Yasawi and the Monuments of Old Turkistan
Most of what to see in Turkistan sits within a few hundred metres of one building, and the buildings around it come from several centuries. This page goes from entry rules to the main monument and then outward through the neighbouring layers of the old town.
Entry and Hours
The Azret Sultan reserve has been fenced since February 2026. You enter by turnstile with a printed ticket, an ID document and a bag scan, so bring your original passport. Hours are about 09:00 to 18:00 and shift in winter and on holidays, so confirm at the ticket office. Since 10 June 2026, foreign visitors from outside the CIS pay 5,000 KZT, close to US$10. The ticket covers the mausoleum precinct, the Yasawi museum and the Rare Exhibits Hall.
The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
This is a single building, and UNESCO inscribed it in 2003 as reference 1103, Kazakhstan’s first World Heritage Site. It replaced a smaller 12th-century mausoleum. Construction began in 1389 under Timur and halted at his death in 1405, which left it unfinished. The turquoise-tiled dome stands about 38 m high.
In the Kazandyk hall, guides point to the Tayqazan, a bronze cauldron of about 2 tonnes cast in 1399 by Abdulaziz ibn Sharafuddin of Tabriz. It went to the Hermitage in 1935 and was later returned to the mausoleum. Confirm on the day that the hall is open.
Restoration continues. A protective canopy covers the dome, and the programme includes a new roof, the reconstruction of 35 interior rooms, crack injection and more than 100 monitoring sensors, with the contractor planning to finish within four years. The 2026 targets include the boiler room, the Big and Small Aksaray, the mosque and four corridors. Expect screens, and do not count on a clear photograph of the dome.
Pilgrims pray here, so treat it as a living shrine. Cover shoulders and knees, women should cover their hair, and be ready to remove shoes and follow staff directions. Check with staff before taking any photograph in the tomb chamber, and expect the answer to be no. Keep your voice low and stay out of the way of worshippers.
Monuments in Order of Age
- Earliest layers: Kultobe, an ancient settlement mound beside the mausoleum, holds the town’s first levels, and landscaping there was due to finish in 2026.
- 12th century: the Friday Mosque has origins here, was rebuilt in the second half of the 19th century and restored in 2000. It now houses a museum.
- Late 15th century: the Rabiga Sultan Begim mausoleum, about 60 m south-east of the Yasawi portal, commemorates a daughter of Ulugh Beg who married Abulkhair Khan. The present structure is a reconstruction.
- About 1580 to 1590: the Eastern Bathhouse, about 80 m south-west, was built under Khan Abdullah. It has nine rooms with underfloor heating channels, stayed in public use until the late 1970s and has been a museum since 1979.
- 19th century: parts of the citadel wall and its gates survive, and conservation work on the wall began in summer 2026. View them from the ground.
Hilvet, the semi-subterranean mosque tied to Yasawi’s retreat, lies about 150 m from the mausoleum. Ask at the ticket office whether your ticket covers it.
Further Out and Indoors
Gauhar Ana, the mausoleum of Yasawi’s daughter, is about 4 to 6 km from the centre, a short taxi ride. For shade, the Museum of the History of Turkistan and the Uly Dala Eli centre cost about 1,800 KZT, with hours reported to about 17:40.
Planning the Visit
Give the precinct a half day, longer with queues, and start early in summer when July highs reach 35 to 40 C.
Read more: walking tours in Turkistan puts the stops into a route, and the Shymkent guide covers the nearest city.
Background is on the UNESCO listing and in Wikivoyage . Tours that include the monuments can be searched on GetYourGuide .