
KAZAKHSTAN - Turkistan
Turkistan (160 km or 100mi north-west of Shymkent) is home of the Kazakhstan’s greatest architectural monument included on UNESCO World Heritage List, and the most important pilgrimage site. Turkistan is one of Kazakhstan's historic cities with an archaeological record dating back to the 4th century and was already an important trade and religious centre (under the name Yasy) when the revered Sufi teacher and mystical poet Kozha Akhmed Yasaui came to live and die in the city in the 12th century. Timur built and dedicated the Mausoleum to the poet in the late 14th century on a grand scale comparable with his magnificent creations in Samarkand. From the 16th to 18th centuries Turkistan was the capital of the Kazakh khans.
Otrar (80 kms from Turkistan) is today a ghost town but was an important town in the history of Central Asia, located along the Silk Road. It was the center of a great oasis and political district, commanding a key point connecting Kazakhstan with China, Europe, Near and Middle East, Siberia and Ural.
BEST TIME to VISIT KAZAKHSTAN
BEST TIME to TRAVEL to TURKISTAN
From May to September

local cowboys

camels

camels

Chodja Jassawi Mausoleum

Chodja Jassawi Mausoleum

Chodja Jassawi Mausoleum - The mausoleum’s exterior walls are covered in glazed tiles constituting geometric patterns with Kufic and Suls epigraphic ornaments derived from the Qur'an.

Chodja Jassawi Mausoleum

Chodja Jassawi Mausoleum

Chodja Jassawi Mausoleum

Chodja Jassawi Mausoleum - Mosque

Chodja Jassawi Mausoleum - unfinished side - construction was halted in 1405

Chodja Jassawi Mausoleum - large bronze cauldron, used for religious purposes

Chodja Jassawi Mausoleum - interior

Chodja Jassawi Mausoleum - original wooden doors

a small Mausoleum near Chodja Jassawi Mausoleum

a small Mausoleum near Chodja Jassawi Mausoleum - Cupola

new mosque

these rules are effective for all mausoleums and mosques in Kazakhstan.

Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev is the President of Kazakhstan. He has been the country's leader since 1989, when he was named First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Kazakh SSR, and was elected the nation's first president following its independence from the Soviet Union in December 1991.

main avenue and entrance gate of the city

Arystan Bab Mausoleum near to the village of Kogam and Otrartobe

Arystan Bab Mausoleum near to the village of Kogam and Otrartobe

Mazar Ukash-ata : Gravestone (sagana) over a place of a burial place of soldier Ukash-ata – one of the greatest in Kazakhstan. Its length reaches 22 meters. Mazar Ukash-ata is approximately 60 kms from Turkistan

Mazar Ukash-Ata : at few distance from the Gravestone of soldier Ukash-ata , there is a famous well for religious people.

Mazar Ukash-Ata : The well is located is the round building

main gate

bathhouse

old city walls

the old well

overview

overview

old jar

new Mosque