Chashma complex

At the junction of the rocky Nura Mountains and the eastern edge of the Kyzylkum Desert in the northern part of the Navoi region lies the city of Nurata. Here, the sacred complex of Chashma (spring), also known as Nur-Bulak, is located. This complex is one of the oldest and most revered sacred sites in Central Asia.

As early as the 10th century, the Islamic chronicler Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ja’far al-Narshakhi (899-959) described Nurata in his work “History of Bukhara” as a place of mass religious worship. “Hyp — a large settlement; there is a congregational mosque and many rabats (fortified structures). Every year, the residents of Bukhara and other places travel there to venerate the holy sites and consider this journey to be quite soul-saving for themselves. It is even said that visiting Nur for worship is as godly and redemptive as performing the Hajj. Upon the return of the pilgrim from the village of Nur, the city adorns itself with wreaths — in celebration of their return from such a blessed place. This village of Nur is referred to in other regions as ‘the light of Bukhara’ because many tabi’in (people who, in their lifetime, met the companions of the Prophet Muhammad) are buried there — may God be pleased with them all until the Day of Judgment.”

According to local legends, in ancient times, a meteorite fell from the sky, piercing the rocky layers and creating a deep well. From this well, the waters of a healing spring began to flow into the waterless steppe, nourishing an entire oasis. It is believed that a heavenly light sometimes appears above the spring even to this day. “When the Prophet Muhammad ascended to the heavens on the night of Mi’raj, he saw a shining beam below. The angels said that the Almighty created this land for His beloveds, endowed with His light and mercy,” proudly recount the modern residents of Nurata. In their opinion, the very name of the city comes from the Persian words “nur” (light) and “ato” (gifted). Many assert that the last mystical glow above the well appeared on May 17, 2004, and lasted for an entire month. “Whoever truly believes, whoever has God in their heart, can see the heavenly beam at any moment, right now,” the pilgrims are convinced.

The well itself, known as Beshpanja (which means five fingers, palm, and in a higher sense — the hand of God), has been well preserved to this day. Its walls are reinforced with unhewn stone blocks. The bottom of the well resembles the back of a hand in its outlines and, according to local theologians, bears a striking resemblance to the calligraphic inscription of the word “Allah.”

The flow of water from the spring is between 360-450 liters per second, and its temperature remains constant throughout the year at 19.1 degrees Celsius. The chemical composition of the water was well studied in the last century, characterized by a high content of chloride and silver ions, as well as sulfates and carbonates. Additionally, the water here contains ions of potassium, sodium, magnesium, nickel, copper, chromium, zinc, iron, manganese, and fluorine — a total of over 20 minerals. Remarkably, the water does not taste salty. In Nurata, pilgrims drink it directly from the irrigation canals, despite the large number of fish — marinka — that inhabit them. It is believed that due to the high content of chlorine and silver, this water can be consumed even without boiling. Furthermore, it is attributed with healing properties. In recent times, the water from the Beshpanja spring has been used to treat all ailments, including mental disorders and bites from rabid animals.

Fish are found in the spring itself, in the large pool adjacent to it, and in the city canals. However, no one feeds or catches them for food. As is known, the marinka, which is widespread in many mountain streams and bodies of water in Uzbekistan, has toxic roe, milt, and abdominal organs. It can only be consumed if the innards are carefully removed. However, eating it from the revered springs is taboo. “We know ourselves that the royal fish, shah-balyk, can be prepared properly. But our ancestors said that if one eats fish from the sacred spring, their body will be covered with white spots of leprosy, or death will come immediately. They invented this to protect the fish even in the hungriest years, for without them, the purity of the water would be disrupted,” the residents of Nurata explain. Around this well, as in ancient times, women pilgrims perform circular walks, hoping for the fulfillment of their wishes. “We explain to the pilgrims that they should direct their requests to the Almighty, not to the well or the fish in it,” the guardians of the sacred site clarify.

