Sultan Uvays Dag Gyaur-kala

Kizil-kala

Kizil-kala, translated as a “Red Fortress,” lies 1.3 kilometres west of Toprak-kala. It has almost a square shape with towers on both sides. The walls reach 16 metres in height and have arrowshaped crenels. You can approach its entrance from the southeast using a ramp.

Initially the Kizil-kala Fortress was built in the late antiquity period (I–IV centuries A.D.) but after some time became derelict. It was restored again in the XII–XIII centuries on the threshold of the Mongol invasion.

Some scientists suggest that the Kizilkala Fortress was used as garrison barracks for military troops or as a landlord’s reinforced mansions typical of early medieval Khorezm.

The inner side of the Kizil-kala Fortress is well preserved. Tourists who visit its beautiful sites first enter into the second floor.

Inquisitive locals often penetrated the basement of the fortress on their hands and knees hoping to find gold. However, most of the time they only ran into snakes, which sought shelter from the burning sun. This sparked a legend that the area below the fortress is full of gold but no one can retrieve it, because it is protected by a huge snake or a demon.