Qapal (), formerly known as ''Kopal'' (), is a village in Aksu District in

Jetisu Region Jetisu Region (, ; ), formerly spelled Zhetysu Region, is one of the Regions of Kazakhstan. Its administrative center is Taldykorgan. Total area of the region is 118,500 km². Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly ...

of south-eastern

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. It is situated on the river Qapal. Until 1921, it was an

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd or uiezd; rus, уе́зд ( pre-1918: уѣздъ), p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context () was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, the R ...

center of the Semirechye Oblast.

Tamshybulak Spring

The Tamshybulak Spring is a large spring on the territory of the village, situated on fertile ground. The water does not freeze in winter and algae grow all year round. The water flows down from the mountains in small drops, so it is called in Kazakh "Tears of the Earth" or "Weeping Spring". The spring is renowned for the beauty and sacred power of its water, which is medicinal: each arm of the spring has its own properties. In one place, the water is believed to benefit eye diseases, in another, those of the stomach, and so on. Many pilgrims and tourists visit because of their belief in the healing properties of the water, which are yet to be confirmed by scientific studies. The first records concerning the medicinal properties of the spring were studied and collected by the great traveller and geographer Shokan Valikhanov in 1859–1865. In 1848, the English travellers

Thomas Witlam Atkinson Thomas Witlam Atkinson (1799–1861) was an England, English architect, artist and traveller in Siberia and Central Asia. Between 1847 and 1853 he travelled over 40 000 miles through Central Asia and Siberia, much of the time together with his wife ...

and his wife

Lucy Lucy is an English language, English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings ar ...

visited Kapal. He published his first article describing the spring and the nature of Kapal village in 1869 in the St. Petersburg magazine "Around the World". The Atkinsons' son was born in Kapal and was named after the spring: Alatau Tamchiboulac Atkinson.Lucy Atkinson, 1863: '' Recollections of Tartar Steppes and Their Inhabitants''

Notes and references

External links

TripAdvisor.co.uk: Tamshybulak Spring, Kapal - map and photo
Populated places in Jetisu Region Semirechye Oblast Springs of Kazakhstan {{JetisuRegion-geo-stub