Mizdakhan is the largest, oldest and most beautiful of the countless necropolises of the Great Steppe, according to legend, which began with the tomb of the first man – either the Zoroastrian Gayomard, or the Adam familiar to us all. Here ladders are placed on the graves, one of the coffins spontaneously grew up to 25 meters long, barren women roll down from the top of the mound, the ground is covered with pyramids of 7 bricks, and on the edge of the necropolis the World Clock counts down to the End of the World.
By public transport it takes less than an hour to get from Nukus to Mizdakhan, though with two transfers, but still less than an hour – first to the Old Town (where nothing resembling the Old Town, at least of Stalinist times, can be seen), then – to Khojeyli, a large (104,000 inhabitants) satellite town, whose name means Pilgrimage. Mizdakhan is literally the edge of the earth, 5 kilometers away from it is the insurmountable border of Turkmenistan (and 15 kilometers away is the ancient Kunya Urgench).
Such necropolises with mausoleums on ordinary graves. – this is a peculiarity of nomads who lived in wandering and only posthumously received a capital house and a piece of land, which will not be abandoned. Karakalpak necropolises turned out to be the most lush in the Turkic steppes.
It is very difficult to find any reliable information about Mizdakhan – all its real history is drowned in legends. The area of the necropolis is measured in tens of hectares, the age – thousands of years, its name itself is consonant with the name Mazda (or rather, Ahura-Mazda – the supreme light god in Zoroastrianism), and resting under the mound Jumart – with the name of the Zoroastrian first man Gayomart. In principle, Khorezm – one of several (according to different hypotheses, of course) primordia of Zoroastrianism, so why not?
To the right of Mizdakhan, the clay towers of Gyaur-kala – the Fortress of the Infidels – can be seen in the distance. This name itself is not uncommon in Khorezm, and apparently goes back to those settlements, which legends identify with the pre-Muslim era. The largest Fortress of Infidels belongs to Merv, the oldest city of Central Asia in the depths of Turkmenistan, but there is a legend about Mizdakkhan ruins that it was the city of Mazda described in the “Avesta”.
In fact, the city of Mizdakhan has been known since the 2nd century B.C. It formed a “double system” with Old Urgench, having risen and withered earlier, and there was indeed a certain large shrine of Zoroastrian times, where pilgrims from all over Khorezm were drawn to. The Arabs, having conquered this region in 712, destroyed local chronicles and in general all texts in Khorezmian, which they could reach, but a holy place is never empty: the change of religion changed in Mizdakhan only the names of the heroes of legends, but the veneration of the ancient shrine, now Muslim, remained.
The last heyday of the city fell on the era of the Golden Horde, and Mizdakhan was devastated either by Tamerlane in 1388, or by time and nature in the 17th century, when the capital moved from neighboring Urgench to Khiva because the Amu Darya changed its course and the north of Khorezm stayed away from the major roads.
Pay attention to the graves with ladders, which here are called “tabyt“. On some graves they rise up, on others they simply lie down. This tradition is not found in many other places, but the meanin and symbolism of this is well clear.
The burial process begins with washing the deceased and wrapping them in a white cloth, a color symbolizing mourning. They are then wrapped in several layers of fabric, often including carpets, which are embroidered with quotations from the Koran. After the funeral, these fabrics are brought back to the home, where they are spread out at the sight of the first star and either burned or given to the mosque at sunrise.
The body is placed on a tabyt and carried to the cemetery. The grave, approximately two meters deep, is dug with a small L-shaped recess facing Mecca. The deceased, wrapped only in the white cloth, is laid in this niche with their head oriented towards Mecca. The grave is then covered without filling it in. Logs are placed across the opening, topped with a plank of reeds, and covered with earth to form a mound. A tabyt is placed on top of this mound. According to local beliefs, the tabyt transforms into a horse to help the deceased navigate the afterlife. In some traditions, these structures resemble stretchers rather than ladders.
Scattered throughout the necropolis are numerous mausoleums that, due to their age, can easily be mistaken for being several centuries old. The decline of Khorezm has left its mark, yet many of these ancient buildings, constructed millennia ago, have proven more resilient and often appear in better condition than structures built a mere century ago.
Pyramids made of fallen debris, consistently comprising seven stones each, are a common sight. The significance of the number seven is shrouded in various interpretations and legends, with the original meaning likely forgotten over time—it simply remains a tradition.
Near the entrance to the hill, adjacent to the main gate, stands the Mazlumkhan-Sulu mausoleum. This structure is particularly cherished by art historians for its unique architectural style within Khorezm. Unlike typical mausoleums, it is deeply buried in the ground, with only its roof and domes visible above the surface. Scientific studies suggest that it was constructed during the late 13th to early 14th centuries under the rule of the Golden Horde. Initially, it may have been a palace that, after the owner’s death, was buried up to its roof and transformed into a mausoleum. Alternatively, it might have originally been an underground pre-Muslim temple that was later reconstructed. Regardless of its origins, the construction is distinctly Central Asian, yet it stands without direct architectural counterparts.
