View source for Turkistan (city)

{{about|the town in Kazakhstan|the general region|Turkestan}}

{{Infobox settlement
 | official_name         = Turkistan
 | native_name           = Түркістан
 | image_skyline         = Туркестан.jpg 
 | imagesize             = 300px
 | image_caption         = Mausoleum of [[Khwaja Ahmad Yasavi]]
 | image_flag            = 
 | image_seal            = 
 | image_map             = 
 | map_caption           = 
 |pushpin_map            = Kazakhstan
 |pushpin_label_position = bottom
 |pushpin_mapsize        = 280
 |pushpin_map_caption    = Location in Kazakhstan
 |subdivision_type       = [[Countries of the world|Country]]
 |subdivision_type1      = [[Regions of Kazakhstan|Region]]
 |subdivision_name       = [[Kazakhstan]]
 |subdivision_name1      = [[South Kazakhstan Region]]
 | established_title     = 
 | established_date      =
 | government_type       = 
 | leader_title          = Akim <small>([[mayor]])</small>
 | leader_name           = Ashirbekov Bakitzhan Aydarhanovich 
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 | population_as_of      = 2009
 | population_footnotes  =
 | population_total      = 227,098
 | population_urban      = 142,899
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 |coordinates           = {{coord|43|17|N|68|16|E|region:KZ|display=inline}}
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{{Coord|43|17|51.75|N|68|16|15.80|E|scale:100000|display=title}}

'''Turkistan''' ({{lang-kz|'''Түркістан'''}}, ''Türkistan'', تٷركئستان), formerly known as ''Turkestan'' ({{lang-ru|Туркестан}}; {{lang-uz|Turkiston}}, ''Туркистон'', توركىستان), is a city in the [[South Kazakhstan Region]] of [[Kazakhstan]], near the [[Syr Darya]] river. It is situated {{convert|160|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}} north-west of [[Shymkent]] on the [[Trans-Aral Railway]] between [[Kyzylorda]] to the north and [[Tashkent]] to the south. Its population has increased within ten years from {{Kz-census1999|102,505|punct=}} to {{Kz-census2009|142,899|punct=.}}

==History==
Turkistan is one of Kazakhstan's historic cities with an [[archaeological record]] dating back to the 4th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.natcom.unesco.kz/turkestan/e08_arch_monuments.htm |title=Archeological monuments of Turkistan |publisher=Natcom.unesco.kz |date= |accessdate=2012-04-22}}</ref>

During the [[Han dynasty]] it may even have been Beitan, the summer capital of ancient [[Kangju]] ('''康居'''), which is mentioned in the ''[[Hanshu]]''.<ref>Hill (2009), p. 177.</ref><ref>Hulsewé (1979), pp. 124-125 and n. 199.</ref>

It became a commercial centre after the final demise of [[Otrar]], the medieval city whose ruins lie near the Syr Darya to the southeast. Throughout most of the medieval and early-modern period it was known as '''Yasi''' or '''Shavgar''' and after the 16th-17th centuries as Turkistan or Hazrat, both of which names derive from the title 'Hazrat-i Turkistan', which literally means "the Saint (or Blessed One) of Turkistan" and refers to [[Khoja Akhmet Yassawi]], the [[Sufi]] [[Sheikh]] of Turkistan, who lived here during the 11th century CE and is buried in the town.

Because of his influence and in his memory the city became an important centre of spirituality and Islamic learning for the peoples of the Kazakh steppes. In the 1390s [[Timur]] (Tamerlane) erected a magnificent domed ''Mazar'' or [[Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi|tomb over his grave]], which remains the most significant architectural monument in the Republic of Kazakhstan, was pictured on the back of the banknotes of the national currency until 2006.

Other important historical sites in the city include a medieval bath-house and four other mausoleums, one dedicated to Timur's granddaughter and three to [[Kazakh Khanate|Kazakh khans]] (rulers).

