National Historical, Cultural, and Natural Museum-Reserve Ulytau
Ulytau is the geographical and historical center of Kazakhstan, a particularly significant region in the history of the cultures of central Eurasia. Its natural and cultural landscapes preserve the memory of outstanding historical events, famous personalities and have no analogues in other steppe zones. This is the land of hoary antiquity. Even a cursory list of monuments amazes with its antiquity and diversity. Here are the mausoleums of the ancestor of all Kazakh khans - Zhoshy Khan and the legendary founder of the Kazakh zhuzes Alash Khan. Ulytau is famous for its archaeological monuments: rock paintings of Terekty Aulie, Saka mounds, Turkic stone sculptures, cities of Oghuz and Kipchak, metallurgical centers of the Bronze Age.
To preserve this rich heritage, in 1990, by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR, the National Historical, Cultural and Natural Reserve-Museum “Ulytau” was created, on the territory of which there are 337 officially registered monuments of different times. 282 of them are included in the historical and cultural map. The Ulytau reserve-museum contains 25 complexes with a total area of 147,246 thousand hectares. The area of the museum building is 566 square meters. m., exhibition space - 280 sq. m. In addition to two exhibition halls, there are premises for temporary exhibitions (104 sq. m.), storage facilities, a library, an Internet cafe and a tourist information kiosk. The museum's holdings contain rare and original objects that demonstrate the development of the culture of the people who have lived and are living here for thousands of years (4,902 storage units in total).
On the territory of the Ulytau reserve-museum there are famous monuments of various historical eras. Among them is the rock art monument Terekty Aulie. Scientists attribute these rock carvings to different eras, among them there are petroglyphs of the Bronze Age, Scythian-Siberian type, and the Middle Ages. Legend says that Khazret Ali visited here and there were traces of his feet and hoof marks of his horse Duldulu on the stones. 50 km northeast of the city of Zhezkazgan is the mausoleum of Zhoshy Khan, the eldest son of Genghis Khan and the ancestor of all Kazakh khans. The mausoleum was erected in the XIV-XV centuries. Around the mausoleum within a radius of 1 km there are the remains of another 24 mazars of the Golden Horde era. Next to the necropolis are the ruins of the main headquarters of Zhoshy. Folk legends say that the first khan of the Kazakhs was Alasha Khan. Many peoples of Turkic origin still call themselves azamats of the Alasha people. 76 km. from the city of Zhezkazgan there is the mausoleum of Alash Khan. The mausoleum is considered the most valuable architectural monument of Central Kazakhstan. Nature has not been stingy either, endowing this land with countless treasures. Almost all elements of the periodic table were found here. Ulytau is like an island surrounded by steppe and desert, giving travelers spring coolness and the shade of aspen and birch trees. Lakes Barakkol, Koskol, Ashikol, Kurkol collect birds from India, Africa, and the Mediterranean. There are two main migration routes of steppe antelopes - saigas. The Ulytau Nature Reserve is known for its unique flora and fauna. On the territory of Ulytau, 617 species of plants have been identified, of which 90 are medicinal. The task of the National Historical, Cultural and Natural Reserve-Museum “Ulytau” is the preservation and protection of unique historical and archaeological monuments, rare natural components, and research activities.