UNDERGROUND MOSQUE
Beket Ata
Quite a lot is known about Beket Ata. He was born in 1750 in the village of Kuisary. From an early age, he had an incredible thirst for knowledge and had a lively mind. As the legends say, at the age of 14, Beket-Ata came to worship the ashes of Shopan-Ata. During an overnight stay in the mosque, the sage appeared to the young man and gave instructions to study. So, a young guy went to distant Khiva for knowledge. He graduated from a madrasah (emphasis is placed on the last syllable), a Muslim religious and educational school. After studying, Beket-Ata began practicing medicine. He even undertook the treatment of the mentally ill and people with disabilities, achieving great results in this matter. There are legends about his incredible physical strength and talent as an orator.
The underground mosque of Beket Ata is located in the foothills of the Ustyurt plateau, geographically belonging to the Mangystau region on the Mangyshlak peninsula in Kazakhstan. It's not that easy to get to her. It is necessary to cover hundreds of kilometers through a desert area, and then walk a few more kilometers. However, despite the difficult accessibility, the Beket Ata mosque is an object of pilgrimage for a huge number of people. It was founded by one of the most revered Kazakh religious figures and preachers of Sufism, Beket Ata, who during his lifetime was famous for the gift of healing not only the body, but also the soul. The saint's grave is located right in the mosque. This is a place with a special energy. Believers say that after visiting the necropolis, real miracles happen to them.
Between the 12th and 13th centuries, wandering ascetics who preached Sufism came to Mangyshlak. There are several legends about their appearance. All of them are connected with the name of a real person named Khoja Ahmet Yassawi, who was one of the first Sufi preachers. Legend has it that Khoja Akhmet hurled the staff of wisdom towards Mangyshlak, after which he sent 360 of his disciples in search of him. When the disciples found the staff, it had already grown into the ground and turned into a tree. So Yassawi's followers stayed on the peninsula to spread his philosophical teachings. You can find little details about some of them, and there is no information at all about others. However, the residents of Mangyshlak call it the "holy land", based on the fact that 360 saints once lived and preached here. The most famous of them are Shopan-ata, Masat-ata, Kenty-Baba, Sultan-epe, Shakpak-ata, Koshkar-ata.
The main places of religious worship were unexpected structures for this area — underground mosques. At that time, several such buildings appeared on Mangyshlak at once. It was unusual for Islam to build underground temples. But for Christianity, with its rock monasteries and cave churches, it was quite traditional. Most likely, the appearance of mosques underground is due to the mixing of a large number of cultures that appeared and disappeared in Mangyshlak. As a result, something completely new has been formed.
Featured Tours
© 2019-2023 IE "Redmaya"
130000, c. Aktau, 2nd Microdistrict, 47B Building, BC Sunkar, 7th Floor, Office 717
130000, c. Aktau, 2nd Microdistrict, 47B Building, BC Sunkar, 7th Floor, Office 717
DESTINATIONS
