Gumbaz of Tylak and Atantai. Among the monuments, there are some that are not marked on the map and until recently did not attract special attention from researchers. Yet they deserve to be not only studied but also included in the "Register of Historical and Cultural Monuments" of Kyrgyzstan, as a testament of memory and gratitude of the people to their heroes, the fighters for freedom and independence. This text will discuss a monument that has been unjustly forgotten by scholars but is still revered by local residents, who pass down legends about the hero in whose honor this mausoleum — the gumbaz of Tylak was erected a century and a half ago.
In the place where the road out of the city first crosses the Naryn River, 1 km from the confluence with its right-bank tributary — the Kurtki River — on the territory of the "Kommunistchil" state farm in the Ak-Tala district stands a group of ancient mausoleums-gumbazes. Time has not spared these adobe structures — the only evidence of the architectural art of the Kyrgyz from the 16th to 19th centuries. Almost all spherical domes have collapsed, the arches have sagged, and the wind and rain have washed away the ornamental painting of the interiors and the exterior decor. However, even 150 years after its construction, the gumbaz of Tylak represents an impressive architectural complex, externally consistent with the traditional style of Central Asian cult architecture of the 10th to 12th centuries, but already bearing the imprint of Kyrgyz ornamental art and architectonics.
The mausoleum is of interest not only historically but also architecturally. The portal of the cult structure is decorated with four round columns tapering towards the top, and in the upper part — five small conical niches. Above the portal are three triple door niches (two rectangular and one deep spherical), with two spherical door openings in the two outer niches. Behind the portal, on a high rectangular pedestal, flanked at the corners by four powerful columns tapering towards the top, rest two spherical domes. The gumbaz is two-sectioned. One section, presumably, belongs to Tylak, and the second to his brother Atantai. They are connected by a small spherical door opening. In the rear and two side walls, there are four spherical window openings. The entire mausoleum is constructed of burnt brick, plastered inside and out. The portal of the gumbaz faces southwest. Its dimensions are 15x9 and 7.5 m. The monument has been relatively well preserved, with only the two domes and the upper part of the portal partially destroyed.
Next to the mausoleum of Tylak-batyr, there are seven more gumbazes, apparently erected somewhat later. One of them, in its architectural design, resembled the mausoleum of Tylak and was likely built by the same master. The other gumbazes are in the form of a fence with a low portal, decorated with decorative niches and patterned brickwork.
The Gumbaz of Tylak and Atantai is not only a valuable historical and architectural structure but also a tribute to the famous Kyrgyz hero, a fighter for the national independence of the people against Qing aggression and Kokand invaders. Finally, it is a tribute of grateful memory to our ancestors who once built it with such love and even at the risk of their lives. Therefore, it is our duty not only to study but also to preserve and promote monuments of this kind. It is a living part of the history of the Kyrgyz people, a memory of its past.
Gumbaz from the "Tylak" complex
