Karashash Ana
Tall brick portal.
Yakov Fedorov — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Yakov Fedorov — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Xhancock at English Wikipedia — Public domain · Xhancock at English Wikipedia — Public domain · Xhancock at English Wikipedia — Public domain · НИШ Караганда — CC BY-SA 3.0 · НИШ Караганда — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Xhancock at English Wikipedia — Public domain
One of Kazakhstan's oldest towns, now part of Shymkent on the Sayram Su river. It celebrated its 3,000th anniversary in 1999; its old name was Isfijab until the Mongol conquest, and it is said to have the first mosque built in Kazakhstan. Sayram keeps its old character with no Soviet architecture: winding streets and houses no more than two storeys high, so the skyline belongs to domes of mosques, mausoleums and minarets, some over a thousand years old. Among its landmarks is the minaret of the old Khydyr mosque. Its many shrines draw visitors, above all the mausoleums of Ibrahim Ata and Karashash Ana, which local tradition links to the parents of the Sufi sheikh Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, since Sayram is held to be his birthplace. The Karashash Ana mausoleum stands out for its dome and tall brick portal. Wandering the town is free, and the mausoleums are shrines where quiet and modest dress are expected. A taxi from central Shymkent takes about half an hour.
Tall brick portal.
Its dome.
In town.
East of Shymkent, on the Sayram Su river
Local tradition holds it to be his birthplace, and it has the tombs of Ibrahim Ata and Karashash Ana, linked by tradition to his parents.