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City in Turkistan Region, Kazakhstan
Photo: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Turkestan or Turkistan (Kazakh: Түркістан Türkistan) is a small but ancient city in the Kazakh Desert. There are many historical sights in this relatively well preserved, 1600-year-old city.
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Мавзолей Ходжи Ахмеда Ясави
Commissioned in 1389 for the 12th-century Sufi poet and mystic Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, but never finished. This mausoleum is nevertheless a major destinations for pilgrimages from across Central Asia and has come to epitomize the Kazakh national identity. Since this is a religious place dress accordingly. Shorts are not permitted, and shoulders should be covered. Headscarves are handed out at the entrance of the mausoleum for free. Be warned if you are imagining austerity and sacredness: the site has been thoroughly tourist-trappified, with the grounds and the interior covered in hawker stalls selling mass-produced trinkets. There are even camel and pony rides!
Turkestan rail station was built around 1906 in art-nouveau style and with adjacent blocks is a great example of railway architecture
Semi-underground mosque.
Әл-Фатих
Large restaurant with many different types of food: fruits, crackers and traditional Kazakh bread. There is also an entrance for wheelchairs.
Караван сарай
Another large restaurant with traditional Kazakh architecture. It serves organic food, fast food and children's food.
Кафе " Дастан "
A small coffee shop.
Relatively modern by Kazakh standards. Large rooms with comfortable chairs and a small table, but note the strange quirk: power sockets seem to be only next to the bed, so the in-room TV cannot easily be connected. Reception may not speak much English, so a few Russian phrases (or a translation app) help. Not easy to find on common booking sites, but a good budget option near the main sights. Single rooms around 10,000 tenge in 2026.
By rail
There are also train connections available from Almaty and the Uzbek capital of Tashkent. The border crossing and customs inspection on the latter line takes place around midnight.
By minivan
, take bus #26 to Bekzhan Bazaar (Бекжан). Marshrutkas 87 and 47 also run there. With the blue/orange Bazaar building to your right, go past a yurt.
Public buses operate in Turkestan. Public transport directions are available on Yandex Maps and 2GIS. A useful line is bus 15, which runs from the train station to the mausoleum via Merey bus station.
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Turkıstan · International · HSA
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