The World Clock, shrouded in legend, boasts a simple yet strikingly beautiful story. Mizdakkhan, reputed to be the burial site of the first human—whether it be the mythical Giaour Gayomart or Adam—holds a significant place in both Muslim and Christian traditions. According to the legend, the World Clock is this very mausoleum, and since its construction, one brick from its walls has fallen each year, marking the passage of time until the world’s end. To date, it remains less than halfway collapsed, suggesting that several millennia are still ahead before the final brick falls.
Gayomart, if the legends surrounding him are to be believed, was the offspring of Ahura-Mazda (Ormuzda) either through his daughter, the earth goddess Spandarmat, or emerged from the deity’s sweat and tears during a cosmic struggle with Angra-Mainyu (Ahriman). Unlike modern humans, Gayomart was a towering, radiant figure, equal in all dimensions. He is said to have vanquished Arezur and subdued Ahriman, only to be ultimately consumed by the latter. From either Gayomart’s spilled blood or his concealed seed, a rhubarb plant grew, from which the first human beings emerged. At the end of time, Gayomart will rise from the dead, sharing half of the sunlight with himself and the other half with humanity. Thus, he will re-emerge from the ruins when the last brick of the World Clock falls.
The World Clock is also known as the mausoleum of Erezhep-Khalifa, more accurately Rajab-Khalifa. According to legend, Rajab-Khalifa was an early Muslim preacher during Islam’s formative period, and the structure originally served as a madrasa. After his death, it was converted into a mausoleum. Rajab, the seventh month of the Islamic calendar, is reflected in the seven-stone pyramids associated with Khalifa, who had seven disciples—early Khorezmian apostles. However, archeological excavations revealed not Gayomart, Adam, or an ancient sheikh beneath the mausoleum but rather a woman who passed away in the 15th century. The mausoleum itself dates back to the 8th century, making it one of the oldest buildings in Central Asia, rivaled only by the Hazor Mosque near Navoi.
Visitors to this site should tread carefully, as disturbing or taking anything from the site is believed to bring misfortune.
Near the center of the necropolis lies another enigmatic structure—the mausoleum of Shamun-Nabi, distinguished by its seven domes.
Shamun-Nabi is a figure enveloped in even greater mystery than Rajab Khalifa, but prevailing legends indicate that he is a prominent leader among the saints of Mizdakkhan. He is said to have been a preacher who arrived long before the advent of Islam, foretelling the arrival of the true faith. His name, Shamun, closely resembles Simon, and his story might echo the accounts of St. Andrew’s travels in Kiev. According to tradition, after Christ’s ascension, the apostles journeyed across the globe, with tales of their missions reaching as far as the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. Simon Peter, known as Peter, the keeper of the gates of paradise, was among them, and Nestorian Christianity had a significant presence in pre-Islamic Central Asia.
Legends surrounding Shamun-Nabi vary, but they consistently portray him as a preacher who predates the adoption of Islam in the region. One popular story depicts him as a warrior-preacher who challenged King Giaur (the Infidel) to a duel. Although Giaur accepted the challenge out of pride, he resorted to trickery during the fight by scattering round grains under Shamun’s feet. Shamun slipped and fell to his knees, but before Giaur could deliver a fatal blow, Shamun’s dog, sensing danger, dug an underground passage and defeated Giaur. However, Shamun was unable to endure the humiliation of kneeling before his opponent and cut off his own legs, which he was prophesied to regain only on Judgment Day. The mausoleum dedicated to him features a dilapidated pir (a type of patron pole) that stands empty and neglected.
According to legend, Shamun-Nabi continues to grow even after death—a motif not uncommon in Uzbekistan. For instance, St. Daniel in Samarkand is said to have grown to 18 meters, while Sultan-baba’s mausoleum near Beruni is reputed to have reached 33 meters. The sarcophagus of Shamun-Nabi is currently 25 meters long. The mausoleum itself was constructed in the 18th century, replacing an earlier structure from the 16th century, which some interpret as evidence of the mausoleum’s mythical growth. However, archaeologists have found the sarcophagus to be empty, casting doubt on any physical growth. An unusual theory suggests that the large sarcophagus was originally filled with dinosaur bones discovered in the dried-up riverbed of the Amu Darya in the late 16th century. This period marked significant changes in river paths, including the transition from the Caspian to the Aral Sea, which led to the decline of Old Urgench and the migration of the khan to Khiva. Despite these theories, no dinosaur bones have been found, and the sarcophagus remains an enigmatic relic, resembling a long-abandoned table set with petrified bread.
