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Turkistan

The Timurid Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi

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2 daysIdeal stay₹3,150From / night₹1,260Food / day₹320Entry

An old Silk Road city on the edge of the Kyzylkum, and Kazakhstan's holiest place: the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, the 12th-century Sufi poet, raised by Timur from 1389 and left unfinished, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a pilgrimage for Kazakhs and visitors from across Central Asia. The Keruen Saray complex beside it has hotels, canal-side cafés and an evening show. Arystan Bab's mausoleum at Otrar and the ruins of Sauran are short drives. Hazret Sultan airport has a few flights a week from Almaty; Shymkent, with more flights, is two hours by bus. Very hot in summer: visit in spring or autumn and dress modestly at the shrines.

Highlights

  • Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
  • Its turquoise ribbed dome at dusk
  • Hilvet underground mosque
  • Keruen Saray canals and evening show
  • Arystan Bab at Otrar
  • The ruined city of Sauran

Things to do

  • Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi and HilvetMorning · 2h 30m
  • Keruen Saray and the evening showEvening · 2h 30m
  • Day trip to Arystan Bab (Otrar) and SauranMorning · 6h

Tours & tickets

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When to go

Best time: March – May, September – November

Worth knowing

Steppe and Desert Heat

From June to August the south and west of Kazakhstan pass 35-40°C by day, more in the desert. Sightsee at dawn and in the evening, carry water, cover your head, and rest indoors after lunch.

Heads up

Nauryz Holidays (21-23 March)

Nauryz, the spring new year, brings yurt villages, concerts and feasts to every city on 21-23 March. Offices and some museums close, and trains, flights and hotels fill with Kazakhs travelling home: book ahead.

  • Nauryz (Spring New Year) — Kazakhstan's biggest holiday, at the spring equinox: 21-23 March are public holidays. Yurt villages go up in the squares, families cook nauryz kozhe (a seven-ingredient soup), and there are concerts, horse games and fairs; Turkistan and Shymkent celebrate hardest. Offices and some museums close, and trains and flights home are full.
  • Kurban Ait (Eid al-Adha) — The feast of sacrifice, a public holiday on its first day; it moves about 11 days earlier each year (mid-May in 2027). Mosques and the Yasawi mausoleum in Turkistan are crowded with families; some shops and offices close.