The Mazar of Shaikh Ahmad Yasavi in the town of Turkestan. Built by Timur in the 1390s.

Landsat satellite photo of Hazrat-e Turkestan

Hazrat-e Turkestan (modern name Türkistan, Kazakh: Түркістан), a city in the southern region of Kazakhstan near the Syr Darya river, is where the capital of ancient Kangju (康居) was located prior to being moved to Zhe’she. It has a population of 85,600 and is situated 160 km (100 miles) north-west of Taraz (Aulie-Ata) on the Trans-Aral Railway between Ak-Mechet (Perovsk) to the north and Tashkent to the south (43°17′N 68°16′E). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1420x1015, 528 KB)View of the Mazar of Shaikh Ahmad Yasavi in the Town of Turkestan. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1420x1015, 528 KB)View of the Mazar of Shaikh Ahmad Yasavi in the Town of Turkestan. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x948, 299 KB)Hazrat-e Turkestan in Kazakhstan I made this with World wind programme File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x948, 299 KB)Hazrat-e Turkestan in Kazakhstan I made this with World wind programme File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Kazakh, also Kazak, Khazakh, Qazaq, Kosach, and Kaisak (Қазақ тілі in Cyrillic, Qazaq tilî in the Latin alphabet, and قازاق تءىلءي in the Arabic alphabet) is a Western Turkic language closely related to Nogai and Karakalpak. ... South Kazakhstan (Ongtüstik Qazaqstan) is a province of Kazakhstan. ... Syr Darya (also known as Syrdarya or Sirdaryo) is a river in Central Asia. ... Taraz (formerly Zhambyl or Dzhambul) is a city and a center of the Zhambyl oblysy in Kazakhstan. ... A view from the train while traveling along the path of the Trans-Aral Railway. ... Tashkent Tashkent (Toshkent or Тошкент in Uzbek, Ташкент in Russian; its name translates from Uzbek to Stone City in English) is the current capital of Uzbekistan and also of Tashkent Province. ...

Türkistan is the most historic city in Kazakhstan, with an archaeological record dating back to the 4th century. (For a brief description click here). To the Chinese it was known as Beitian. Later it was known as Yasi or Shavgar to the 16th century, it was an important trade centre.

The name Hazrat-e Turkestan literally means "the Saint (or Blessed One) of Turkestan" and refers to Khoja Ahmad Yasavi, the great Sufi Shaikh of Turkestan, who was born here at the turn of the 11th century AD, and is buried in the town. Under his aegis the city became the most important centre of learning for the peoples of the Kazakh steppes. In the 1390s Timur erected a magnificent domed Mazar or tomb over his grave, which is without doubt the most significant architectural monument to be found anywhere in Kazakhstan. The Mazar of Shaikh Ahmad Yasavi in the town of Turkestan. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... Shaikh (Arabic: شيخ ),(also rendered as Sheik, Shaykh or Sheikh) is a word in the Arabic language meaning elder of tribe, lord or a revered old man. ... Statue of Timur in Shahrisabz, Uzbekistan Timur (Chagatai: تیمور, iron, actually TimÅ«r GurkānÄ«, Persian: تيمور گوركانى, Gurkān being the Persianized form of the original Mongolian word kürügän, son-in-law) — also known as Timur-e Lang, Persian: تیمور لنگ, which translates to Timur the Lame, as he was lame... A view of the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi in Turkestan, Kazakhstan. ...

The city still attracts thousands of pilgrims. According to local tradition, three pilgrimages to Türkistan are said to be equivalent to one Hajj to Mecca, although this is not widely accepted elsewhere in the Muslim World. The Saint was held in such reverence that the city was even known as the Second Mecca of the East, and it is of enormous importance for Muslims in Kazakhstan. The Hajj (Arabic: ‎ transliterated: ), (Turkish:Hac) is the Pilgrimage to Mecca in Islam. ... Mecca or Makkah (in full: Makkah al-Mukarramah; Arabic: ‎) is the capital city of Saudi Arabias Makkah province, in the historic Hijaz region. ...

