The Makat Museum of History and Local Lore
The Makat Museum of History and Local Lore was established in 1974 on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the district party committee. In connection with this important event, a visit by the First Secretary of the District Party Committee, Amir Ipamagambetov, was planned to the village of Dossor. To mark the occasion, it was decided to open a museum room, and the organization of the work was entrusted to the director of the boarding school, Satkan Bisenov. Thus, on a voluntary basis, a museum was founded at the boarding school named after Sabyr Sharipov in the village of Dossor, beginning its activities with 318 artifacts. The founder and first director of the museum was Oraz Utebayevich Sargunov, an honored teacher of the Kazakh SSR and an Honorary Citizen of the Makat district. Currently, the museum’s collection consists of 4,743 items. The total area of the museum is 156 square meters. The exhibition includes the following sections: historical and local lore, ethnography, and the nature of the region.
1. Historical and Local Lore Hall - this section begins with the medieval caravanserai of Taskeshu, built in the 13th century during the Golden Horde period at a ford of the Sagyz River. As a monument of nomadic culture, the Taskeshu caravanserai is represented in the exhibition by medieval artifacts discovered during archaeological excavations: jewelry items (rings, earrings, bead fragments), a copper spoon, a bronze bell, fragments of ceramic vessels, and coins minted in Sarai al-Jadid during the reigns of Golden Horde rulers Uzbek Khan (1313-1341) and Janibek Khan (1341-1357).
2. Ethnographic Hall - this section displays ethnographic artifacts illustrating the traditional lifestyle of the Kazakh people: parts of the yurt-the nomadic dwelling-national clothing, and household items crafted from wood, leather, and metal. It also features items donated by veteran oil workers and handcrafted objects made by folk artisans that reflect Kazakh customs and traditions.
3. Exhibition “Nature of the Region” - this section includes taxidermy specimens of sturgeon-like fish species such as beluga, ship sturgeon, sterlet, and zander. Among the bird species on display are an eagle owl from the owl family, and various types of ducks including the shoveler, yellow-billed duck, long-billed duck, red-crested pochard, coot, and pheasant. The exhibit also features stuffed animals such as foxes, wolves, hares, and other representatives of the local fauna.