Before the Russians came in the 19th century, Turkistan lay on the frontier of the settled Perso-Islamic [[oasis]] culture of [[Transoxiana]] to the south, and the world of the Kazakh [[steppe]] to the north. 
In the 16th to 18th  centuries Turkestan became the capital of the [[Kazakh Khanate]].<ref>[http://www.unesco.kz/natcom/turkestan/r07_turkest_cap.htm Туркестан — столица Казахского ханства]</ref> It became the political center of the Kazakh steppe, but after advancing conquest expeditions of the [[Russian Empire]] and the associated weakening of the [[Kazakh Khanate]] benefited small southern states that he was captured. Finally, this city was conquered in Kokand khanate by Russian General Veryovkin in 1864. 
When Turkistan fell to the [[Russian Empire]] it was incorporated into the [[Syr-Darya]] [[Oblast]] of the [[Governor-General]]ship of [[Russian Turkestan]]. When the [[Tsarist]] regime fell in 1917-18 it was briefly part of the [[Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]] before being returned Kazakhs as a city of [[Kazakh SSR]] in 1924.

===Pilgrimage===
[[File:Landsat turkestan.jpg|240px|right|thumb|Landsat satellite photo of Turkestan]]

The city attracts thousands of pilgrims. According to a regional tradition, three pilgrimages to Turkistan are equivalent to one [[hajj]] to [[Mecca]] (such local piety is known also in relation to other religious monuments in the Muslim world). The Saint was held in such reverence that the city was known as the ''Second Mecca of the East'', a vision which has helped shape the spiritual identity of Muslims in Kazakhstan.<ref>Privatsky (2001)</ref>

==Demographics==
Modern-day Turkistan has a population of 85,600 (1999 census). The population rose by 10% from 1989 to 99, making it the second fastest-growing town in Kazakhstan, after the new capital [[Astana]].

The ethnic composition of the city:
*[[Kazakhs]] – 52,5%
*[[Uzbeks]] – 45,2%
*Other ethnic groups – 2,3%

The ethnic composition of the city according to the 1897 census:<ref>[http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/emp_lan_97_uezd.php?reg=894 Демоскоп Weekly — Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей]</ref>
*total – 11,253 	
*[[Uzbeks]] – 8,940 (79.4%)
*[[Kazakhs]] – 1,415 (12.5%)
*[[Tatars]] – 506 (4.4%)
*[[Russians]] – 312 (2.7%)

At the same time the ethnic composition of the Chimkent [[uyezd]] (Chimkent district) which included the city of Turkestan according to the 1897 census should be noted:<ref>[http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/emp_lan_97_uezd.php?reg=892 Демоскоп Weekly — Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей]</ref>

*total – 285,059 	
*[[Kazakhs]] – 224,704 (78.8%)
*[[Sart]] – 32 043 (11.2%)
*[[Uzbeks]] – 20 709 (7.2%)
*[[Russians]] – 6 443(2.2%)
*[[Tatars]] – 646 (0.2%)

==Geography and climate==

Turkistan may be reached by train from [[Almaty]], in a journey of nearly 20 hours. The road trip from the nearest airport at [[Shymkent]] takes about two hours.

Turkestan experiences a [[desert climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''BWk'') with short, cold winters and long, dry, very hot summers. The vast majority of the annual precipitation falls between late autumn and late spring.

