18 to 22 Sep, 2022 - Shymkent, Turkestan, Aysha-Bibi - (Kazakhstan)
Near Shymkent, there are two sights we wanted to get to. And as it is a stone's throw from the Uzbekistan border, and Tashkent, it made sense to finish our Kazakh visit here.
War Memorial
Most war memorials are very moving. Few things have comparable impact to listing names of lives lost. 140000 from south Kazakhstan.
Taking In the Beautiful Tiles
We hopped in a minibus to Turkestan, a couple of hours and some away from Shymkent. Here, the main sight for us was the Yasaui Mausoleum. Built in the 14th century on the site of an existing tomb. It was already a significant pilgrimage site back then, and these days it still seems the pilgrims make up the bulk of the visitors. Coloured bricks and tiles bring delightful colour and patterns to most exterior facades of the imposing structure.
A Pair of Woolly Camels
I can't ever recall seeing camels with, what at least looks like, a soft woolly coat. These too looked fluffy and, almost, cuddly. From this angle, you can see that the Mausoleum was never completed. The main facades remain bare, and structural beams are still exposed. Work ceased when the sponsor passed away. Later, they cleaned it up, but retained the unfinished appearance.
Mausoleum of Aysha-Bibi
It may have been easy enough to get to Aysha-Bibi by minibus, as they will happily drop you off as they go by. We were not quite in the mood to wait by the roadside for a return trip to Shymkent, possibly watching multiple full vehicles whizzing by. So, we decided to take the easy option of getting there by taxi. While not a large building, the beautiful terracotta bricks with various patterns made the time and effort worthwhile. Although extensive restoration was performed in the last 20 years or so, it is reportedly true and accurate to the original 11th or 12th century structure.
At Aysha-Bibi
One side had a door, three sides had windows with little spots to sit. Inside, at the tomb, pilgrims received a blessing. Some of the visitors circled the building, touching and praying at various points. We just circled and admired the patterned bricks, and rather than a blessing, went inside for a happy little chat about being from Australia.
Details
Using light and shade to bring the details of the patterned bricks to 2 dimensions.
To finish our time in Kazakhstan, we had some, still to be explained, odd information. The big, comfy bus we were to take to Tashkent was cancelled, and the reason, they said, was fuel. That was it, a one word Google translation, "fuel". We assume not too much, or bad, so perhaps difficulty acquiring? In a fuel producing and exporting nation? Would minibuses run? Maybe not, they said. The taxi driver we had, the day before, went to four petrol stations to get fuel, but assured us there were no fuel problems. We asked in Shymkent, and got told there were no fuel problems. Yet today, on our Tashkent bound minibus, we stopped at eight or ten stations before the driver got some fuel, but only a ration or so, because we subsequently stopped at another three or four to get some more.
So yesterday, after our visit to Aysha-Bibi, we returned to Shymkent via a bazaar with a good reputation for fabrics and textiles. The whole market place was in darkness, as power was off. So we went around a few areas, and stall holders showed us their wares using the torches on their phones. We eventually found something we liked and bargained a suitable price. I left Jo chatting with them while I went to the nearest ATM to get cash, but upon seeing the blank screen, I knew power was an important ingredient in any ATM interaction. I went further and wider, leaving the market district. In the end, I realised this might be a futile endeavour, and decided to rely on some of our emergency US dollars. I knew I was gone a good while, because by the time I got back, Jo was practically one of the family. They had been teaching her Kazakh (counting to five) and more little phrases, and stumbling through descriptions of Australia and family. As we left, I joked to her about being the girl abandoned in a market and raised by a kind local family who took her in. Years later, reaching deep in to her memory, she had some vague recollections about a distant country called Australia, but didn't know where they might have come from.
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