“Altyn Emel” memorial museum named after Shokan Ualikhanov

The Shoqan Walikhanov Memorial Museum "Altyn-Emel" was established in 1982 by a decree of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR. The museum's construction was fully completed on September 20, 1985, and it was officially opened in honor of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great Kazakh scholar, democratic enlightener, historian, ethnographer, and folklorist Shoqan Shyngysovich Walikhanov. Today, the museum functions as a branch of the state communal public enterprise "Mukhamedzhan Tynyshpaev Historical and Local History Museum of the Zhetysu Region."

The museum’s thematic and exhibition structure consists of six sections:

1. Biography of Shoqan Walikhanov and his social environment;

2. The beginning of his scientific and creative activity;

3. Travels and scientific research expeditions;

4. The St. Petersburg period (1860–1861);

5. The last years of his life;

6. Researchers of Walikhanov’s legacy (academician A.Kh. Margulan, the museum’s founder and WWII veteran I. Bazarbayev, and others).

The architectural design of the museum harmonizes with the symbolism of Kazakh national epic traditions and traditional elements of memorial architecture. The exterior reflects ancient Kazakh ideas about the four cardinal directions. The building’s corners are designed in different shapes, all directed toward a central “knot of happiness” woven with multicolored threads. This concept aligns with the mythological worldview of the Kazakh people regarding the “center of the world” and the “seven layers of the earth,” which is also echoed in the terraced interior structure of the museum.

The exhibits provide comprehensive information about Shoqan Walikhanov’s childhood, his family, his life and scientific journey, as well as his personality and spiritual world. The display includes his personal belongings - epaulet, weapons, horse harness, maps and drawings made by him, manuscripts, graphic and artistic sketches created during expeditions, as well as items of traditional folk art. Musical instruments reflect his interest in Kazakh legends and traditional music. Kyrgyz, Uyghur, and Chinese national costumes and jewelry, along with the minerals collected by Walikhanov, illustrate the breadth of his scientific interests.

This museum represents an important cultural and scientific institution aimed at studying the life and work of Shoqan Walikhanov and promoting his historical and scholarly legacy to the wider public.