Shakpak-ata mosque

Shakpak-ata mosque – a monument of religious architecture included in the state list of historical and cultural heritage of republican significance.

Location

It is located in a cemetery 25 km west of the village of Taushiq in the Tupkaragan district of Mangystau region.

History

Researchers studying the construction of the Shakpak-ata mosque, which was built by escaping from a cliff, G.Ts. Medev assigns it to the 9th–10th centuries, while S. Azhigaliyev classifies it as an architectural monument of the 12th–13th centuries.

Description

The central dome of the mosque is a long barrel that passes through the room, with a chest house on each side. The central prayer hall (5.0 × 4.5 m) has rounded columns at its four corners, connected by an elegant gate. From the ceiling of the hall a dome is carved, from which a cylindrical niche (height 1.55 m) protrudes. The niche is connected to an external square-plan pavilion. The pavilion, while protecting the niche that lets light into the central room from rain, also served as a watchtower. The room on the north side of the two side chambers is likely a travelers’ inn (with a stable). On the south side, the rear wall of the room contains a mihrab, with small rooms carved on both sides. No specially made ornamental signs are observed on the mosque walls, only niches carved throughout. The main decoration consists of carved panels on the entrance board and the lintel walls (animals, weapons, figures of people in traditional dress, inscriptions, and others). In this cemetery, besides the underground Shakpak-ata mosque, many religious monuments such as a saganatam, a kulpytas, and a sagana‑koytas, whose origins date from the 10th–19th centuries, are also preserved.