The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (Қожа Ахмет Ясауи Кесенесі)
Location: 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 mausoleum occupies an area of 46.5m x 65.5m.