Folk art: ornament, painting of Mangistau.

"At the very foot of Tash-Yula there is a cave three square arshins. The walls and ceiling of this cave are painted with multi-colored paints, at the entrance to it there is a pole with an iron hand attached to it. This is the grave of Ishan Tulegen"

Gaspar Nasibyantsa. 1900.

Trip to Tolegen Aulie Mosque in Mangistau.

Underground mosque Tolegen aulie is located at an altitude of 123 meters above sea level, is located in northern part of cliff in Torysh valley, in northwestern spurs of Western Karatau, 20.2 kilometers to east and a little south of village of Taushyk, 15.8 kilometers to northwest of village of Zhangyldy, in Mangistau district of region of same name. 
In written sources, the mosque was first mentioned in a topographic survey of the area led by Gaspar Nasibyants in 1900.
Nasibyants writes:
- "At the very foot of Tash Yula there is a cave three square arshins. The walls and ceiling of this cave are painted with multi-colored paints, at the entrance to it there is a pole with an iron hand attached to it. This is the grave of Ishan Tulegen."
A veteran of war and labor Kylysh Otetiluov made a great contribution to the definition and initial study of the monument. The mosque is carved out of sandy-marl rock and consists of one room. The room is quadrangular in plan. The entrance is an arched opening with a height of 110 cm, a width of 120 cm.
The room has dimensions of 2.96 x 2.47 meters. The interior resembles a yurt vault, that is, the higher the walls, the narrower they become, forming a trapezoid shape. There are Arabic script inscriptions on the walls. A rectangular niche measuring 82 x 47 cm has been carved into the northern wall, and a lamp made of sandstone has been preserved inside the niche.
The monument was accepted for state registration and protection of local importance in 2006 by the decision of the Akimat of the Mangistau Region.
Geographic coordinates of underground mosque Tolegen auliye: N44°19'20 E51°36'08

Authority:
Otynshy Koshbayuly, Murat Kalmenov. "Underground mosques of Mangistau". Alketanymdyk basylym. Almaty, Publishing House "Orkhon". 2009. 160 p.

Photos by:
Alexander Petrov.