Aisha-Bibi Mausoleum

The Aisha-Bibi mausoleum is a cube of about seven metres a side, built in the eleventh or twelfth century, and its distinction is its surface: the whole exterior was faced in carved terracotta tiles in some sixty different patterns, geometric, floral and epigraphic, an unusually rich decorative programme for a building of that scale. Much of the facing was lost over the centuries and the building was covered by a glass and steel enclosure in the 2000s to stop further decay, a solution that protects the fabric and complicates photography. The legend attached to it tells of a girl who died on her way to marry the ruler Karakhan, and the tomb of her nurse Babaji Khatun stands beside it.

History

The legend says Aisha-Bibi, a young woman from Otrar, set out against her father's wishes to marry the ruler of Taraz, Karakhan, and was bitten by a snake while bathing in the Assa River an hour before they were to meet; he arrived too late, or in another version married her as she died, and built the tomb in her memory. The scholar Bayan Tujakbayeva links the story to records of the death in 1034 of a daughter of the ruler of Talas, travelling to meet her fiancé. The tomb has been venerated since the Middle Ages: newlyweds in Taraz still retrace Karakhan's journey from his mausoleum to hers. Shoqan Walikhanov painted it in 1856, the archaeologist V. V. Bartold studied the ruins in 1893, a protective glass shell was put over it around 1960, and it was restored in 2002 (Wikipedia, Aisha Bibi).

What's there

• The carved terracotta - the tile patterns covering the original facing.
• The protective enclosure - the glass and steel structure built over it.
• Babaji Khatun tomb - the smaller mausoleum standing alongside.
• The village setting - the modern settlement around the monument.

When to go

April to June and September to October for the weather. Mornings and late afternoons give better light through the enclosure. The site keeps daytime hours with a ticket office.

Good to know

The glass enclosure reflects badly and makes the building hard to see and photograph. Much of the original tilework has been lost and parts are restoration. The site is small and takes under an hour. Interpretation is limited.

Nearby

Taraz lies east; Akyrtas is beyond it.

Key facts