Sacred places Kazakhstan.

“A ship remained at the top of Kazygurt, because it is a sacred mountain...”.

Korkut.

Legends of Kazakhstan.

The Kazakh legend about the Flood tells that an ark with 80 righteous men, headed by the prophet Nuh (Noah), with many animals, birds and insects, was rushing along the boundless waves, having no shelter. Seven months, seven days and seven hours after the start of the flood, the ark sailed to Mount Kazygurt. It is a ridge stretching 49 kilometers from southwest to northeast.
The highest point is 1769 meters above sea level. It is located 40 kilometers from the city of Shymkent in the Western Tien Shan mountains. During the voyage, the prophet Nuh turned to the creator with prayers for the salvation of defenseless people and animals.
The high mountains, towering above the stormy waves of the flood, haughtily believed that the ark would stick to them, and only the modest mountain Kazygurt did not dare to dream about it, because it understood that it did not stand out from other mountains.
The Creator, seeing the modesty of the mountain, did not allow the waters of the flood to hide the top of Kazygurt, and the ark moored to it. The high and arrogant mountains decided to punish Kazygurt, but she called for help from the small mountains of Ordabasy, Kyzylsengir, Alimtau, Koilyk, Anki, Baganaly, Mansar and Kanyrak.
Mighty opponents were frightened of this alliance and limited themselves to symbolic strikes on the Kazygurt ridge. This is how hollows and depressions were formed on Mount Kazygurt, and it became like a bactrian camel.
At first, people released several birds from the ark, so that they would find out if the waters of the global flood had left, if it was possible on the renewed earth. Many birds flew away and did not return, and only the swallow flew back, carrying a green twig in its beak.
Since then, the swallow has been a bird especially revered among the Kazakhs. In Kazakh fairy tales, the swallow does only good deeds. People landed on Mount Kazygurt and stayed to live on it. In the ancient "Book of my grandfather Korkut" it is said: "A ship remained on the top of Kazygurt, because this is a sacred mountain..."
In both cases, the ancient legend says that the ship remained on the top of Kazygurt, and from there then peoples spread throughout the world. The Greek historian Strabo writes in his "Geography": "According to the assumption of Plato (the ancient Greek philosopher), after the floods, three forms of civilized life arose: the first - on the tops of the mountains, primitive and wild, since people were afraid of the waters that still held on the surface plains; the second developed along the slopes of the mountains, as people began to gradually gain courage, because the plains began to dry up; the third formed on the plains. It is possible, perhaps, to speak in the same way about the fourth, fifth forms and even more; the last form of civilization arose on the sea coast and on the islands, after people got rid of this kind of fear ”(Strabo. Geography, M., 1994, p. 555).
The mountain, which became the cradle of new life after the flood, bears the name of the Fair Wolf - Kazygurt. Why is Mount Kazygurt called so? There is the following ancient Kazakh toponymic legend about the origin of its name.
In the difficult time of hunger that followed the flood, the she-wolf violated the ban on killing the living. The wolf punished her. They began to call him a fair (Kazy) wolf (herd).

Authority:
O. Zhanaidarov. “Legends of Ancient Kazakhstan. Children's Encyclopedia of Kazakhstan ". Almaty. Aruna, 2007. http://www.tarih-begalinka.kz/ru/timetravel/page3348/

Photos by
Alexander Petrov.