Ustyurt, located between the Aral and Caspian Seas, covers an area of more than 200,000 square kilometers and remains largely terra incognita for archaeologists and historians.
This plateau was a crucial passage on the well-known Silk Road, an ancient caravan route that connected Khorezm with the lower reaches of the Volga River and Eastern Europe. This route was also referred to as the "Jade Road", as it facilitated the transportation of precious stones like jade and lapis lazuli.
On the Ustyurt Plateau, 60 sites of prehistoric human habitation dating back to the Neolithic era have been discovered. Archaeological research, which began in the mid-1930s, has uncovered a multitude of monuments dating back to antiquity and the medieval period. During the height of the Khorezmian state, caravanserais, signal towers, water reservoirs and wells were constructed on the Ustyurt Plateau.
Caravanserais on the Ustyurt Plateau were built approximately 35-40 kilometers apart, serving as rest stops for merchants, travelers, and envoys, as well as places for exchanging goods with nomads. The medieval Beleuli caravanserai is located 67 kilometers northeast of the village of Zhaslyk in the Kungrad district of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. This majestic architectural monument, which is believed to date back to the 14th century (with some sources suggesting the 11th century), was a key link in the trade route, providing travelers with shelter, protection, and water amid the vast desert plateau.
The dimensions of the Beleuli caravanserai are 35 by 29 meters. The corners of the building were reinforced with round towers measuring about 3 meters in diameter, while semi-circular towers were placed in the central sections of the northwest and southeast walls.
The structure was two stories high and consisted of 14 rooms - seven on each floor - and included a heating system to ensure comfort during the cold nights of the desert.
The facade of the caravanserai featured a high portal with an arched entrance, and the upper part of the gate, shaped like an arch, was adorned with red bricks and decorated with two bas-relief images of lions.
The walls of the caravanserai, which were 1.0 to 1.2 meters thick, were constructed from rectangular limestone slabs. On its walls, paleographic inscriptions and petroglyphs left by travelers and merchants have been preserved.
Among these inscriptions, texts written in the old Latin alphabet can be found. In the center of the inner courtyard, there was a well, which served as a vital source of water for the weary travelers and their animals.
The Beleuli caravanserai was part of a larger medieval complex. Surrounding it, you can find wells, sardobas for collecting and storing rainwater and melted snow), quarries for extracting building stone, as well as medieval and modern cemeteries. The gravestones in these cemeteries are well-preserved, featuring intricate carvings and inscriptions.
As of today, the upper part of the portal entrance of the Beleuli caravanserai has collapsed. Excavation work at this historical site is ongoing, and each discovery promises to reveal new details that will deepen our understanding of the region's historical significance. Beleuli has been included in the national list of immovable property of material and cultural heritage of Uzbekistan.