Barskoon

Barskoon lies on the southern shore of Issyk-Kul, beside a valley leading into the Tian Shan. A route associated with the Silk Roads passed through the area and over the Bedel Pass toward Kashgaria. Medieval sources mention a place called Barskhan on the lake's southern shore; the name was also applied to a neighbouring Turkic group.

In the eleventh century Barskhan was ruled by a Qarakhanid prince. The region is also associated with Mahmud al-Kashgari, the scholar who compiled a dictionary of Turkic languages. These earlier connections help place the lakeside corridor in the history of Central Asian trade and learning.