Silk Road Tours to Mangistau.

"Yes friends, hear my covenant.
On that I went underground at sixty-three.
When I ascended, my spirit looked around the Prophet.
On that I went underground at sixty-three”

Hikmets of Khoja Ahmed Yassawi.

Itineraries in Kazakhstan.

The underground mosque Beket ata is located in the Oglandy valley in the eastern, lower, central part of the Western cliff of the Ustyurt plateau, 1.1 kilometers to the west east and slightly south of the Oglany ata necropolis, 18.5 kilometers to the north and slightly west of the Boszhira valley. 54.7 kilometers to the east and slightly north of the underground mosque Shopan ata, 102 kilometers (in a straight line) northeast of the town of Zhanaozen in the Karakiya district, in the southeastern part of the Mangistau region.
The underground mosque Beket ata was built near an old well on one of the ancient routes of nomadic migrations and the movement of trade caravans.
Distances to the Beket-ata mosque:
Aktau - Beket ata mosque - 284 km
Zhanaozen - Beket ata Mosque - 134 km
Shopan Ata Mosque - Beket ata Mosque - 69 km.
The mosque is an artificial multi-chamber cave built in chalk outcrops of rocks. The mosque is carved out in the middle tier of a high rock, which slopes down into a deep hollow, densely overgrown with bushes. Narrow and steep steps lead to a small platform in front of the mosque entrance.
The mosque has six chambers. The main room of the mosque is round in plan, with a diameter of about 4.5 meters. The ceiling is shaped like a flat dome. In general, the interior imitates the Kazakh yurt. Narrow and steep steps lead to a small platform in front of the mosque entrance.
The section of the rock, in which the entrance opening - the manhole - was cut, is reinforced with a retaining wall. The first room is the vestibule, which is illuminated by a deep skylight pierced in the center of the domed ceiling.
A wooden pole is installed here. On the west side of the vestibule there is a prayer room with a mihrab in the south wall, and on the south-east side there are two rooms, in one of them Beket ata is buried. On the west side, it is adjoined by a semicircular room, in which, behind the corner pylons, the floor level is raised like a sufa.
Obviously, this room was intended for the rest of the pilgrims. On the north side, the hall is connected by a wide passage to the third room, which is not inferior to it in size. The purpose of this room is not entirely clear. It could be either an additional area for a prayer hall or a storage room.
The walls and ceiling of the latter collapsed, fragments of tombstones were found on the floor. The walls of all rooms of the mosque are smoothly hewn and have no traces of decoration, with the exception of shallow niches for lamps.
The floors are leveled in two rooms. The strengthening of the entrance part of the retaining wall and the deep laying of the premises ensured the safety of this mosque, in contrast to other underground mosques. The neat content shows that the local population protects this monument.
According to folk legends and written sources, Beket ata lived in the second half of the 18th century, studied in one of the madrasahs of Khiva, at the age of forty, became a Sufi and began teaching children Muslim literacy.
He was notable for his heroic strength and performed many feats in battles with the Kalmyks. When resolving controversial issues with the Turkmens, he showed wisdom that brought both sides to agreement. Lived to old age, died around 1813.
He was buried in Oglandy's tract near the underground mosque he built.
Four underground mosques were built in the places of seasonal pastures of Beket ata:
- Beket ata mosque (Oglandy tract) in Karakiya district, Mangistau region,
- Old Beyneu mosque, 21 kilometers south of Beineu, Beineu district of Mangistau region,
- Ak-mosque, 60 northeast of the city of Kulsary, in the Zhylyoi district of the Atyrau region, - on Emba, Ustyurt, near the Aral Sea.
This place is a Muslim shrine of the Kazakh people associated with the name Beket ata and is especially revered by the inhabitants of Western Kazakhstan.
1999 - 2000 the specialists of "Mangistaurestavratsiya" carried out restoration work. Roofs and walls were reinforced. A platform of stone - shell rock was built in front of the entrance, narrow and steep steps were landscaped, benches were placed in places.
Places with benches were built around the springs. Local geologist Bazarbay Abdrakhmanov has long been trying to prove that the construction of the underground mosque has a scientific basis. Here is what he writes about the fact that Beket ata, who built this mosque, was a perspicacious and comprehensively educated person. “You are amazed with all your soul at how much effort, how much knowledge and skills were needed during the construction of the underground mosque Beket ata.
First, no matter how many people are in the mosque at the same time, the sounds of prayers and spells are equally well heard in all rooms. In modern terms, the laws of acoustics are fully taken into account. Acoustics is one of the main branches of physics.
According to some testimonies, with a significant crowd of people (500 - 600 people) on the site in front of the entrance, the voice of the imam reading the Friday prayer, or the five-time prayer read together, was heard by everyone.
Secondly, at any time of the year, the air humidity inside does not exceed sanitary and hygienic standards. With an increase in air humidity, this would certainly lead to the spread of le - on Emba, Ustyurt, near the Aral Sea.
This place is a Muslim shrine of the Kazakh people associated with the name Beket ata and is especially revered by the inhabitants of Western Kazakhstan. 1999 - 2000 the specialists of "Mangistaurestavratsiya" carried out restoration work.
Roofs and walls were reinforced. A platform of stone - shell rock was built in front of the entrance, narrow and steep steps were landscaped, benches were placed in places. Places with benches were built around the springs.
Local geologist Bazarbay Abdrakhmanov has long been trying to prove that the construction of the underground mosque has a scientific basis. Here is what he writes about the fact that Beket Ata, who built this mosque, was a perspicacious and comprehensively educated person.
“You are amazed with all your soul at how much effort, how much knowledge and skills were needed during the construction of the underground mosque Beket ata. First, no matter how many people are in the mosque at the same time, the sounds of prayers and spells are equally well heard in all rooms. In modern terms, the laws of acoustics are fully taken into account.
Acoustics is one of the main branches of physics. According to some testimonies, with a significant crowd of people (500 - 600 people) on the site in front of the entrance, the voice of the imam reading the Friday prayer, or the five-time prayer read together, was heard by everyone.
Secondly, at any time of the year, the air humidity inside does not exceed sanitary and hygienic standards. With an increase in air humidity, this would certainly lead to the spread of lung diseases. The third feature here is how all macro- and microcracks in the mountain were used when cutting through the rocks for the arrangement of the premises.
Even with the door open and the tundica (here the upper light hole), there are no drafts in the room. Fourthly, the mihrab of the mosque, when compared with a modern topographic map, is located on the side of Mecca. But the door faces the geographical east and in the exact direction to the Oglandy necropolis, as if defining the words: "Oglandy is my east, my beginning."
Underground mosque Beket ata (Oglandy) in 1982 by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR was taken into state registration and protection of local importance, and in 2000 by the decision of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, with amendments, it was transferred from local to republican.
Recently, a local resident Mshzhasar Vektleuov, who is considered a descendant of Beket at in the sixth generation, built a well.
Geographic coordinates of the underground mosque Beket ata: N43 ° 35'49.66 "E54 ° 04'12.21"

Authority:
The guidebook across Kazakhstan. The edition of the ministry of tourism and sports. The guidebook across Kazakhstan . Authors Dagmar Schreiber and Jeremy Tredinnick.   Publishing house "Odyssey".2010.

Alexander Petrov
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