Kazakhstan: Taraz
Taraz (also known as Tales in medieval times) is one of the oldest cities in the Central Asia, having celebrated its 2000 year anniversary in 2001. It was one a major point on the silk route, a grand city with fortresses and castles. Taraz is known on history for the Battle of Talas in 751 when two civilizations clashed here for days – eastward expanding Arab armies of of the Abbasid Caliphate and the westward marching Chinese Tang Dynasty. Abbasids defeat the Chinese, marking the end of Chinese empire and coincidentally capturing Chinese paper workmen, which eventually introduced paper to the Western world. The city of Taraz got abandoned and forgotten in the Middle Ages, first in the outskirts of Persian empires, then Chinese, and eventually the Kazakh Khanate. Even when the Soviets took power in the 20th century, it still remained a hole in the middle of nowhere. Slowly it grew to a major town and now is just under 1/2 million people strong. The central square is beautifully rebuilt and looks like Samarkand a bit. There are also two medieval mausoleums – Dauitbek and Karakhan.
