Travel Guide Turkestan

In the middle of the desert, this small town whose population of barely 150 000 inhabitants is multiplied by 2 or 3 to each pilgrimage (not counting the tourists who make it obligatory) houses the most impressive ancient monuments in the country. The mausoleum of Ahmed Ahmed, a 2002 UNESCO World Heritage site, is representative of the early architecture of the Timurid dynasty. He is mainly the only one to be on the territory of Kazakhstan. And even those who have visited the other timourids buildings in Samarkand will be impressed by the dimensions of the whole. The city of Turkestan was an important step in the silk route, although its current torpor cannot let it guess. It is estimated that the first traces of urbanization go back over 1 500 years. Today, Turkestan hosts a very large Turkish community, attracted by the city's northern-Kazakh university, the unique of its kind in the country. If the city visits a day, we advise you to stay a little longer than necessary because it is even more pleasant in the evening, when the crowds of the deserted pilgrims, gardens and restaurants, and Turkestan rediscover its usual Nonchalance.