Brichmulla
Brichmulla is a village in the northeast of Tashkent Province, Uzbekistan, by the Koksu River.
It is about 120 km NEE from Tashkent.
A Neanderthal archaeological site exists near Brichmulla. In mediaeval times, Brichmulla was an important town, a fortress and mining location.
1. Geographical location and climate conditions
The settlement of Brichmulla (Burchmulla) is located in the southeastern part of Charvak reservoir at a height of 960 meters, at the western extremity of the Koksuy range (Western Tien Shan). Distance from Tashkent - 120 km, along paved roads. From the town of Gazalkent which is located in 57 km from the capital of Uzbekistan, there are two ways to reach Brichmulla:
- Across the Charvak reservoir dam
- Through Cretaceous Pass and the mountain resort zone of Chimgan.
Tour buses go to Brichmulla, but it is best to go by private car. Communication with Tashkent and other regions is possible by telephone, through the switchboard in Gazalkent. Internet access is not available. Mobile connections are possible in a few places.
TV: with an antenna, you can receive only two channels: the Uzbek channel and Russian "ORT". In Brichmulla, a microclimate is created by the close proximity of the foothills and Charvak reservoir, which in summertime humidifies the air and reduces the temperature (+40o C max). However, during wintertime it gets quite cold (down to -20-25o C).
The environment in Brichmulla has a special appeal for nature lovers and eco-tourists.
Kulasya Canyon and Peak Okhotnichniy (3099 m) are located here, and the Koksu River runs through the area, with three waterfalls. However, the main sight is Charvak reservoir. In this area there are bears, mountain goats, many different types of birds, and many varied types of flora
2. Historical information
In the Brichmulla area during the middle ages, mountain routes from Chach (Tashkent) converged in Semirechie, Ferghana, and the valleys of Koksu and Chatkal. As archeologists believe, during this period Brichmulla was considered a city (under a different name), protected by rivers on three sides. The steep cliffs were considered natural and reliable fortifications. The archeologist and the historian Server Ashirov remarks: "From the eastern side the town was surrounded by a defensive wall, with a length of 550 m and a height of up to 2.5 m. The general area of the town was about 16 hectares".
Until the 20th century there was a ferry across the Chatkal River in Brichmulla. In the southwest part of the town, a small, almost imperceptible footpath leading to the riverbank has been discovered. Here, in the rock, inhabitants carved a tunnel, which allowed them to descend to the water and obtain drinking water during a siege. The houses of the inhabitants were constructed from "paskhy" (clay and hay), and by adding stones, the walls became half a meter thick, and in those buildings which served for defense, the walls were one and a half meters thick. The establishment of the settlement has been dated to the 6th century by archeologists. It was during the time of the Turkish kaganat, when in the foothills and mountain areas of Chirchik settlements and fortified castles began to arise.
Brichmulla already played an important role during this period as a fortress protecting the routes into the mountains, rich with various minerals. In the 9-10th centuries, the settlement grew into a town - surrounded by a fortress wall. In its northern section, special reinforcements and a garrison were created. A number of townspeople were engaged in mining and the processing of metal. Craftsmen smelted and processed iron and copper ore. Archeologists and geologists have determined the ancient manufactures connected to the extraction of poly-metallic ores in the mountain areas of Koksu and Chatkal. Arsenic, mineral paints and argent-plumbic ores were intensively extracted. For the mining of iron, pebbles enriched with hematite were used, collected from a branch of the river. Furnaces with bellows have also been found.
Some archeologists wondered, which town was settled on the spot of present Brichmulla? There is a theory that it was Ardlankent, the only city in the Chatkal Valley mentioned in the 10th century, though the basic archeological materials of the town have been matched to the 11th and 12th centuries. However there are opponents of this version, arguing that Ardlankent was the town of Kulbeskan, located at the mouth of the Aksu River, on an area of 8 hectares.
Regardless, the city was abandoned by the 12th century, and not until the end of the 14-16th centuries was it revived, periodically dying away and blossoming until the 18th century. Then it was finally deserted, after which the new settlement of Brichmulla was incorporated (from the word Burch: a tower; most likely, from its name, the structure was located between mountains). Subsequently, there was a movement of part of the population to the right bank of Koksu - to the settlement of Jakkatut.
In the vicinity of Brichmulla, in the 18-19th centuries, gold was extracted. The mechanism of this was very simple: woolen carpets were shaken while soil was poured on top, onto which water was poured making the sand wash through, while the gold remained trapped in the fiber of the carpet. Four people, in one day, could extract 10-30 zolotniks (42.7 - 128.1 grams) of gold. In 1860, the manufacture of cast iron was undertaken here.
Brichmulla is also known in Russian culture due to the song Brich-Mulla by Tatyana and Sergey Nikitin.
Russian:
Бурчмулла́ (узб. Burchmullo; до середины 70-х годов XX века носила название Брич-Мулла́ узб. Brichmulla) — городской посёлок на северо-востоке Ташкентской области (Бостанлыкский район) на расстоянии около 100 км от Ташкента, в юго-восточной части Чарвакского водохранилища, на западной оконечности Коксуйского хребта, между реками Чаткал и Коксу на высоте 960 метров над уровнем моря, недалеко от устья реки Коксу. Расстояние от Газалкента — 57 км.
Ташкент и Бурчмуллу соединяет асфальтированное шоссе, проходящее через мост через реку Чаткал. От Ташкента до Бурчмуллы можно добраться двумя путями: через плотину Чарвакского водохранилища или через Меловой перевал —через Чимган. Также можно доехать в Бурчмуллу по дороге идущей от поселка Чарвак вокруг Чарвакского водохранилища через кишлаки Сиджак, Нанай и Богустан.
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Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brichmulla
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Бурчмулла
http://www.orexca.com/brichmulla.shtml
picture:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ru/f/fa/Brichmulla.jpg
