Beach recreation on Balkhash lake.

 “If an ancient man saw planes two thousand years ago 
He would've thought they were birds 
Or angels from another world 
Or messengers from other planets” 

Dejan Stojanovic.

Vacation package on Zaisan lake.

The Kozy-Korpesh and Bayan-Sulu epos relates a love story. According to the legend, the girl’s father cancelled her marrying the man she loved – the noble batyr Kozy-Korpesh. The father had his eye on the riches of another admirer – Kodar.
The sweethearts were going to elope but an arrow basely shot by Kodar into the batyr’s back killed Kozy-Korpesh. The broken-hearted Bayan-Sulu did not want to live any longer. She killed Kodar, buried her sweetheart and did away with herself by plunging a dagger into her heart.
The names of Bayan-Sulu and Kozy-Korpesh are given to the mountains at the southwest side of Zhasybai Lake. The Mausoleum of Коzу Korpesh and Bayan Sulu is а unique architectural monument dating from Kazakh nomads of the X - XI centuries.
It is located on the bank of Ауaguz river n the West-Kazakh province and is called after characters of an early-medieval epic. The building is 11.65 meters high. In front of its entrance there are four sculptures depicting the epic characters- Kozy Korpesh, Bayan Slu, her younger sister, and daughter-in-law.
This monument symbolizes the immortal tragic love of the young couple. Old and very beautiful legend about love between Kozy-Korpesh and Bayan Sulu, is somewhat reminiscent of the world-known story of Romeo and Juliet, and probably, epics of many nations have such stories of eternal love. 
Kazakh legend is beautiful and romantic, it cannot leave anyone indifferent, and at all times there are people really feeling with the heroes of the steppe novel. Childhood friends Sarybai and Karabai vowed to marry their children, who had been betrothed beforetheir birth. 
Sarybai dies during hunting before the birth of his son. Having grown up Kozy and Bayan have not seen each other yet, but being tied the knot, they finally fell in love with each other. Time passes andtreacherous Karabai changes his life plans. 
He promises to give his daughter to a local paluan Kodar, whoonce has saved his flock from jute. Kodar becomes a barrier between two lovers. Among this eternaltriangle Kozy was the first who fell on the field of battle. Soul-sick Bayan resorts to trickery in order to take revenge on the killer. 
She promises to marry Kodar, if he digs a well with spring water for her. Kodar gets to work, when deepening he holds the hair of insidious Bayan. The girl suddenly cuts her plait and Kodarfalls into the abyss and dies. Thus she revenged Kozy’s death.
The heroine of the legend stabs herself with a dagger on his grave. The old men say that the dumping was overgrown with marvelous bush rose hips,which once bloomed scarlet and white roses ... The flowers, however, did not please the eyes of thetraveler for long. 
They wilted, blackened and withered. This lyric poem of the Kazakh people attracted interests of playwrights, ethnographers and historians of many nations for many years. One of the first recordings of the legend was made for A.S. Pushkin andpreserved in his archive. At the end of the last century, the famous explorer of Central Asia and Kazakhstan G.N. Potanin wrote:"... My favorite story known for the whole steppe from Orenburg to Zaisan, the top of the Kazakh ethics, is the story of the belle Bayan Sulu, who fell in love with Kozy-Korpesh..." 
The Kozy-Korpesh-Bayan Sulu Mazar was erected near the village Tansyk, Ayaguz district of the East Kazakhstan region. The mazar is widely regarded as one of the oldest survived monuments in Kazakhstan.According to some researchers, this monument was erected in the V - X centuries, according to others - in the X-XI centuries. The total height of the mazar is 11.65 m., the wall thickness is 1.86 m. From the east the mausoleum’s entrance has small windows with sizes of 0,7 × 0,5 cm. 
Four sculptures depicting Kozy-Korpesh, Bayan Sulu, her younger sister and sister in law are set before the mausoleum’s entrance. Originally volumetric composition of the mazar at square plan (from the outside 7,1 × 7,1 m, with internal3,38 × 3,38 m) was a four-sided pyramid made by means of lapping rows of horizontal laying and topped with a shaped spire. 
Scientists and travelers were interested in this ancient structure, with its unusualarchitectural form, and in particular, its history at all times. Records of some researchers of the XIX century who visited the monument have survived. Shokan Ualikhanov, who visited the monument in 1856,was struck by its height: nine people had to mount each other to get the top of the dome. 
Sketches made by the Kazakh scientist ethnographer, in which he portrayed the stone sculptures standing near the monument, are of particular value. In 1982 the Mazar of Kozy-Korpesh-Bayan Sulu was put into the list of Kazakhstan cultural and historical monuments of Republican significance and taken under state’s protection.
In 2014 to the mausoleum the Bayan-Sulu and Kozy-Korpesh have laid a highway in length about one kilometer and have constructed the bridge extent more than 140 meters through the river Ayaguz, also the electricity is brought to the mausoleum, now even the mausoleum the Bayan-Sulu and Kozy-Korpesh at night is visible.
Geographical coordinates of mausoleum of Bayan-Sulu and Kozy-Korpesh: N47°17'38.97" E79°42'12.41"

Authority:
Iliuf H.Sh., the chief of Faculty of language preparation. The guidebook on the East Kazakhstan area. 

Photos by
Alexander Petrov.