Taraz, Jambyl Province, Kazakhstan
After yesterday's lengthy tour of the Turkestan region and early 730 start today we left later at 830. Today we were heading to Taraz to the east of Shymkent. The name 'taraz' actually means weigh scales, and is similar to the urdu/hindi word 'tarazu' and the language migrated thru nomadic peoples.
First we were heading to Aisha Bibi mausoleum on the approach to Taraz city. Entrance was 300T ($1)
Rather than the normal ceramic tiles this had a stone carved exterior into intricate patterns.
She was in love with Karakhan whose tomb we would visit later. She died at age 18 and was one of the first to embrace Islam.
Adjacent was another tomb with similar exterior carving patterns into the stonework.
Driving into the city of Taraz now I had asked to visit another orthodox church. This was quite nice and in better upkeep than the one in Shymkent.
Taraz is a clean modern university town but has a historical past on the Silk Road. Entrance to the Karakhan complex was 300T ($1).
These were more simpler tombs than the Aisha Bibi we had just visited. Nearby was a covered excavation site from more of the ancient town but not open to the public.
The rear side rooms of the main mausoleum had small exhibits. The Dautbek Mausoleum was also beside.
Nearby was another excavation museum and the old green market but I opted to skip.
Just outside the core on a hillside river valley was the Tekturmas Mausoleum. These were remote hilltop perched mausoleums. It was a scenic walk along the path and was like some of the Orthodox monasteries I had visited in the Balkans.
The landscape was also scattered with many other tombs. It was quite a contrast from all the other tombs I had visited on the trip to have a landscape spread out with tombs.
Some of them were quite grand like mini Taj Mahals which is also a mausoleum.
Something I didnt know either were there were pre-Islamic tombs also. The dead were buried on high ground. There were stone carvings. One was defaced with graffiti but was just a replica.
For lunch we went to an Uzbek restaurant where I had pilow (rice with lamb and carrots). It cost 892T ($2.50) with bread and tea and was a more upscale restaurant than others we went to.
Leaving town was a monument to the first two Khans. Roadside vendors were also selling honey.
Driving home we chatted more. Modernity and westernism had severed the connection of people with the land. Local customs are being lost as people try to emulate a western lifestyle. This system was 'satanic' a sentiment which could hark back to a Soviet upbringing.
The nation sells oil and doesnt produce anything. The refineries are in Russia. Nomadic people had spread knowledge throughout the world, east to Asia, south to India, and west to Europe. The conversion to Islam was very slow.
The population is 17m and only 60% of Kazakhs live in the country due to nomadic nature and artificial borders. They could travel 50km-100km/day by horse.
It was the end of my three day tour with Dildabek in a very interesting region of Turkestan in the less visited SW corner of the country. Lots of long road trips but worth investing the time. Tomorrow I had another overnight road trip to the old capital Almaty in the SE
2025-05-22