The Beket-Ata Mosque, a revered pilgrimage site in Mangystau, was established in the 18th century by the renowned religious figure and Sufi, Beket Myrzagululy. Famed for his mystical life, the mosque sits in a remote desert area at the base of the Ustyurt Chink, 230 km east of Aktau.
The Beket-Ata Mosque, first studied by archaeologists in the 1960s, was declared a historical and cultural monument of Kazakhstan in 1982. The 21st century saw restorations, including reinforcing the slope in front of the mosque, constructing a guest house for pilgrims atop the cliff, and building a lengthy stairway descent. A road to the guest house was completed in 2011. The guest house, which includes a dining hall, welcomes pilgrims and tourists alike, with separate sleeping halls for men and women. Visitors should respect local customs, such as removing shoes, women covering their heads, and refraining from indoor photography.
This unique mosque, carved into a large rock, comprises four small halls. Some halls feature light windows in the ceiling; one contains Beket-ata’s remains, another his staff, a third is the burial site of his sister, and the fourth is a women-only prayer hall. The halls’ ceilings range from 2.7 to 3.5 meters high.
Lobby of the mosque has a circular plan shape (diameter is about 4.5 m). The ceiling has a flat dome shape. The whole interior imitate the Kazakh yurt. According to the presence of mihrab niches in the south-west wall, it is the prayer hall. A semi-circular room was adjoined from the west side, in which the corner pillars of the floor level is raised as a Sufi.
We find in one place from the side of the river a hole that looks more like a wolf hole, into which, however, a person, although with difficulty, can climb through. This hole extends into the earth no more than 3 fathoms (1 fathom = 2.13 m – Ya. F.), in the forward direction to the south-west, and then leads into a round room with 2.5 fathoms in diameter and up to 4 arshins (1 arshin = 0.71 m – Ya.F.) height.
Its ceiling is a flat dome, in the middle of which a narrow hole is drilled to the surface of the earth, transmitting weak light into the room. On both sides of the room, at the very entrance to it, two filled holes are visible; according to the Kirghiz, it was a digging with fresh water.
The walls of this room are not carved in the form of a regular circle, but with 6 symmetrically located recesses, of which one, which is located against the door, is slightly wider and deeper than the others and in general is very similar to those made in Tatar mosques. There are no floors in the rooms; the walls are rough, but quite right. The soil in which this mosque is hollowed out consists of strong chalk.
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