Gumbazes of Ak-Beyit and Baytyka. The most original of all the Tien Shan mausoleums in terms of shape and architecture is the gumbaz of Ak-Beyit, located in the eponymous area along the road from At-Bashi to Torugart at an altitude of 3285 m.
In its pristine form, the gumbaz was a monumental dome-shaped structure with spherical projections inside. During reconstruction, an original-shaped mausoleum was created, which has not been recorded anywhere else in Kyrgyzstan. Only distant analogies can be traced with nameless mausoleums in Mashadi-Mestorian (Turkmenistan) and especially near the Shir-Kabir mosque (11th-12th centuries). However, the gumbaz of Ak-Beyit is made not of burnt, but of raw brick and can be attributed not to the 11th-12th centuries, but rather to the 16th-17th centuries. No dating materials—such as lifting ceramics and other items—have been found. There is a detail that allows it to be dated to the specified time: around the gumbaz of Ak-Beyit, there are burial mounds with stone embankments, clearly Kalmyk or Kyrgyz. Apparently, they are synchronous with the gumbaz. The nature of the destruction suggests that it is 200-300 years old. Unfortunately, no ethnographic or folklore materials related to the gumbazes could be collected. Nevertheless, the conclusion is clear: the monument is unique, deserves attention, and should be protected by the state.
The gumbaz of Ak-Beyit somewhat resembles the gumbaz of the Kyrgyz manap of the 19th century, Baytyka, in the Chui Valley. This Kyrgyz feudal lord was known for his anti-Kokand sentiments, participated multiple times in the uprising of the people against the khan's oppression, lured into a trap and destroyed one of the Pishpek commanders, Rahmatulla, and took part in the capture and destruction of the Kokand fortress of Pishpek by Russian troops.
After Kyrgyzstan voluntarily joined Russia, he became a loyal servant of tsarism and even participated in a delegation of Central Asian feudal lords presented to the emperor in St. Petersburg. After the manap's death at the end of the 19th century, a mausoleum was built, now known as the gumbaz of Baytyka. A qualified description of it is provided in the book by architect V. E. Nusov.
Like Ak-Beyit, the gumbaz of Baytyka has an octagonal plan, one side of which serves as a portal. The lower octagonal prism, divided by niches in the form of pointed arches, is topped with a cylindrical drum and dome. Only a few rows of masonry from the outer dome remain today, and the cylindrical drum is significantly damaged. However, the interior space of the gumbaz has not been affected and has a clear architecture. Eight arched pointed niches are topped with a frieze and a protruding octagonal base, on which the lower dome rests. Remnants of blue-painted frescoes, rosettes, and floral ornaments have survived to this day. The walls are made of burnt brick on a loess mortar, while the domes and arches are made on a clay mortar. Wooden beams and logs were used for ties. The walls inside the gumbaz were plastered with gray clay, which has now mostly crumbled away.
Also unique in its own right is the gumbaz built in the late 19th to early 20th century for another Kyrgyz feudal lord in the Chui Valley on the outskirts of the modern village of Bolshoy Aral. Distinguished by its good preservation, it still attracts attention today with its original constructions—a powerful dome structure with conical minaret columns topped with lanterns.
These two gumbazes (not counting the mausoleum of the metal structure of Uzbek Boshkoev, early 20th century) in the Chui Valley have been well preserved to this day. They provide insight into the architectural craftsmanship of folk artisans at the end of the 19th century, although they are executed in the style of traditional local architecture of earlier times.
Gumbaz of Uzbek Boshkoev
