Turkestan - the Historical Center of the southern Kazakhstan

Turkestan is 1, 500 years old. It was Hodzha Ahmed Yasavi, the poet and Sufi deeply esteemed in the Islamic world that made Turkestan famous. For a long time his verses existed only in oral form being passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. They appeared in written form only a few centuries after the poet’s death.
Known to historians as Yassy and Shavgar, this city was the capital of the Kazakh khanate where great ceremonies of enthronement toоk place; a place where ambassadors of foreign states were sent. The Byzantine Emperor Justinian once sent his emessaries here to pay tribute to the Turkish Kaganate.
The most spectacular of Turkestan’s monuments is devoted to Ahmed Yasavi. It is an architectural complex made of palaces and temples which annually attracts crowds of tourists. Itis worshiped by the Muslim community of Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. In ancient times three pilgrimages to this place was equal to one pilgrimage to Mecca.
The entire city centre is an ensemble of historical buildings including the tomb of Robia Sultan Begim, Timur’s granddaughter, the tombs of the Kazakh khans and other representatives of nobility.
UNESCO has included Turkestan (or rather Ahmed Yasavi Mausoleum) in the list of world heritage sites.