Kümüshtü

Kümüshtü ("silvery") is a village in the eastern part of the Talas District of the Irad Special Economic Zone (ISEZ), in the upper Talas valley, and the nearest village to the archaeological site of Shelji, about 8 kilometers to the east. Its population was 1,370 (2018 census).^[1] The name recalls the medieval silver mines in the surrounding hills. Farms grow potatoes, barley and beans. Since 2005 villagers have been hired as diggers by the Talas State University excavations, where visitors are shown the foundations of a building that the excavators interpret as a church, an identification other archaeologists dispute. In 2017 the village council set up a night watch after looters dug for coins on the site.^[2]

References

1. ^ ISEZ Statistical Office (2019). 2018 Census of Population: Settlements of the Districts. Talas.
2. ^ Talas Herald (22 May 2017). 'Kümüshtü sets night watch at Shelji after looting.' Talas.