Shakh-Fazil — Asia Travel

mavzoley-shah-fazilShakh-Fazil – is an architectural, historical-archaeological reserve of Kyrgyzstan that is an unusually beautiful place located in Jalal-Abad region of Albukinsk area in the place where the rivers of Padysha-Ata and Chanach-Say merge.

An extraordinary set includes:

A monument of the Bronze Age;
Mausoleums of XI, XVIII-XIX centuries;
Natural attraction — the mountain of Archa-Mazar.
Sacred Mountain Archa-Mazar, according to local legend – is the last place where the managed to reach Alexander of Macedon. It was here where he lost the battle to the glorious mountain people — tigrahauts. In confirmation of this information you will certainly be shown the ancient granite slab, preserved in Mazar, the inscription on which reads in Greek: «Alexandria Eskhata», which literally translates as «the last Alexandria». The people still believe the legend that it is in these places Alexander lost his gold, two-horned helmet.

Actually, under a mountain there is a thousand years Safed-Bulan village («White Bulan»), referred to in the medieval historical annals as Isbid-Bulan. This exotic name of the town dates back to the days when the grandson of Prophet Mohammad — Shah Jarir came to these parts with a great army, in order to preach Islam.

Subjecting to the powerful army the local fire worshipers have agreed to accept a new faith, but as soon as the Arabs lost their vigilance, took their arms and started the Friday prayer, they were all been attacked and killed unarmed by cutting off their heads. During the massacre, the standard-bearer — alamberdar of the Arab troops in anticipation of the imminent end, prayed and threw the flag high in the top, asking God to take care of the flag that it would not fall into the hands of infidels.

2700 Muslims were killed in the massacre; their bodies were left the mosque and the local people, under pain of death forbidden to bury them. Since then, the surviving mosque is called «kyrgyn mosque.»

However, the servant of one of the missionaries — black woman, whose name was Bulan, in search of a host of Shah-Jarir, assembled the heads of all dead people, washed and buried them. From the seen horror she turned gray, they say that her skin had become quite white, since this place became known as Safed-Bulan. However, her master escaped the sad fate in time retreated with the remnants of the troops.

Many years later, with a huge army his son returned — Shah-Fazil, with the aim to punish those who were responsible in this place.

The pagans were destroyed and Islam — has triumphed.

However, very soon, Shakh-Fazil himself laid his head in a strange land. The poor Safed-Bulan, has long looked after the burials of dead soldiers, and then the grave of Shah-Fazil, over which the mausoleum had already been rebuilt. When she left, this mortal coil, she was honored to be buried close to the valuable places and over her grave, too, there was founded a modest mausoleum.

The greatest value of the entire complex, of course is the shrine of Shah-Fazil, which is a dome-centric structure, oriented to the cardinal angles. The height of the monument from its former level floor to the top of the dome is 15.5 meters; the perimeter of the outer base is 11.5 meters. The body basis of the building is designed as a regular truncated pyramid, which hoisted a massive, original form of the drum, topped by a high dome.

The interior of the mausoleum is very interesting.

Imagine yourself tinted stucco coating, entirely decorated with carvings, lined belts, which delimited between by a horizontal inserts massive memorial Koranic inscriptions, in the style of «blooming Kufi.» From the inscriptions it is known that the tomb belongs to Muhammad ibn Nasir of the Karakhanids dynasty, martyred in the name of God and nicknamed by the people as Shakh-Fazil, that is — «the Fair Shakh».

This mausoleum is a unique monument of the epoch of the Karakhanids.

At the entrance to the shrine, near the canal a huge boulder lays, which, according to legend, Bulan folded the washed heads; the place of the murdered Muslims is not far away of that place which is called «kyrgyn mosque», where today stands a small mausoleum of the righteous.

The entire complex is still considered as a holy place and every year it takes a lot of pilgrims from Central Asia. Actually until the middle of the XX century, it is allowed to hold religious festivals in public preaching and sacrifice of animals in this place.

It is significant that only women are allowed in the mazar Safed-Bulan, where they can retire to read the Quran and ask the saint’s blessing. At the same place there is a stone of fertility in the courtyard — a phallic symbol, the remainder are still in pre-Islamic times, touching which women ask about the long-awaited birth of children.

Without a doubt, the complex is the architectural-historical and spiritual value of the country, it is important that it is included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.