Brotherly summit in Turkestan: Turkic leaders visit Azret Sultan Museum-Reserve

On May 15, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, together with other heads of state participating in the informal Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), visited the Azret Sultan Museum-Reserve in the city of Turkestan.

The heads of state were briefed on the reserve. It was noted that the Azret Sultan National Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve was established in 1989. The museum’s Hall of Rare Exhibits is one of Kazakhstan’s significant museum and exhibition projects aimed at preserving and promoting the unique historical and cultural heritage of the medieval period. The exhibition introduces visitors to the rich history of Turkestan, the spiritual heritage of the Turkic world, and unique artifacts connected with the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. At present, the museum-reserve’s collection contains more than 26,000 exhibits, approximately 80 percent of which are artifacts.

The visitors then toured the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Turkestan. It is one of the largest monuments of Islamic architecture in Central Asia and is regarded as a spiritual symbol of Kazakhstan. The mausoleum was built in the late 14th century by order of Emir Timur on the burial site of the prominent Sufi poet and thinker Ahmed Yasawi. The complex, which features a unified architectural design, contains more than 35 rooms serving various purposes. The mausoleum, which houses unique artifacts, is considered one of the spiritual and cultural centers of the Islamic world.