Kyrk Kyz Fortress

History and theories

Kyrk Kyz stands on the eastern outskirts of Termez, not far from the Sultan Saodat ensemble. It is thought to have been built in the 9th–10th centuries under the Samanids and rebuilt several times afterwards; in the Middle Ages it lay outside the city walls.

Its original purpose is still unknown. Scholars have suggested a suburban palace, a Sufi khanqah, a caravanserai or a madrasa for girls, and locals widely believe it was the region’s first school for women. Until the 20th century the place was also known as Shahri Somon.

Layout

The building is almost square, about 54 × 55 m, and aligned to the cardinal points. Its outer walls are 2–2.5 m thick, with massive towers at the corners and an entrance on each of the four sides. Inside, more than 50 rooms linked by corridors surround a central court, or domed hall, of 11.5 × 11.5 m. The walls are of 30 × 30 cm mud brick, the arches and vaults of fired brick of the same size, and several types of dome survive, including domes on intersecting arches.

Legends

The name means “forty girls”. One legend says the epic heroine Guloyim lived here with her forty companions and beat off enemy raids; another tells of a ruler with forty wives who wanted a forty-first and locked the wives who objected in this fortress.