From the Beshpanja well, four large irrigation canals flow. There is not a single courtyard in Nurata through which at least one of these canals does not pass. Thus, one could say that Nurata remains a city irrigated by water from a single source. However, there is also a water supply system here, which is filled not from surface runoff but from underground reservoirs in the foothills of the Nurata Mountains.

According to archaeological data, the age of the cultural layer in this oasis may exceed 4,000 years. There are many kyarizes—underground water conduits—here. The climate on the eastern edge of the Kyzylkum Desert remains extremely arid, just as it has for thousands of years. Water from seasonal rains trickles down from the mountain peaks into deep layers of soil and becomes accessible to humans only through springs. Therefore, it is no surprise that people here worship these sources.

Ethnographer Alexander Shevyakov, who thoroughly researched the Nurata oasis in the late 1990s, believes that the cult of the Beshpanja well may have originated in antiquity. It was later transformed and “adopted” by Muslim missionaries. Next to the sacred spring lies a mazar—the tomb of the local saint Nur Ota. Some legends identify him with the legendary Sufi mentor and companion of Junayd al-Baghdadi, Hazrat Abdul Hasan al-Nuri, about whom the famous 13th-century Persian Sufi poet Farid al-Din Attar wrote in his hagiographical work “Tazkirat al-Awliya” (“Biographies of the Saints”): “The face of Nuri was so radiant that when he sat in a dark room and prayed, the room would fill with light.” However, from a historical perspective, the identification of Nur Ota with Hazrat al-Nuri is unlikely. According to the archaeologist and academician Yahya Gulamov (1908-1977), hearing about the miracles of the Beshpanja spring, an Islamic preacher named Sheikh Ahmad ibn Muhammad Abdul Hasan came to Nur from Bukhara in the 9th century, distinguished by his extremely zealous attitude toward faith. He lived in the oasis until the end of his days, earned the nickname Nur Ota from the people, and was buried here at the age of 69. Next to his grave lies the tomb of his beautiful righteous daughter Nurgul bibi, which made Nurata particularly popular among women pilgrims.

In general, the Chashma sacred complex, in addition to the Beshpanja well, includes two mosques. The first is the Panjvakta Mosque, built in the 16th century, where daily five-time prayers are held. The second is the Friday mosque Chilustun, with forty columns; it is a reconstruction of a 9th-century mosque. Above the spring, on the hills, rise impressive clay ruins of fortifications — in the past, tour guides liked to call them “the fortress built by Alexander the Great during his campaign from Sogdiana to the land of the Scythians.” Today, when evaluating the antiquity of these structures, a historical approach prevails: it is believed that in the late Middle Ages, these fortifications could have played a very important role in defending not only the Nurata oasis but also the northern borders of the Bukhara Khanate and the oases of Samarkand, which were subjected to raids by steppe nomads.

In Nurata, near the Seyitkul Auliye cemetery, there is the mausoleum of Aiteke-bi Baibekuly from the Alchin clan (1644-1700), built in 2012. He was a famous legal scholar of the Kazakh people, a disciple of Emir Zhalantos, and at the age of 30 was recognized as a biy of the Junior Juz (the Juz are tribal unions of Kazakhs, referred to as the Elder, Middle, and Junior Juz; biy is a leader or head of a tribe). Although, according to other sources, Aiteke-bi is buried 75 kilometers from Tashkent, near the city of Chinaz, the opening of his mausoleum in Nurata became a significant milestone in the political rapprochement between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and attracted a multitude of Kazakh pilgrims to Nurata.

Currently, around the Chashma sacred complex in Nurata, modern hotels are being completed, which should make this unique place accessible to European tourists. Among all the cities of modern Uzbekistan, Nurata, located in a remote but picturesque desert area, remains perhaps the most exotic corner, adorned with ancient legends and imbued with a unique color.

@ Andrey Kudryashov / “Fergana”