MAUSOLEUM OF AHMED YASAWI

Ahmed Yasawi was a ^12th-century poet and prophet. On his death in 1166, his followers built a small mausoleum for him, now located inside the large building. The large mausoleum dates from 1397, and was built on Tamerlane's orders. Construction of this imposing complex was interrupted after Tamerlane's death in 1405, before resuming in 1595 under the direction of the Khan of Bukhara, Abdulah Khan. The upper sections of the arches date from this period. The portal is the largest in Central Asia, measuring 38 m in height, with a façade 50 m wide and an arch 18 m high. In the ^19th century, the minarets were converted into military observation posts. The mausoleum's facade is unique in its construction: all the bricks are horizontal, and all the coloured ceramics are vertical. The light-blue ceramics draw Arabic letters, while the dark-blue ceramics act as punctuation between the various inscriptions.

The mausoleum's original solid wood doors date from 1399. They are currently on display inside the main hall. The doors in place today are more recent. The Arabic inscription at the top warns that the doors will open for friends and remain closed for enemies. The mausoleum's central room is topped by a 15 m-diameter dome, one of the largest in Central Asia. At the center of the room is a gigantic cauldron made of bronze, silver, iron and gold, containing sacred water. Eight doors open onto the sides of this first room, giving access to 35 rooms.

The "white palace", accessed from the far right, served as a meeting room for Kazakh kings and a reception room for foreign dignitaries. From the ^16th century onwards, most of the local khans were buried beneath this room. The proximity of Yasawi's tomb was supposed to bring them protection. Next door is the "little white palace", reserved for intimate conversations. Other dignitaries are buried beneath this room.

A door at the far right reveals Yasawi's tomb. The tomb is in green marble, with no inscriptions. Yasawi is buried with his wife and son. Pilgrimages take place every Friday, but access to this room, the most sacred in the entire complex, is reserved for Muslims. Next to the window through which non-Muslims can view the tomb is an engraved stone depicting the genealogy of the Kazakh khans.

The door to the left of the main hall leads to the mosque. This is topped by a small, beautifully decorated dome, pierced by sixteen small windows. At the far end of the mosque, on the left, is a pilgrim's cell. This is only a model, as the cells were actually on the second floor.

Next to the mosque was the library. Two Korans dating from the ^12th and ^17th centuries were preserved here, before being transferred to the country's National Library.

The door that opens on the left immediately after entering the main room leads to the kitchens. Salt-water, wheat and mutton soups were prepared in large cauldrons before being transferred to the wooden "troughs" (those on display date from the ^14th century) used to distribute meals to pilgrims.