Turkestan
Turkestan (Yassy) was known as the spiritual and political center of Turkic-speaking peoples and was the capital of the Kazakh Khanate. Turkestan is 1,500 years old. Pilgrims say three trips to Turkestan equal small hajj to Mecca.
The whole city center consists of the historic and cultural reservation of Azret-Sultan. In addition to the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, it includes a medieval bath hilvet, where lived a great saint, the mausoleum of the great granddaughter of Timur Rabiya - Sultan Begim, and other monuments, among which miraculously survived underground house for thought Kumshik-ata.
Theological school, founded by Yasawi attracted those who yearn for knowledge, from the neighboring towns and remote steppes of Kazakhstan. The city became the most significant center of education in Kazakhstan.
The memorial complex, which appeared on the Yasawi grave, became the most visited temples in Central Asia.
The mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi - is a wonderful complex of palaces and temples, a masterpiece of Medieval architecture.
The height of the huge building, which has witnessed many historical disasters and was opened recently after a restoration, is 44 meters, diameter of the main dome is 22 meters. It has over 30 rooms and halls. Its central hall is a closed-down residence of the Kazakh khans, now there is a specific museum – pantheon.
The pearl of this museum is "Tai Kazan", the largest in the entire eastern Muslim world - a bowl for water. It was made from an alloy of seven metals. The graceful vault furnishings and colorful tile mosaics capture the imagination.
