Nobody lives at Kulan now, except sheep and the odd herder, but in the early Middle Ages it was a town of the Silk Road, a stop on the route that ran from China across the Tian Shan foothills into Central Asia. The plain it stands on lies in the south of Kazakhstan, in the Zhambyl region, between the snowy ridges of the Kyrgyz Alatau, which rise to the south, and the dry steppe stretching north to Lake Balkhash and beyond. Here the Chu river valley and the Taraz road made a natural highway for caravans, and the settlement of Kulan, in the early medieval centuries, was a market and a staging post, with the mud-brick walls, towers and a citadel typical of the region. It was listed in 2014, together with Kostobe and many other sites, as part of the Silk Roads network's Tian-Shan corridor.
Little remains above ground, and what is left reads best as bumps and ridges in the grass, with a few eroded walls. The wind, the larks and the huge sky do most of the work for you. Archaeologists have found pottery and coins that tell of trade with Sogdian merchants, who carried silk, glass, and ideas, and of Turkic peoples who ruled the steppe.
For a rider, the road is part of the point. Roads in southern Kazakhstan are mostly good along the main routes, and the long, straight stretches across the steppe require attention against fatigue and strong crosswinds. Summers are hot and dry, with temperatures above thirty-five degrees, and winters bitterly cold, so spring and early autumn are the best seasons. Be careful of livestock on the road at dusk, and of loose gravel when the tarmac gives way to a side track.
Fuel can be found in Lugovoy, a town of over ten thousand people on the main route, and the city of Taraz, further west, has much more. Outside those towns, stations can be far apart, so top up when you can. Roadside cafes serve beshbarmak, boiled meat on noodles, and fresh bread with kumys, the fermented mare's milk, an acquired taste.
Take water and a hat, and a good sense of direction, because signs can be sparse.