Turkistan
Kazakhstan · Turkistan Region · 205 m
Description
Turkistan holds the one building in Kazakhstan that everybody knows, the mausoleum Timur raised over the grave of the Sufi poet Khoja Ahmed Yasawi and never finished, so the entrance still shows the bare brick and the scaffolding holes where the facing stopped. Its ribbed turquoise dome is the largest of its kind in Central Asia. Around it the walled Kultobe site is still being dug, and next door a whole new quarter of hotels and theatres was built to receive the pilgrims and the coach tours. This is a pilgrimage town, so it is busy in any month.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 3 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: April – May or September – October
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
- Karavansaray quarter and its shows
- Mausoleum of Rabiya Sultan Begim
- Hilvet underground mosque
- Kultobe settlement excavation and the city walls
- Friday mosque and the old bath house
- Otrar ruins and the Arystan-Bab shrine(Day trip)
- Walled medieval town of Sauran(Day trip)
- Turkistan regional museum
- Silk Road ethno-park
Getting there
- Airports:
- HSA
- Train stations:
- Turkistan