Arystan Bab Mausoleum (Kazakh: Арыстан Баб мазары) is a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be con ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

close to the village of Kogam and

Otrar Otrar or Utrar ( kk, Отырар, ''Otyrar'', otəˈɾɑɾ otk, 𐰚𐰭𐱃𐰺𐰢𐰣, Keŋü Tarman), also called Farab, is a Central Asian ghost town that was a city located along the Silk Road in Kazakhstan. Otrar was an important town ...

tobe.

History

A legend states that

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...

ordered the construction of a mosque on the site of

Ahmet Yesevi Ahmad Yasawi ( kk, Қожа Ахмет Ясауи, Qoja Ahmet Iasaui, قوجا احمەت ياساۋٸ; fa, خواجه اَحمدِ یَسوی, Khwāje Ahmad-e Yasavī; 1093–1166) was a Turkic poet and Sufi, an early mystic who exerted a pow ...

's grave but all attempts were unsuccessful. Timur was then told in a dream that in order to have success, he should first build a mausoleum over the grave of religious mystic, Arystan Baba. The mausoleum dates back to the 14th century and is constructed over Arystan Bab's 12th-century grave, but was reconstructed several times up to the 18th century. In the 18th century the previous mausoleum, which had been destroyed by an earthquake was replaced with a double domed structure supported by two carved wooden columns. Most of the current structure was constructed in the first decade of the 20th century with only the carved wooden pillars, remaining from the original building.

Description

The mausoleum features a large central arch and wide front facade with

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally ...

s at the ends and two large domes to the left of the main arch. As well as the two-chambered table-tomb ( gurkhana) of Arystan Bab and three of his students, Hermet-Azyra, Karga-Baba and Lashyn-Baba, a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a Place of worship, place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) ...

and auxiliary quarters and museum are located in the other rooms of the mausoleum. The effect of high

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidat ...

levels led to the mosque being demolished and rebuilt in 1971. A

quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...

showing

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

calligraphy is displayed under glass here. The mausoleum is today a place of pilgrimage.

Arystan Bab

According to legends, Arystan Bab, a religious mystic, was the recipient of

Mohammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...

's amanat beads or

persimmon The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus ''Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, '' Diospyros kaki'' ''Diospyros'' is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-pe ...

pip. When he was in Sayram, he passed these on to the eleven-year-old Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, who then became his pupil. The people treat Arystan Bab as a Saint (Aulie). So every Thursday, pilgrims spend the night at his grave and say prayers. A popular expression is widely spread: "spend the night at Arystan Bab, ask Khoja Ahmed". According to legends, Arystan Bab lived for over 400 years.

References

{{Authority control Mausoleums in Kazakhstan Turkistan Region