Astanababa Mausoleum

Astanababa mausoleum (12th-17th centuries) — The local people call it Astanababa shrine, and some also name it the mausoleum of the two brothers Zeýdalı and Zuweýdalı and their women — Gyzlarbibi mausoleum. There are several legends about this tomb, and in one of them it is said: “400 years ago the ruler of Balh ibn Aly Nur son of Zuweýda gave his only daughter, who was betrothed to the local governor, to the ruler. Grieving, her father ordered a mausoleum to be built for his daughter and summoned good craftsmen from Mary and Samarkand. But after it was built the mausoleum collapsed. The rebuilt house collapsed in the same way and this happened three times. In this situation, the grieving Nur son had a dream in which a spirit entered and advised him to rebuild the mausoleum with mud brought from Mekge and water. The grieving father also did this. They made the mud from Mekge, brought water and poured it into a trough, then took the water from there for the mud. Thus the mausoleum was built and when Nur son died they also buried him in that mausoleum, living next to his daughter's tomb.”

The Astanababa complex consists of several parts. It includes an open courtyard, a hallway, a porch, a closed courtyard, four pillared halls, a minaret, the tombs of Zeýdalı and Zuweýdalı, a reception hall and the non‑enclosed courtyard that connects with the Gyzlarbibi mausoleum. The oldest part of the ensemble is the minaret, which can be dated to the 12th century. The reception hall was built at the same time as the minaret. The Gyzlarbibi mausoleum is a later part of the ensemble, built of bricks of various sizes possibly reused a second time (19th century).