Trip to Kolbas Ishan mosque in Mangyshlak.

“Until you taste the nectar of love,
Until you put on the clothes of lovers,
Until you gather into one faith and worship,
You will not be able to see the divine face of the Creator”

Khikmet Khoja Ahmed Yasavi.

Stone-cutting monuments of Mangyshlak and Ustyurt.

Underground mosque Kolbas Ishan (Karabulak) is located at an altitude of -14 meters below sea level, is located in southwestern part of cliff encircling Ashyktai sor, in northwestern part of Ustyurt plateau, 21.6 kilometers northeast of city of Beineu, in Karabulak valley, in Beineu district of Mangistau region.
In this valley, on the spurs of the Northern cliff of Ustyurt plateau, until the beginning of the XXth century there was a powerful religious and educational complex. There are above-ground structures made of adobe. The central above-ground mosque is built of a combined building material, that is, adobe and stone.
The mihrab of the mosque is lined with processed stones on both sides. Several structures around the mosque are defined as a khanaka and utility and storage rooms. 450 meters to the northeast of the center, there is a necropolis dating back to the early 20th century.
The burial structures are represented by primitive stone fences and outlines. The underground mosque is located about 800 meters north of the center, the passage to it is difficult to access. The monument compositionally consists of two structures.
They are cut out on the slope of marl rock. The first is defined as educational, and the second for a ritual, possibly for conducting the process - dhikr. The first structure consists of one large room, with two pillars left for the strength of the ceiling. Small niches for lighting are cut out on the walls.
The monument is very exposed to natural influences, the interior of the structure is covered with a marl layer. During the work on describing the monument, fragments of a book in Arabic script were found on the floor among the rubble. The second structure is located 150 meters to the east of the first.
The monument is cut out in the thickness of marl, in plan it has the shape of a circle. The interior has, like many of the described monuments, a vaulted shape. On the ceiling there is a cut-out light opening, the circle of which is paved with stonework.
On the wall there is an Arabic script inscription and family tamgas. We do not have any written sources on this monument yet.
Geographic coordinates of underground mosque of Kolbas Ishan (Karabulak): N45 ° 30'40 E55 ° 13'46

Authority and photos by:
Otynshy Koshbayuly, Murat Kalmenov. "Underground mosques of Mangistau". Olketanymdyk bassylym. Almaty, Publishing house "Orkhon". 2009. 160 p.

Photos by:
https://www.instagram.com/mangystau_qorygy/