Khoja Ahmed Yasavi Tomb

Unesco's Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization recognized the Tomb of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi of Kazakhstan as a World Cultural Heritage in 2003.

Tomb of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi is located in the town of Yasi, Turkestan, southern Kazakhstan . This is a large structure still quite intact from the Timurid period. Part of the architecture of the project has not been completed yet.

Khoji Ahmed Yasawi (1093-1166) was the head of a Sufi school in the 12th century. He is both an excellent poet and a philosopher and political leader. He is revered throughout Central Asia and the Turkish-speaking countries for the popularity of the Sufi religion . He created and turned the Yasi into the region's most important enlightenment center in the Middle Ages. So far Khoja Ahmed Yasawi's tomb has become an important pilgrimage site for the Muslims of Kazakhstan and the town of Turkestan has become the second Mecca for Central Asian Muslims.

Khoja Ahmed Yasavi's tomb was designed according to the idea of Genghis Khan and became a model for West Asian builders when they built similar buildings in Samarkand and Bukhara. This mausoleum was built in 16 years from 1389 to 1405. Although built for such a long time, there is still a part of the architecture at the gate is not completed.

The tomb complex is rectangular, one way 46 m and 63 m in the other direction, including 8 main rooms, 27 small rooms and 12 corridors, all located in one building and arranged into 2 floors. This population is linked along the northwest-southeast axis. In the first order is a huge gate, then to the main hall each 18.2m wide with the largest brick dome in Central Asia with a diameter of 18.2m, placed in the middle of the room is a cauldron used in religious ceremonies. Next is Khoja tomb and some auxiliary structures such as eating places, libraries, small palaces, a mosque and a sacred well. In the middle of the tomb room is the stone casket of Saint Sufi . This room has a double dome with decorative tiles in green and gold. To the southwest of the grave is a small mosque with a rectangular shape with very deep A-shaped recesses.

This church is covered by a dome on the rolling frames. The main materials used for construction are fired bricks, mortar, plaster and clay. However, after being damaged and restored, this tomb was replaced with concrete and reinforced. The highest point of this architectural complex is the giant gate and the dome of the 38 m high hall. Tile is turquoise and golden green and decorative motifs on the top of the dome. The tomb's walls are decorated with paintings, stalactites and plaster.

Around the tomb is an archaeological site of Yasi town with houses destroyed and replaced in the 19th century. The Khazakh government restored and rebuilt some of the reconstruction items. a picture of a cultural, political, and religious center . existed and flourished.

Tomb of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi is recognized by Unesco as a World Cultural Heritage by criteria (i), (iii), (iv)

Criterion (i): Tomb of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi is an outstanding architectural achievement of Timurid architectural style. This work contributed significantly to the development of Islamic architectural art.

Criterion (iii): Tomb of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi is a special testament to the cultural development of Central Asia and the development of techniques built in the 12-14 century.

Criterion (iv): Tomb of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi is the prototype for the development of a style of construction in the Timurid period.