The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (Қожа Ахмет Ясауи Кесенесі)

]]>
The mausoleum is located in the city of Turkestan, Southern Kazakhstan Region.

Historical Value:

Khoja Ahmed Yasawi was a Turkic poet and the head of a Sufism regional school during 12th century, he was highly respected by the public in Central Asia at that time and had great influence in Sufism. His mausoleum was also a pilgrimage site for Muslims.

The mausoleum was originally built in 12th century. After the Timurid Empire had defeated the Golden Horde, Timur, founder of the Empire, decided to build a new mausoleum replacing the old and ruined one, in order to gain the support from local citizens, by glorifying Khoja Ahmed Yasawi and Islam. However, the construction was immediately stopped when Timur died in 1405, while the entrance of the mausoleum was left unfinished.

Architectural Value:

Although the construction was not finished, the mausoleum was still a well-preserved Timurid constructions. The creation of it also marked the beginning of the Timurid architectural style. Many new architectural style of the empire was originated from this project, and soon after that the skills were spread over the entire land of it.

Now, the mausoleum has been protected by the government as a national monument, and the UNESCO had declared it as a World Heritage Site in 2003.]]>
The mausoluem is located in the Otyrar District, South Kazakhstan Region.

Historical Value:

According to the legend, Arystan Bab was the associate of prophet Muhammad, and had volunteered to take the order, to pass an persimmon from prophet to a man who would be given birth 400 years later. The man was later known to be Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, and Arystan Bab had become to mentor of him. The Mausoleum was constructed in 14th century under the order of Timur, to replace the grave of Arystan Bab in 12th century.

Although the Mausoleum had been reconstructed for several times, the site itself still represents the respect towards Arystan Bab.

Architectural Value:

As the mausoleum had been reconstructed in 1900s, not many parts of the building were remained from the one built in 14th century. Even so, the construction still possesses some of the architectural style in Timurid Empire. The mausoleum has been enlisted under the protection of the Kazakh government since 1982.]]>
The mausoleum is located near the city of Taraz, Jambyl Region.

Symbolic Value:

The Mausoleum was built under the order of a ruler of the Karakhanid Dynasty, in memoriam of Ashi Bibi, his fiancee. This site also symbolizes blessings to newlyweds, to allow them to have children and a happy family.

Recreational Value:

The government had built a park around the mausoleum in 2002, to allow people to visit the site and spend time with their families, achieving the symbolic value.]]>
The valley is located in the Zhambyl District, Almaty Region.

Archaeological Value:

There are about 5000 petroglyphs in the valley, which include events like animal hunting and childbirth, and dancing. Numerous figures of divinity with a glowing head, had also appeared in the petroglyphs.

The valley was enlisted in the series of UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, due to its archaeological value in the Bronze Age.]]>
Historical Value:

Due to spread of Russian Orthodox in early 20th century, the Bishops of Turkestan and Tashkent decided to build a cathedral to accommodate the religious population in 1903. The construction of the cathedral was started in 1904 and completed in 1907. Since then, it had served it's religious purposes for 20 years, until the Soviet Union came to rule over the region and discontinued it's service. Later in 1930s, it was used as a museum and radio tower due to it's tall structure. The cathedral was finally returned to the order of Russian Orthodox Church in 1995 and restarted it's religious services.

Spiritual and Religious Value:

Now, the cathedral is still serving for Christians, accounting for more than a quarter of the population in the state, in 2009.]]>