In the summer through fall of 2023, my family and I spent 6 months traveling by land from Armenia to eastern China retracing the Silk Road. Following the UNESCO tentative of sites through Central Asia proved very helpful in tracking down some relatively unknown sites that still hold value to the greater exchange of trade and religion that these ancient routes represented. One of these sites was the Early History of the Silk Roads in Kazakhstan.

While having a day to spare in Almaty, I set off to visit the Boralday Burial Mounds which lie not far from the center of the city. Several busses pass within less than 1 km from the entrance, but it still took longer than expected to reach due to the traffic which has become a problem in Almaty. Upon reaching the vast site, which appears simply a large and empty field at first, I noticed I was the only visitor save for a few police officers. They happily motioned me through the gate into the site, which has no entrance fee. Long before the height of the Silk Roads, the steppes of Kazakhstan were inhabited by Saka Nomads. As nomadic people, their cultural legacy left little remains besides circular burial mounds, known as kurgan. At the site lies 45 of these circular mounds dating from 2,500 years ago. The largest of these mounds is over 14 meters high and 100 meters wide, with well preserved objects excavated. 

I underestimated the size of the site and only had the energy to visit a few of the burial mounds as I had to eventually walk back from where I entered. The burial mounds contain nothing of significance today, and for the untrained eye just appears to be a small hill. There is also one life-size model of a burial mound with a cross section to see what inside looks like near the entrance. I enjoyed the quietness of the site, walking the empty fields with a skyline of Almaty and the snow-clad Tianshan Mountains in the background. I don't suggest this visit for everyone, but only those interested in this period of history. Overall, I am pleased I took the effort to visit, as it added greater depth to the story of the Silk Roads.