Astana-baba mausoleum, Turkmenistan

The mausoleum is a part of the memorial complex consisting of a mosque and a tomb. As a matter of fact they are several buildings constructed in various periods. They stay so closely to each other that it is difficult to imagine the original shape of the structure.

The mausoleul of Astana-baba is a XI-XII century monument of architecture. It is the place of “zyuarat” – a regular ritual of worshipping of holy men observed by visiting piligrims.

No one knows for sure who Astana-baba was. But the place where the mausoleum stands is considered sacred and healing. Thousand of sick people gather here annually to recieve long-awaited healing. The number of piligrims grows with each day. The same happened to another one and so did to the third. The father was desperate but soon afterwords he saw an old man in his dream. The old man advised him to erect the mausoleum from clay and the water brought from Mecca. The inconsolable father did as he had been told.

The earth was mixed with the clay brought from Mecca and the water from Mecca was poured in to a well and was used for construction. Soon the mausoleum was completed and after the death of the ruler his body was buried next to his daughter. The water in the well was taken for construction of the mausoleums of Zeid-Ali and Zuveid-Ali is considered holy.