DESTINATIONS ACTIVE & ADVENTURE |KAZAKHSTAN


SOVIET HISTORY IN SHYMKENT


ABOVE: The city of Otrar, now an archaeological site, flourished as a Silk Road hub in the 11th and 12th centuries PICTURES: Daniyar Berdali; Shutterstock/Nina Alizada


HOLY LANDMARKS It wasn’t just the camels and craft heritage that brought us to Turkistan: first settled by Turkic nomads, this was a key trading point on the Silk Road for hundreds of years. It’s also long been the country’s holiest city thanks to its main masterpiece, the Unesco-listed Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, a giant mosque and mausoleum and a key destination for pilgrimages. Built in the 14th century under Timur, a fearsome ruler of Central Asia, in homage to his spiritual teacher, it shimmers with turquoise tiles and is topped off with the largest dome in Central Asia. We visited just a handful of its 35 rooms before exploring the neighbouring 12th-century Hilvet underground mosque, where Sufi poet and philosopher Yasawi lived underground for his final years, providing spiritual teachings to his students.


SILK ROAD STORIES Our final glimpse into history came on a visit to nearby Otrar, an ancient city turned archaeological site founded more than 2,000 years ago. Another major point on the Silk Road, this once-flourishing hub thrived in the 11th and 12th centuries, when caravans would pass through, paying visits to its bazaars, mosques, baths and madrasahs (schools). The city was destroyed when Genghis Khan invaded


in 1219, leaving behind a cluster of medieval ruins, according to our guide, Serguey. It then became the


This huge, sparsely populated


country is impossible to sum up in just a few words – the only way to understand it is to visit


final resting place for military leader Timur, who died here two centuries later while on a mission to conquer China. Today, the remains of its city walls, bathhouses and gate remain, studding a stark, biscuit-coloured desert landscape that few seem to know about, judging by the fact that we were the only ones there. It was another fascinating glimpse into the many stories that have shaped Kazakhstan across the centuries, and I left with a yearning to know more. This huge, sparsely populated country is impossible to sum up in just a few words – the only way to understand it is to visit. If you’ve got clients searching for an off-the-beaten-


track escape where they can have extraordinary landscapes, abandoned cities and intriguing cultural attractions largely to themselves, it’s the place to recommend. It felt like I had uncovered a whole history I’d never known, and a reverence for tradition and celebration of a multi-layered heritage that is the real magic of Kazakhstan.


TW BOOK IT


Regent Holidays’ new 11-day private Culture & Cuisine of Kazakhstan tour costs from £3,770 per person, based on four travelling together, including direct Air Astana flights from Heathrow to Almaty, B&B accommodation, internal flights and transport, private guides, activities and some meals. The operator can also tailor-make trips in the country for clients keen on its adventurous side, including a 10-day Kazakhstan on Foot itinerary and a new Peaks & Powder ski holiday. regent-holidays.co.uk


38 5 FEBRUARY 2026 travelweekly.co.uk


For clients interested in learning more about the history of Soviet oppression in the country from the 1930s to the 1980s, recommend a visit to the Museum of Victims of Political Repression (pictured), in the city of Shymkent, about two hours from Turkistan. It’s sobering but insightful. There are photos of executed victims on the walls and insight into tragic events including the Kazakh famine, when nomadism was repressed, resulting in an estimated 1.5 to 2.3 million deaths from 1930 to 1933. Plus exhibits on the labour camps that followed and the road to Kazakhstan’s eventual independence in 1991.


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