World Heritage Identification Number: 1103
World Heritage since: 2003
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
Continent: Asia
UNESCO World Region: Asia and the Pacific
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The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi: A Timurid Masterpiece in Southern Kazakhstan
The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, located in the historic city of Turkestan in southern Kazakhstan, stands as a testament to the rich cultural heritage of Central Asia. This architectural marvel, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, offers a unique blend of Persian, Turkish, and Mongolian influences that characterize the Timurid period.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, in the town of Yasi, now Turkestan, was built at the time of Timur (Tamerlane), from 1389 to 1405. In this partly unfinished building, Persian master builders experimented with architectural and structural solutions later used in the construction of Samarkand, the capital of the Timurid Empire. Today, it is one of the largest and best-preserved constructions of the Timurid period.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion i: The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi is an outstanding achievement in the Timurid architecture, and it has significantly contributed to the development of Islamic religious architecture. Criterion iii: The mausoleum and its site represent an exceptional testimony to the culture of the Central Asian region, and to the development of building technology. Criterion iv: The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi was a prototype for the development of a major building type in the Timurid period, becoming a significant reference in the history of Timurid architecture.
Encyclopedia Record: Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
The Mausoleum of Khawaja Ahmed Yasawi is a mausoleum in the city of Turkestan, in southern Kazakhstan. The structure was commissioned in 1389 by Timur, who ruled the area as part of the expansive Timurid Empire, to replace a smaller 12th-century mausoleum of the famous Turkic poet and Sufi mystic, Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (1093–1166). However, construction was halted with the death of Timur in 1405.Additional Site Details
Area: 0.55 hectares
(iii) — Unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
Coordinates: 43.2976944444 , 68.2710555556
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© Yuriy75, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
