment in the younger generation to the heritage of their country in order to avoid littering of the area, damage to memorial plates and other subjects in ancient settlements. However, this work to promote historical sites, restore, construct museums and other construction projects, according to the official letter, needs huge funds.

However, as it turned out later, local authorities funded some works in hillforts. According to the National Commission for UNESCO of the Kyrgyz Republic, local budget allocated in 2016 to 2020 538,900 som (6,355 dollars).

"The Krasnaya Rechka aiyl okmotu allocated 303.9 thousand som (3,583.8 dollars) in 2016 to 2020 to the salary of the leading specialist of the information centre and to the security guard of the site. In 2016, 110 thousand som (1,297 dollars) were allocated for road graveling. In 2017, the road was gravelled and other events were held for the total amount of 125 thousand som (1,474 dollars). In the remaining years, the expenditures on works were covered by sponsors and by involving unemployed citizens registered with the employment centre," said Ainura Tentieva, expert on World Heritage.

Based on the above, we can draw a preliminary conclusion – historical sites located in Tianshan Corridor of the Silk Road in Chui region, but the Burana Tower, are difficult to promote in foreign markets as self-contained tourist attractions. This is what participants of the domestic tourist market have said for a long time. Now they are sure that nothing will change in this destination.