Gozli Ata Mausoleum

Gozli Ata lies in a bowl of eroded desert cliffs northeast of Turkmenbashi, a brick shrine with twin white domes over the grave of the Sufi teacher Gozli Ata, who lies in a coffin of extraordinary length, with the ruins of a madrasa and the mausoleum of his wife, Bibi Aysulu, beside it, surrounded by a cemetery of low graves spread across the bare ground. There is nothing else for many kilometres. Pilgrims come out here and stay overnight in a simple building beside the shrine. The Yangykala canyons are a short drive further on.

The main sights

• The shrine - the twin-domed tomb of the Sufi teacher.
• The cemetery - low graves spread across the bare ground around it.
• The eroded cliffs - the desert walls enclosing the bowl the shrine sits in.
• The emptiness - nothing else within many kilometres in any direction.

When to go

April to May and September to October are the workable months. Summer heat in the open desert is dangerous. Pilgrim numbers rise around holidays.

Good to know

Access needs a four-wheel drive and a driver who knows the tracks. There is no water, fuel or shade anywhere near. This is an active pilgrimage site and behaviour matters.

Nearby

Yangykala Canyon is nearby, and Turkmenbashi is southwest.

Key facts