Southkazakhstan.com: Turkistan

Turkistan was founded as early as the 5th century AD. It was an important trade and religious center standing on the Great Silk Road and simultaneously on a boundary between nomadic and agricultural communities. In 16-17th centuries Turkistan was a capital of the first Kazakh Khanate (kingdom) where sultans (rulers) were enthroned.

The first great Turkic Muslim holy man brought religious glory to the town. The mausoleum in honor of Kozha Akhmed Yasaui, was built on a grand scale by Timur in the late 14th century (from 1389 to 1405). Today this one of the largest, outstanding and best-preserved constructions of the Timurid period, considered to be Kazakhstan’s greatest building and the most important site of Muslim pilgrimage in Central Asia.

Turkistan is 165km northwest of Shymkent. In Shymkent you can catch a marshrutnoe taxi from the Ozero or Autovokzal stand to Turkistan. To visit the mausoleum takes no more than half a day and can easily be done as a day trip from Shymkent.

Otrar

Among a few scattered historical sites which managed to survive there is perhaps the most fascinating and certainly the most mysterious place – the mausoleum of Arystan-bab and the ruined ancient cities of Otrar. It is about 150km northwest of Shymkent - the town that brought Genghiz Khan to Central Asia.

The richest trade center along the Silk Road

The history of the city dates back to nearly 2,000 years. Otrar was recognized to be one of the richest trade centers along the Silk Road. In addition, the arts, sciences, and philosophy flourished here in ways nearly unknown to the most in the West today. Then in 1219 Genghis Khan on his Central Asia invasion route destroyed everything he could reach – and his horde could reach far.

Excavation activities are underway

The most captivating thing about the site is not what’s been excavated but what still remains buried. History literally lays underfoot at every step. Walking not only kicks up clouds of fine powdery dust, it reveals dazzling pieces of ancient pottery in various colors. Earthy-red, emerald green and the region’s famous sky-blue turquoise glazed and unglazed saucers, plates, cups, bowls, urns – their remnants are scattered all over the place.

The UNESCO World Heritage site

Sadly, there’s not much left of the town that once covered 20 hectares, though preservation work by Unesco archaeologists promises to make more of it accessible to the casual tourist (Otrar is now a UNESCO World Heritage site). Among the places to see – a bathhouse, well and stone basin with Arabic script, and mosque, all from the 12 to 16 centuries, and the Palace of Berdibek, the Tamerlane himself died in 1405 in Otrar. Ortrar was the birthplace of the famous Islamic scientist, mathematician, and astronomer Abu Nasr al-Farabi.

14th-century Arystan-Bab Mausoleum is close to the ruins of Otrar. This is the tomb of a mentor of Kozha Akhmed Yasaui, (the famous Sufi poet-preacher to whom the arts-loving tyrant Tamerlane dedicated his architectural masterwork in Turkistan). The Al-Farabi museum is 5km away at the village of Shauldir and includes some findings from Otrar.