September 18 Day 28 Turkistan

Today we spend the day exploring more of the splendours of Turkistan including the impressive Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Our guide is excellent, very knowledgeable and passionate about her country, a country which has a rich and intriguing as well as a blood past. But our first stop was 45 min drive out of Turkistan to the ancient, fortressed city of Sauron, the region’s largest city in medieval times. Sauran, founded in the C6, was once the biggest city in Kazakhstan with seven concentric wall and at one time was a major node on the Silk Road. Today it is an inviting expanse of ruins partially hidden in grass, earth mounds and incomplete excavations. History has it that as empires waxed and waned, Sauran adapted, becoming among other things a Mongol capital, and later, a military fortress under Tamerlane. In the end, people gradually abandoned it in C18 as the city of Turkistan rose in prominence – and also possibly because of a lack of water.

A small part of the wall that once surrounded the ancient settlement of Sauran

Generous locals. I suspect this was probably their lunch

It was a bit of a walk into the site but as we approached, we could see quite large sections of wall a little reminiscent of places we had seen in Turkmenistan in 2018. Before we entered the site a group of men arrived, presumably excavators, and insisted that we share their bread. Generosity marks these people. We were able to wander as we wished and over the hour or more that we were there, we discovered pieces of broken pottery and ceramics, evidence of excavations and reconstructions. It was a quiet and quite fascinating place and, apart from the workmen who we didn’t see again, we were the only people there. We could have lingered longer but we had to get back to town.

Amazing that these walls or at least part of them hve withstood the ravages of time and weather

The once mighty gate have been 'restored' to welcome visitors

Some of our group were looking for lost treasur on parts of the wall that had been covered in sand

Painstaking reconstruction

We found so many broken shard of pottery and ceramic.

Part of this vast settlement

Outside the walls. On the left is what I think was one of the ramparts

Before we left, I was intrigued by a story about a magnificent madrasa with two shaking minarets. Dating back to the golden era of Sauran as a major trading hub on the Silk Road, the madrasa reflected the architectural and educational traditions of the Kazakh steppe. Built beside the madrasa were two very tall ‘shaking’ or ‘swinging’ minarets – they were considered a world wonder. Unfortunately, the minarets are no longer standing but we saw where they had been. By the late C19, the last of the weakened brick towers completely collapsed but I found a photograph of them taken in 1866 by a Russian photographer. I also found reference to them in the writings of a Persian historian.

“Two high minarets of extraordinary height and extreme nobility were placed on the shoulders of aivan. A chain is attached to the guldast of those minarets, and a log (forelock) is attached under the domes (kubba) of each minaret so that someone forces the log to move, the chain hesitates, and to the one in the opposite minaret, it seems that the minaret will collapse , and this is one of the wonders of the world" Persian historian Wasifi. 1514 - 1515.

Part of the old madrassa in front of which the 'shaking minarets' stood

Taken by Capt Mikhail Priorov (1842–1916), a Russian military photographer

There were a few platters like this and plenty of salads - delicious

I love the name of the restaurant where we ate!

After another sumptuous lunch we headed to the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. It is massive and very grand – and is a key tourist attraction. As such there is a market in the corridors leading to it! The Mausoleum was built between 1389 and 1405, by order of Timur to honour Khoja Ahmed Yaswi, a distinguished Sufi master of the C12. Construction of the building was halted in 1405, with the death of Timur, and was never completed. The ceramic tiles are quite stunning. The mausoleum stands within a former citadel and the archaeological area of the medieval town of Yasi, now called Turkestan. Close by there are some archaeological digs which have uncovered a number of ancient sites.

Entrance through the reconstructed citadel walls

Rstoration is ongoing

Stunning tile work

This is unfinished. I wonder hwo big it would have been had it been completed

A pair of Batrian camels patiently waited for torist to ride or photograph

Part ot the archaeologial site adjoing the mausaleum

By this time, we were a bit ‘archaeologied’ out so wandered back to our hotel through some beautiful gardens to pack; this evening we were to board the train to travel 1300 or so km northwest to Aralsk, 14-odd hours away. So we boarded with food for the journey.