The mausoleum was built in honor of Gaukhar ana, the daughter of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, a prominent preacher of Islam. It is a monument of national significance. Coordinates: 43˚15.762΄, 068˚17.159΄. Located 400–500 meters from the left side of the Turkistan–Shaulder highway. Since 1989, the site has been under the protection of the “Azret Sultan” State Historical and Cultural Reserve-Museum. In 2011, the museum team were conducted archaeological excavations. There is no exact information about birth or death date of Gaukhar Ana.

According to elder O. Dastanov, who was chief curator for long time and later director of the museum, and based on oral sayings, Gaukhar Ana known for her exceptional healing abilities. Initially, there was a small mausoleum built of fired brick with a design similar to the mausoleum of Rabia Sultan Begim, but smaller in size. In the 1940s, the mausoleum collapsed.

Gaukhar Ana helped many people due to her spiritual gift. The water from the well near the mausoleum is considered healing. Previously, there was a roofless structure on the site of the mausoleum, consisting of four walls. Nearby was a building with three rooms for pilgrims. In 2014–2015, KazRestavraciya State Enterprise constructed a new mausoleum on behalf of the “Azret Sultan” State Historical and Cultural Reserve-Museum.

Among the people preserved many sayings about Ahmed Yasawi and his family. However, the most reliable written source that has survived to this day is considered to be the written work “Nasabnama”, which contains the genealogy of twelve Kazakh khoja lineages. The latest found manuscripts dated to the 15th–16th centuries are considered copies of an earlier version. This text traces back to the “Wasiyyat-nama” (“Will and Testament”) of Safi ad-Din Orın-Qoylaqy and includes 19 different versions. According to one of them “Ibrahim Shaykh had two sons — Sadr Shaykh and Ahmed Khoja. Sadr Shaykh had two sons: Abd al-Malik (Ali Khoja Ata) and Danishmand (Orın Qoylaqy). Ahmed Khoja had a son named Ibrahim Shaykh (Nauryz Khoja) and a daughter named Gaukhar Khushtaj. Ahmed Khoja gave his daughter Gaukhar in marriage to Abd al-Malik, and they had single son — Sadan Khoja”. This version is considered by scholars to be the closest to historical reality.

The current design of the mausoleum was developed by an architect Zhumakhan Zhylisbayev from Turkistan, based on the oral recollections of O. Dastanov, who had personally seen the old tomb in the 1930s. Sadan Khoja (Sheikh), the grandson of Ahmed Yasawi, is buried to the east of the ancient city of Tortkol-I Karashyk.

References:

1. Tuyakbayev M., Oserov T., Musabayev K., Kumisbayeva U. Report on the archaeological excavations near the Mausoleum of Gaukhar Ana conducted in May 2011. — Turkistan, 2011. Archive of the Department of Archaeology and Monument Protection.
2. Gaukhar Ana Mausoleum // Encyclopedia Turkistan, Vol. I. — Astana, 2023. — p. 54.
3. Gaukhar ana Mausoleum, 12th–14th centuries // Encyclopedia Azret Sultan, Vol. I. — Turkistan, 2021. — pp. 105–106.
4. Gaukhar ana Monument, 12th–14th centuries // Historical and Cultural Monuments of the Turkistan Region. — Almaty, 2016. — pp. 116–117.
5. Islamization and Sacred Genealogies in Central Asia. — Almaty, 2008.
6. Zhandarbek Z. Versions of “Nasab-nama” and Turkic History. — Almaty, 2002.
7. Gaukhar ana // Turkistan — the Cradle of Spirituality. A Linguistic and Regional Encyclopedia. — Nur-Sultan, 2019. — pp. 126–127.