Turkestan is one of the most ancient cities located in the south of Kazakhstan.
The first settlements on the site of the modern city appeared in the era of the Great Silk Road at the crossroad of caravan routes. Here in the 12th century the great Sufi poet and philosopher Khoja Ahmed Yasawi lived and was buried. Thanks to his influence, the city became an important spiritual and educational center for the peoples of the Kazakh steppes.
Tamerlane later erected a mosque next to the Yasavi mausoleum, which remains a significant architectural monument in Kazakhstan. Today the monument is part of the Azret Sultan memorial complex, which includes a medieval bathhouse, Yasavi’s cell, the mausoleum of Tamerlane’s great granddaughter Sultan Begim, the mausoleum of the Kazakh Khan Yesim and other monuments of different centuries.
In addition to the mausoleum of Khoja Akhmed Yasavi, the main attractions of Turkestan include the mausoleum of Arystan baba, the reserve museum Azret Sultan, the tombs of the Kazakh khans and the biy Kazybek.
