Arystan-Bab Mausoleum

Arystan-Bab is remembered as the teacher of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, the Sufi master whose mausoleum at Turkestan is the great shrine of Kazakhstan, and tradition holds that a pilgrim should visit Arystan-Bab first and Turkestan second, which is why the two are almost always done together. The present building beside the Otrar mound dates from the early twentieth century, replacing earlier structures that repeatedly collapsed, with twin domes, a portal and carved wooden columns from an older mosque incorporated into it. Inside are the tomb chamber and a mosque still in use. A well on the site is visited by pilgrims. It stands in flat desert steppe with the Otrar ruins immediately adjacent.

History

Legend says Timur tried in vain to build a mosque over the grave of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi until Yasawi told him in a dream to build a mausoleum over the grave of Arystan Bab first. The mausoleum goes back to the 14th century, over Arystan Bab's 12th-century grave; after an earthquake it was replaced in the 18th century by a double-domed building on two carved wooden columns, and most of the present structure dates from the first decade of the 20th century (Wikipedia, Arystan Bab Mausoleum).

Highlights

• The twin-domed tomb - the early twentieth-century mausoleum.
• Old wooden columns - the carved columns reused from earlier buildings.
• The pilgrim well - the water source visited as part of the sequence.
• The mosque - the working prayer hall attached to the tomb.

When to go

April to May and September to October for bearable weather. Fridays and religious holidays bring the most pilgrims. Combine with Otrar, which is next door, and Turkestan afterwards as pilgrims do.

Things to know

The building is modern rather than medieval, despite the antiquity of the tradition. It is an active shrine and behaviour and dress should follow that. Photography inside may be restricted. The surroundings are flat, hot and shadeless.

Nearby

Otrar is immediately beside it; Turkestan lies east.

Key facts