Turkestan day tour

Starting/ending point: Shymkent city

Driving distance: 350 km from Shymkent and back

Tour duration: 11 hours

Start time: 07:30 am Almaty time

Availability season: all year round

Tour language: English | Russian

Tour activities: Sightseeing

Tour options: PRIVATE

Description

TOUR SIGHTS

Archeological site of Otrar ancient city
Arystan Bab mausoleum
Khoja Ahmed Yassawi mausoleum

We are glad to invite you to a day tour of the most significant historical places of Southern Kazakhstan, where you can get closer to the history of the people of Central Asia, touch the monuments of medieval architecture and get an unforgettable experience from what you see for long memory.

Firstly you will head towards the ruins of Otrar fortified city, which was one of the largest cities in Central Asia on the route of the Great Silk Road. The city dates from the period from the beginning of our era to the XIX century. In 1219, the сity bravely fought with the army of Genghis Khan and was under siege for almost half a year, as a result, it was captured, plundered and almost the entire population destroyed. The great conqueror Amir Timur lived before a grand campaign to China and died in Otrar of a fever in 1405.

Before visiting the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yassawi it's considered mandatory to visit the mausoleum of Arystan Baba - a teacher and spiritual mentor of Khoja Ahmed Yassawi.
Next, you will arrive in the ancient city of Turkestan, formerly known as Yassy - which was a fortified city in the Middle Ages. You will see with your own eyes the most beautiful architectural monument of Kazakhstan - the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yassawi, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is a true masterpiece of medieval architecture with several domes and a grand entrance portal. Persian architects were involved in the construction of the mausoleum, innovative solutions were used, as in the construction of Samarkand (the capital of Timurids - in the time of Tamerlan).

PRECAUTION

• Not recommended for travelers with serious medical conditions, high/low blood pressure;
• Not recommended for pregnant women;
• Not recommended for travelers who can not withstand long trips by car/long walks;
• Travelers should have at least a low physical fitness level.

ITINERARY

07:30 Pick-up and departure from Shymkent
Trip to the archeological site of Otrar (150 km)
Excursion around the Otrar museum-reserve
Visiting of the Arystanbab mausoleum
Trip to Turkestan city
Excursion at the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yassawi, hammam, ground mosque, underground Sufi shelter, mausoleum Rabiya Sultan Begim
Lunch in the cafe of Central Asian cuisine
Way back to Shymkent
18:00 Drop-off

⚠️ [Visits to any of the tour sites may be canceled and their order changed due to the change of seasons, weather conditions and other circumstances beyond our control]

OPTIONS & PRICES

PRIVATE tour	✅ Your address in Shymkent pick-up/drop-off ✅ Comfortable vehicle ✅ English-speaking tour guide ✅ Lunch in the cafe of Central Asian cuisine ✅ Bottled water ✅ Entry tickets
Number of people	1	2	3	4
PRICE	$245	$265	$285	$310
per person	$245	$132	$95	$77.5

⚠️ [If you are more people, contact us and we will make an individual calculation for you]

PRIVATE TOUR BOOKING

[Here you can submit a request to book a private tour. We will try to respond to you within 24 hours]

BOOKING TERMS

Prepayment (10% - 30% deposit for the Private tours, 30% - 50% deposit for the Group tours) of the tour cost is required to confirm your booking. The remaining amount can be paid at the start of the tour.
We use PayPal as a payment gateway to accept online payments from foreign bank cards, so you can securely pay with any debit/credit card. No need to have or create a PayPal account.

CANCELLATION POLICY

PRIVATE TOURS

Customers can change the details or cancel the booking no later than 72 hours before the start of the tour with the possibility of a 70-90% refund of the tour cost. After this time, no refund is possible.

GROUP (SHARED) TOURS

Customers can change the details or cancel the booking no later than 24 hours before the start of the tour/activity with a full refund of the tour cost. After this time, no refund is possible.
A minimum number of tourists and suitable weather are required. If these criteria are not met, the tour/activity will be canceled no later than 48 hours before the start and customers will be offered a different date/tour or a full refund.

Any tour/booking can be canceled in case of force majeure with a full refund.