Phototours on historical monuments of Akmola region.

“Stories need legends, desperate deeds and noble examples, fiery speeches, brave heroes and great victories, winners forget betrayal and cowardice, hypocrisy and blood, the truth remains true, and lies become history”

Abraham Lincoln.

Ancient mausoleums of Akmola region.

The Botagay Mausoleum is located in the Korgalzhyn district, Akmola region, is an architectural monument of the XIth - XIIth centuries, located 120 km west of the city of Nur-Sultan and 2 km east of the village of Korgalzhyn.
Botagai is a portal-domed mausoleum with a main facade oriented southwest. Judging by the drawings and descriptions of travelers, Botagay was one of the outstanding masterpieces of architectural and construction art of Kazakhstan in the Middle Ages.
In the middle of the XIX century, the mausoleum was in satisfactory condition, now blurred and weathered. Before the excavation, the monument was an oval-shaped hill with a diameter of about 30 meters, a height of 1.5 - 2 meters.
At its top was a metal triangulation point. Excavations uncovered a brick site measuring 21 x 17.4 meters, on which carved terracotta stalactites unique to the region with geometric and floral ornaments were discovered.
According to I. Shangin's descriptions, the Botagai mausoleum was already destroyed in 1816 and was "the remains of an ancient temple of very decent architecture, inside had pillars and plastered walls, another similar mausoleum stood near it."
These data indicate that Botagay was one of the most important memorial and religious buildings that were part of a large necropolis located on the left bank of the Nura River, mistakenly taken by travelers of the 18th-19th centuries for the remains of a medieval city.
The plan of the majestic Botagai mausoleum, made in 1862 by Kazakh scientist and traveler Shokan Ualikhanov, has been preserved to this day. According to legend, in the old days there lived a skilled master-builder giant Byty-gai. He was poor, but very strong.
The strongman was worthless with two logs under his arms to step over the Nura River. During a lifetime, a certain khan decided to build himself a mausoleum and invited Bytigai for this. Bytygay began construction and very soon a mausoleum grew near the Nura River.
It was so huge that the shadow from it reached the river itself. The khan fell in love with the master for his skill. Meanwhile, Bytigay was already building a bridge over the river in the place that is still called Bytigay opened - a ford of Bytigai.
During the construction of the bridge, one of the beams collapsed and killed the hero. The khan got up, gathered the people and turned to him with the words: “A wonderful man and artisan was Bytigay. And I decided to bury him in the mausoleum, which he built for me, so that his memory would remain forever.
"The memory of Bytyg came to us in the names “Bytigay Mazar”, “Bytigay open”, “Bytigay sora”.

Authority:
http://srh.kz/content/mavzoley-botagay-korgalghynskiy-rayon/