Other important historical sites include a mediaeval bath-house and four other mausoleums, one to Tamerlaine's granddaughter and three to Kazakh Khans (rulers). Khan (sometimes spelled as Xan, Han) is a title with many meanings, originally commander, leader or ruler, in Mongolian and Turkish. ...

Throughout its history Türkistan has been a border town, lying as it does on the fringes of the settled Perso-Islamic oasis culture of Transoxiana to the south, and the world of the Turko-Mongol steppe nomads to the north. Accordingly at times it has been an important Kazakh political centre, and at others a frontier town under the control of the Uzbek Khanates further south. Oasis in the Libyan part of the Sahara In geography, an oasis is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source. ... Map showing modern Transoxiana. ... A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, a steppe (Russian: - step, Ukrainian: - step), pronounced in English as step, is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being dominated by... Kazakh nomads in the steppes of the Russian Empire, ca. ...

When it fell to the Russians in 1863 it was under the suzerainty of the Khanate of Kokand. Türkistan was in the Syr-Darya Oblast of the Governor-Generalship of Russian Turkestan. When the Tsarist regime fell in 1917-18 it was briefly part of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic before being incorporated into the new Kazakh SSR in 1924. The Khanate of Kokand is a formar state in Asia that existed from 1709-1876 within the territory of modern Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. ... Map of area around the Aral Sea. ... Oblast (Czech: oblast, Slovak: oblasÅ¥, Russian and Ukrainian: , Belarusian: , Bulgarian: о́бласт) refers to a subnational entity in some countries. ... Governor-General (or Governor General) is a term used both historically and currently to designate the appointed representative of a head of state or their government for a particular territory, historically in a colonial context, but no longer necessarily in that form. ... Russian Turkestan (Russian: Ру́сский Туркеста́н), also known as Turkestansky Krai (Туркеста́нский край), was a subdivision (Krai or Governor-Generalship) of Imperial Russia, comprising the oasis region to the South of the Kazakh steppes, but not the Protectorates of Bukhara and Khiva. ... Росси́йская Импе́рия, (also Imperial Russia) covers the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great into the Russian Empire stretching from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposition of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start of the Russian Revolution... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (April 30, 1918 – October 27, 1924) was created from the Turkestan Krai of Imperial Russia. ... State motto: Барлық елдердің пролетарлары, бірігіңдер! (Workers of the world, unite!) Official language None. ...

Modern-day Türkistan has a population of 85,600 (1999 census), almost all of whom are ethnic Kazakhs. The population rose by 10% from 1989-99, making it the second-fastest growing town in Kazakhstan, after the new capital Astana. The Kazakhs (also spelled Kazak or Qazaq), (in Kazakh: Қазақ []; in Russian: Казах; English term is the transliteration from Russian) are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia (largely Kazakhstan, but also found in parts of Russia and China). ... Astanas flag Astanas coat-of-arms Map showing Astanas location in Kazakhstan New buldings in Astana Astana climate Astana (Kazakh, Russian: Астана), estimated population of 600,000 (2004 and growing fast), has been the capital of Kazakhstan since 1998. ...

How to travel to Turkistan From Europe there are everyday flights from Frankfurt (Germany) to Almaty (Kazakhstan) via Lufthansa, KLM, Air Astana. From Almaty there are many trains to Turkestan every day, which take nearly 20 hours. On the other hand, there are everyday flight from Almaty to Shymkent city (the capital of South Kazakhstan province). From Shymkent to Turkestan it is nearly 2 hours by taxi (150 km) and it costs appr. $10 US. In Turkestan there are several hotels (2 stars) which cost about $25 US per day. From Asia, the best way to travel is take a plane through Moscow to Almaty. From North America, fly to Frankfurt or Amsterdam, from where there are daily flights to Almaty.

External link

• Description of archaeological investigations

See also

• Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi