Visiting Turkistan

Getting to Turkistan

I woke at 0515 having retired early and also due to the early sunrise.  The hotel breakfast at 0700 was surprisingly good!  They served a mix of Russian and Central Asian fare including blinis (pancakes), tomato, cucumber and cakes.  Not so appealing were the cold chicken pieces and cold cuts.

Today, my plan was to go to Turkistan to visit the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmad Yasawi, a prominent 12^th Century Sufi.

I took a car from the hotel around 0800 to the Samal Bus Station where I found a van that was nearly full.  Within minutes, we had hit the road.

Along the way, I had bad news from home that Nyoman, our cat of 16 years (probably 18 years of age) had to be put down as she was suffering badly due to old age complications especially kidney failure.  This was done more or less immediately.

Rest in peace, Nyoman.

Exploring the mausoleum complex

I was dropped off at 1000 near the mausoleum complex.  The weather was already scorching and it felt hotter than yesterday’s 35 degC.  My fear of exploring the site in the heat had come true.

Getting to the mausoleum site around 1015, I started with the main mausoleum.  A ticket was required to enter the mausoleum but there wasn’t much to see inside the various rooms and halls.  People were praying in one of them.

I eventually found the actual mausoleum where Yasawi’s body was held and took a brief peep in.

From the main mausoleum, I crossed the open ground to the two mosques.  There were some tourist-trap activities like camel rides being offered.  The first mosque was the Underground Mosque and the second, the Friday Mosque.

An hour after arriving at the complex, I was done.  Firstly, I think I had seen all the historical landmarks.  And secondly, I had had enough of the heat.

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Exploring the modern area

I wandered to the modern area, to have a wander to ensure that I hadn’t missed anything.  There was a golden egg-shaped theatre, a modern mosque, some kind of auditorium perhaps, a museum (closed) and a large mall.  So, in short, there’s a shopping centre next to the historic area.

As I was rather parched, I went to the supermarket for a cold drink and bought a sausage roll and coleslaw, calling all that my lunch.

Wandering through the arched walkways of the outdoor mall, I enjoyed some very melodious Kazakh string music played on an instrument called the dombra.

At around 1250, I was ready to head back to Shymkent.  I ordered a car to take me to the Altyn Orday Bus Station about 10 mins ride away.  I couldn’t believe my luck that I got the last seat in the van and we left immediately.

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Back in Shymkent

We got to Shymkent’s Samal station around 1500 where I took a car to the hotel.  The day had gone amazingly smoothly except for the 38 degC heat, with a max of 39 degC being forecast.

I had a much-needed cold shower before resting briefly.  Eager to eat non-local food for a change, I had my heart set on tangsuyuk (Korean Chinese sweet and sour meat dish) at the mall.  Unfortunately, I was bitterly disappointed as it was just a small serving of little meatballs in a passable sauce, served with rice.