Issyk-Kul Lake was a stopover on the Silk Road, a land route for travelers from the Far East to Europe.
The great Chinese Buddhist scholar-monk Xuanzang passed by this lake and noted the details in the classic travelogue Great Tang Records on the Western Regions in the 7th century.
The Lake was once owned by the Qing Dynasty of China and was ceded to Russia – along with the surrounding territory – after the Treaty of Tarbagatai.
Many historians believe that the lake was the point of origin for the Black Death that plagued Europe and Asia during the early and mid-14th century.
The lake's status as a byway for travelers allowed the plague to spread across these continents via medieval merchants who unknowingly carried infested vermin along with them.

The lake level is some 8 metres (26 ft) higher than in medieval times.
Divers have found the remains of submerged settlements in shallow areas around the lake.
In December 2007, a report was released by a team of Kyrgyz historians, led by Vladimir Ploskikh, vice president of the Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences, that archaeologists have discovered the remains of a 2500-year-old advanced civilization at the bottom of the Lake.

The data and artifacts obtained suggest that the ancient city was a metropolis in its time.

The discovery consisted of formidable walls, some stretching for 500 metres (1,600 ft) and traces of a large city with an area of several square kilometers.

Other findings included Scythian burial mounds eroded over the centuries by waves, and numerous well-preserved artifacts, including bronze battleaxes, arrowheads, self-sharpening daggers, objects discarded by smiths, casting molds, and money.

Articles identified as the world's oldest extant coins were found underwater, with gold wire rings used as small change and a large hexahedral goldpiece.
Also found was a bronze cauldron with a level of craftsmanship that is today achieved by using an inert gas environment.

In 1916 the monastery at Issyk-Kul was attacked by Kyrgyz rebels, and seven monks were killed.
Issyk-Kul Lake was a stopover on the Silk Road, a land route for travelers from the Far East to Europe. The great Chinese Buddhist scholar-monk Xuanzang passed by this lake and noted the details in the classic travelogue Great Tang Records on the Western Regions in the 7th century. The Lake was once owned by the Qing Dynasty of China and was ceded to Russia – along with the surrounding territory – after the Treaty of Tarbagatai. Many historians believe that the lake was the point of origin for the Black Death that plagued Europe and Asia during the early and mid-14th century. The lake's status as a byway for travelers allowed the plague to spread across these continents via medieval merchants who unknowingly carried infested vermin along with them.
The lake level is some 8 metres (26 ft) higher than in medieval times. Divers have found the remains of submerged settlements in shallow areas around the lake. In December 2007, a report was released by a team of Kyrgyz historians, led by Vladimir Ploskikh, vice president of the Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences, that archaeologists have discovered the remains of a 2500-year-old advanced civilization at the bottom of the Lake.
The data and artifacts obtained suggest that the ancient city was a metropolis in its time.
The discovery consisted of formidable walls, some stretching for 500 metres (1,600 ft) and traces of a large city with an area of several square kilometers.
Other findings included Scythian burial mounds eroded over the centuries by waves, and numerous well-preserved artifacts, including bronze battleaxes, arrowheads, self-sharpening daggers, objects discarded by smiths, casting molds, and money.
Articles identified as the world's oldest extant coins were found underwater, with gold wire rings used as small change and a large hexahedral goldpiece. Also found was a bronze cauldron with a level of craftsmanship that is today achieved by using an inert gas environment.
In 1916 the monastery at Issyk-Kul was attacked by Kyrgyz rebels, and seven monks were killed.
Issyk-Kul