Nomadic life of Kazakhs in Mangistau.

"...The remains of the flourishing era of Mangyshlak have been preserved in the fairly frequent ruins of stone fortifications, buildings, grave monuments and deep wells lined with hewn stone".

Russian numismatist, orientalist-Arabist P.S. Savelyev. XIX century.

Trip to Uytoly mosque in Mangistau.

Underground mosque of Uytoly (Itoly), located at an altitude of 116 meters above sea level, is located 157 meters north-east of cemetery of same name, 2.9 kilometers to west and a little north of village of Taushyk, 864 meters north-west of Taushyk - Fort Shevchenko road, to west of Karataushyk ridge, in Tupkaragan district of Mangistau region. 
The underground mosque dates back to the XVIIIth - XIXth centuries, a monument of urban development and architecture. The cemetery of the same name is also located here. The mosque is located in a ravine and it is impossible to notice it until you come close.
First, you need to find a way to go down, and then go along a narrow passage to the bottom of the ravine, here among the sandstone blocks, almost at the end is the entrance to the underground mosque. Inside the cave there are several rooms and a deep well without water.
There are no reliable written sources on the history of the monument. When identifying the monument in 2004 - 2005, we were directly assisted by a veteran of labor, a resident of the village of Zhyngyldy, Sabet Nurmaganbetov, who also told us legendary folk tales.
The mosque was carved on the slope of a channel canyon of marl rock, northwest of the necropolis of the same name. The necropolis dates back to the late XIXth - early XXth centuries. The monument consists of four rooms, the entrance room is currently hemispherical in shape, perhaps it was destroyed during natural and atmospheric phenomena.
The mosque has a cross-shaped plan. We can find an analogy of this monument in Mangistau in the Shilykudyk area, this is the underground mosque Shakpak ata. The interior of the central gallery has a vaulted shape, at the top of which there is a round light opening, perhaps the vault rested on three-quarter columns.
But, at the moment, due to the relatively loose marl rock, we can see only the remains of these elements. The rooms are located, with a slight deviation, on the cardinal points. Small niches are cut out on the inner walls, possibly for lamps. There are no traces of decorative design on the walls or they have not survived.
The monument is very strongly exposed to natural influences, the floor is covered with a thick layer of sand. We believe that emergency rescue operations should be carried out on the monument as a matter of urgency.
Geographical coordinates of underground mosque of Uytoly: N44 ° 20'38 E51 ° 18'48

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

Photos by:
unknown author.