Gozli-Ata mausoleum
Coordinates: 40 ° 20 ′ 3 ″ N , 54 ° 29 ′ 25 ″ E
 
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The Gozli Ata Mausoleum is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Turkmenistan . It is located in the Karakum Desert and is dedicated to the Sufi Gözli Ata.
location
The mausoleum is located in the north of the city of Balkanabat in the Turkmen province of Balkan welaýaty in the west of the country. The place is best reached by car from Balkanabat and is remote in the Karakum desert. The area around the mausoleum is characterized by limestone formations in various shades of red. Another tourist attraction of the region is the Yangykala Gorge in the northeast of the mausoleum .
construction
The mausoleum is a brick building with two white domes as a roof structure. The main entrance of the mausoleum is designed in the form of a pishtak , the other sides of the building are brick walls with some ornaments. Inside the building is the tomb of the Sufi Gözli Ata, the coffin being extraordinarily large and shaped like a triangular prism . In the immediate vicinity of the mausoleum is another mausoleum, which is said to contain the body of Bibi Aysulu, the wife of Gözli Ata. Furthermore, in addition to the remains of a madrasa near the mausoleum, there are numerous graves, including those of members of the Turkmen tribe of the Salor, who left artistic graves with tombstones in the form of threatening warriors.
history
Gözli Ata is an influential Sufi teacher, his name is translated as All-Seeing Father . This refers to the gift attributed to him to be able to look into the souls of people. Little is known about the life and work of the Sufi. He traveled to numerous Arab countries and probably studied in what is now Kazakhstan , which is why he is still venerated there today and pilgrims from Kazakhstan visit his grave. There are different statements about the lifetime of the Sufi, but he probably lived between the late 12th century and the early 14th century AD and was already considered an important Sufi during his lifetime.
Today the mausoleum is of great importance as a place of pilgrimage, on weekends several hundred pilgrims often come to the Gözli-Ata mausoleum. The mausoleum is particularly often visited by young women who ask for fertility and healthy offspring. This hope is also expressed in numerous dolls and baby toys that pilgrims have left behind around the mausoleum.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Trescher Verlag GmbH: Travel Guide Turkmenistan Sunken Desert Cities on the Silk Road . 3rd, updated Edition. Berlin, ISBN 978-3-89794-415-2 , pp. 141-143 .
- ↑ Gozli Ata. In: trawelco.com. Retrieved June 28, 2020 (German).
- ^ Turkmenistan - Turkmen tribes and Russian invasion. Retrieved June 28, 2020 (English).
- ^ Brummell, Paul .: Turkmenistan . Bradt Travel Guides Ltd, Chalfont St. Peter 2005, ISBN 1-84162-144-7 , p. 159 f .
- ↑ Gozli Ata Mausoleum | Turkmenistan Attractions. Retrieved June 28, 2020 (English).
- ↑ Highlights / Balkans | Owadan Tourism. Retrieved June 28, 2020 .
- ↑ Gozli Ata mausoleum. December 16, 2017, accessed June 28, 2020 .