Jeti Oguz
The monument of nature, the bare rock is dark red in color
Jeti Oguz is located on the shores of Issyk Kul about 26 kilometres southwest of Karakol. Now a protected Nature Monument the rocks outcrops behind the village are deep red in colour and provide a spectacular backdrop to any photograph.
The name Jeti Oguz means 7 bulls, and there a many legends how these great walls of rock acquired their name – but you will read about this later in our programme pages.
In the village there is an ancient cemetery and some burial barrows (burial mounds) that are believed to date back to between the 7th and 5th centuries B.C., so there has been a settlement here for over 2,500 years.
Regarded by many as one of the most beautiful places in the country, it also boasts another treat – an old Soviet spa where it is possible to bathe in the waters from the hot springs. Suffice to say that not much maintenance has been carried out since Soviet times either.
The Legend of Jety-Oguz (Seven Bulls)
Jety-Oguz, an area of stunning red rocks, is named seven rocks said to resemble seven bulls lying on the earth.
Back in history there lived two feuding rulers. One of them had a beautiful wife. The other ruler fell in love with the beauty and kidnapped her from his rival. A vicious war began between the two rulers, and slowly the khan whose wife had been kidnapped began to get the upper hand. This ruler demanded the return of his beloved wife otherwisehe vowed he would kill his rival and all his people.
The wicked khan was thinking hard what to do in order not to surrender the enemy. One of his relatives shared an artful plan with him. He proposed to kill the woman and give the body to her husband as the first ruler did not tell how he wanted to have his wife back. The wicked khan liked this plan very much. He arranged seven-day festivities, slaughtering a bull every day. When the seventh day came and the last bull was slaughtered the khan killed the woman with his own hand.
But the deeds of evil were not left unpunished.The moment when the woman’s blood was shed on the rocks, hot flows of water flushed to the valley and killed the khan and his people. Since that timethe gorge where the woman was killed has been called Jety-Oguz – “Seven Bulls”