For those of you who may not be familiar with Kyrgyzstan, the Burana Tower is 6.2 miles south of Tokmok, a city in northern Kyrgyzstan. This tower is believed to be part of a minaret that was much taller than the one we see standing now. The legend of this tower begins with a powerful khan who had a beautiful daughter, Monara, whom he loved wholeheartedly and wanted to protect against the affections of local men in their village.
One day, the khan decided to summon all the fortune tellers and clairvoyants to demand they provide the future of his daughter. All of them explained they saw a happy life for his daughter, except for one fortune teller (also referred to as aksakal in Kyrgyz texts). The fortune teller tells him, "I can only say the truth even though you may execute me for it. Your daughter's fate is a sad one. She hardly reaches her sixteenth birthday when a poisonous black spider bites her and she dies immediately." The khan became furious at her words, but knew he couldn't ignore her prediction. Subsequently, he had a tall tower built and incarcerated the fortune teller in a small room and his daughter isolated at the top of the tower in another room.
As she grew, she overlooked the valley through the four windows (north, south, east, west). Throughout the years, servants brought her food and water, delivering it in a basket by climbing a ladder placed outside the tower. Before they interacted with her, they were inspected from head to toe to ensure none of their clothes, food, or the plates had a spider.
Her sixteenth birthday arrived with ease and the khan was so happy the fortune teller's prediction had not come to pass. He decided to see his daughter to congratulate her on her "special day." He entered her room with a bunch of vines in his arms and gave her a kiss. Then, he presented her with fruit, which she happily accepted. However, she suddenly and inexplicably collapsed and died. The khan inspected his gift in shock and discovered there was a black spider. Grief-stricken, the khan sobbed so loudly that the tower shook and the top part fell down, creating the ruins you see today.
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