{{Weather box
|location = Turkestan
|metric first = yes
|single line=yes
|Jan record high C = 18.7
|Feb record high C = 26.4
|Mar record high C = 30.7
|Apr record high C = 36.3
|May record high C = 40.5
|Jun record high C = 46.9
|Jul record high C = 49.1
|Aug record high C = 46.5
|Sep record high C = 41.9
|Oct record high C = 35.3
|Nov record high C = 27.9
|Dec record high C = 21.6
|year record high C = 49.1
|Jan high C = 1.6
|Feb high C = 5.3
|Mar high C = 13.5
|Apr high C = 21.9
|May high C = 28.3
|Jun high C = 34.3
|Jul high C = 36.3
|Aug high C = 35.0
|Sep high C = 28.8
|Oct high C = 20.3
|Nov high C = 11.4
|Dec high C = 3.4
|year high C = 20.0
|Jan mean C = -3.1
|Feb mean C = -0.2
|Mar mean C = 6.9
|Apr mean C = 14.8
|May mean C = 21.0
|Jun mean C = 26.8
|Jul mean C = 28.7
|Aug mean C = 27.0
|Sep mean C = 20.4
|Oct mean C = 11.9
|Nov mean C = 4.9
|Dec mean C = -1.7
|year mean C = 13.1
|Jan low C = -7.2
|Feb low C = -4.6
|Mar low C = 1.3
|Apr low C = 8.1
|May low C = 13.6
|Jun low C = 18.2
|Jul low C = 20.1
|Aug low C = 18.2
|Sep low C = 11.7
|Oct low C = 4.4
|Nov low C = -0.4
|Dec low C = -5.7
|year low C = 6.5
|Jan record low C = -33.6
|Feb record low C = -38.6
|Mar record low C = -28.3
|Apr record low C = -8.4
|May record low C = -4.3
|Jun record low C = 3.1
|Jul record low C = 6.4
|Aug record low C = 3.4
|Sep record low C = -5.5
|Oct record low C = -14.3
|Nov record low C = -31.8
|Dec record low C = -33.0
|year record low C = -38.6
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 22
|Feb precipitation mm = 26
|Mar precipitation mm = 28
|Apr precipitation mm = 23
|May precipitation mm = 24
|Jun precipitation mm = 5
|Jul precipitation mm = 6
|Aug precipitation mm = 3
|Sep precipitation mm = 3
|Oct precipitation mm = 10
|Nov precipitation mm = 26
|Dec precipitation mm = 27
|year precipitation mm = 203
|Jan rain days = 5
|Feb rain days = 6
|Mar rain days = 8
|Apr rain days = 8
|May rain days = 7
|Jun rain days = 4
|Jul rain days = 2
|Aug rain days = 1
|Sep rain days = 2
|Oct rain days = 4
|Nov rain days = 7
|Dec rain days = 6
|year rain days = 60
|Jan snow days = 7
|Feb snow days = 6
|Mar snow days = 2
|Apr snow days = 0.3
|May snow days = 0
|Jun snow days = 0
|Jul snow days = 0
|Aug snow days = 0
|Sep snow days = 0
|Oct snow days = 0.3
|Nov snow days = 2
|Dec snow days = 5
|year snow days = 23
|Jan humidity = 79
|Feb humidity = 73
|Mar humidity = 63
|Apr humidity = 50
|May humidity = 43
|Jun humidity = 33
|Jul humidity = 34
|Aug humidity = 32
|Sep humidity = 36
|Oct humidity = 51
|Nov humidity = 69
|Dec humidity = 79
|year humidity = 54
|Jan sun = 138
|Feb sun = 155
|Mar sun = 199
|Apr sun = 247
|May sun = 337
|Jun sun = 382
|Jul sun = 401
|Aug sun = 383
|Sep sun = 315
|Oct sun = 248
|Nov sun = 167
|Dec sun = 122
|year sun = 3094
|source 1 = Погода и Климат (Weather and Climate)<ref name="climate" >{{cite web
| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20161125145503/http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/38198.htm
| archivedate = 25 November 2016
| url = http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/38198.htm
| title = Weather and Climate - The Climate of Turkestan (Turkistan)
| accessdate = 25 November 2016
| publisher = Weather and Climate (Погода и климат)
| language = Russian}}</ref>
|source 2 =NOAA (sun, 1961–1990)<ref name= NOAA>{{cite web
| url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_II/KS/38198.TXT
| title = Turkestan Climate Normals 1961-1990
| publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
| accessdate = 25 November 2016}}</ref>
|date=February 2011
}}

==See also==
*[[Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi]]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{commons category|Hazrat-e Turkestan}}
*Hill, John E. (2009) ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE''. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4392-2134-1.
*Hulsewé, A. F. P. and Loewe, M. A. N. 1979. ''China in Central Asia: The Early Stage 125 BC &ndash; AD 23: an annotated translation of chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty''. E. J. Brill, Leiden. ISBN 90-04-05884-2.
*Privratsky, Bruce G. (2001). ''Muslim Turkistan: Kazak Religion and Collective Memory'' Curzon Press, Richmond, Surrey UK.

==External links==
{{EB1911 Poster|Turkestan (town)|Turkistan}}
*[http://www.natcom.unesco.kz/turkestan/e08_arch_monuments.htm Description of archaeological investigations]

{{South Kazakhstan Region}}
{{Cities of Kazakhstan}}
{{Turkic Capital of Culture}}

[[Category:Populated places in South Kazakhstan Region]]
[[Category:Holy cities]]
[[Category:Pilgrimages]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Populated places along the Silk Road]]