On the way from Bishkek to Issyk-Kul lies the rather unspectacular city of Tokmak, which is reached after approx. 50 km. Only 15 km south of Tokmak is the landmark of Kyrgyzstan - the Burana Tower in the former ancient Sogdian city of Balasagun. The city was probably founded by the Iranian-born Sogdians at the end of the 9th century and later conquered by the Turk-born Karachanids. After the Mongols of Genghis Khan captured the city around 1217, its decline began. Balasagun was once considered one of the most important trading centers on the Silk Road in Central Asia. Today only the Burana Tower (UNESCO), which once served as a minaret for a mosque, is left, as well as an excavation site with remains of walls and ruins of some mausoleums.