Tours to ancient settlements of Kazakhstan.

"The Kazakhs who lived in the lower reaches of the Chu River were divided into several communities. Each of them had its own main irrigation ditch - "togan", which came out of the Chu River. Its length sometimes reached 25 kilometers, and the right to use the water was conditioned by participation in the work to conduct and maintain the "togan".

Ethnographer L. Chormak.

Destinations and routes in Kazakhstan.

Settlement of Karamergen (translated from Kazakh as Kara mergen - Black shooter or black hunter) is located at an altitude of 347 meters above sea level, located 78.3 kilometers northeast of village of Karaoy, 101 kilometers northeast of village of Bosingen, 123.3 kilometers northwest of village of Akzhar, in Balkhash district in northern part of Almaty region.
Agashayak ancient settlement is located in the northern part of the Saryesik-Atyrau sands, 73 kilometers south and slightly east of the Saryesik peninsula on Lake Balkhash, 1.7 kilometers southwest of the Karamergen valley.
The settlement of Karamergen is located 38.5 kilometers to the north and a little west of the settlement of Agashayak, from the settlement of Aktam Karamergen is 79.3 kilometers to the north and a little to the west.
The ancient settlement of Karamergen is a square structure in terms of the cardinal directions from the southeast to the northwest. The length of the swollen walls of the fortification is: southern - 132, western - 126, estern - 131, northern - 139 meters.
The fortification area is 23205.09 square meters, the perimeter reaches 621.08 meters. Corner towers and entrances are quite well preserved on the settlement of Karamergen. The settlement of Karamergen is one of the largest and northernmost, it is a small medieval town of agricultural civilization in the ancient delta of the Ili River of the XIIth - XIIIth centuries.
Near the ancient bed of the Ortasu River, from which the main canal was also drawn, which was formed by two channels: one of which departs from the Ortasu River, and the other from the Akkum River. Karamergen grew in the lower reaches of a fertile alluvial fan irrigated by the waters of the ancient delta of the Ili River - Shet-Bakanas, not far from the southern shore of Lake Balkhash.
Karamergen is much larger than Aktam, it was destroyed during the invasions of Mongoloid nomads in the XIII century. Changes in the course of the river made the restoration of the city impractical. Despite the destruction and erosion, the remains of adobe settlements and a developed irrigation system are still well preserved.
In addition to irrigated agriculture, hunting in the tugai forests, where Turanian tigers lived, as well as fishing in the waters of the Ili River and Lake Balkhash, also played an important role in the life of the townspeople. The UNESCO list includes the northernmost medieval city of Karamergen.
Geographical coordinates of settlement Karamergen: N46°15'17 E75°37'33

Authority:
The guidebook across Kazakhstan . Authors Dagmar Schreiber and Jeremy Tredinnick.   Publishing house "Odyssey".2010.