Architectural Importance of the Ahmed Yassawi Memorial-Complex

Abstract

In this article, the authors define the place and significance of Ahmed Yassawi as a colorful figure in the Turkic world. The article defines the cultural significance of Ahmed Yassawi’s role in the Sufi worldview formation, the influence of Sufism on the spiritual and aesthetic culture of the Central Asia Turkic peoples in the Middle Ages. The religious creativity of Ahmed Yassawi undoubtedly had a spiritual impact on the worldview of the Turkic people of Central Asia, changing their worldview and understanding of the place and purpose of a person in their life. Under the influence of Yassawi and other Sufi thinkers, Central Asia turns into a center of divinely inspired intuition during the Middle Ages. The city of Turkestan in this period becomes the epicenter of a new spiritual practice, which opened the way for a person not only personal liberation from suffering, but also proposed a new strategy of overcoming the life hardships through personal choice. The authors of this article determine the architectural significance of the memorial complex dedicated to Ahmed Yassawi’s memory. Assessing the mastery of medieval architects, the authors draw attention to the innovation of medieval Central Asian architects. This is an architectural achievement of that distant era: blue and white ceramics, which was embodied in the construction of the Ahmed Yassawi’s mausoleum. Careful attitude to the cultural heritage of the Central Asia steppe civilization is one of the most important tasks of the “Ruhani zhangyru” (Spiritual revival) national program. This will allow educating the public tradition of careful attitude and respect for the spiritual heritage of the past, for the rich culture of Kazakhstan.