Sairam (Ispidzhab)Settlement of IspidzhabThe ancient city of Ispidzhab in the 9th-10th centuries was built in the form of a military fortification. It was one of the most beautiful cities in the East, nicknamed the White City. A few centuries later, fortress walls and ditches appeared in its place, however, after the Dzungarian invasion in 1684, Ispidzhab was again destroyed to the ground. Only ruins remained of it, reminiscent of the former fortress walls and bastions.

Ispidzhab was considered the starting point on the Kazakh segment of the Great Silk Road.Here, merchants from Bukhara, Merv and Samarkand had their own caravanserais. The city was inhabited mainly by artisans.