On the way from Samarkand to Shahrisabz, south of the Takhte-Karacha mountain pass, lies one of the most revered shrines in Uzbekistan—the mausoleum of Hazrat Said Ahmad Bashir. The austere beauty of these places is heightened by their mystical fame. For many centuries, legends have drawn thousands of pilgrims to the sources of the Kashkadarya River, where the legendary hermit was born, lived his entire life, and, according to tradition, performed miracles.
The name of the saint—Bashir—means “bringer of glad tidings” or “one who brings joy” in Arabic. Folk tradition sometimes interprets it in a Tajik-Persian manner—as “beshir” or “the one without milk.” According to legend, Bashir’s parents were unable to conceive an heir until late in life, when they were blessed by the famous Sufi master Shamsaddin Kullal.
The tale goes that Said Ahmad was born when his father was 90 years old and his mother was 80. From the moment of his birth, he exhibited extraordinary abilities. It is said that as an infant, he drank not his mother’s milk but water from a spring—hence the nickname “the one without milk.” Furthermore, he began to speak early and learned to read the Quran independently, without the help of teachers.
At the age of five, the future saint left his parents’ home for the mountains, where he spent forty years in solitude and prayer. Unafraid of wild animals, he wintered in mountain caves. In spring, summer, and autumn, he gathered fruits and medicinal herbs for sustenance. When food was scarce, he quenched his hunger with the same spring water. This perfect asceticism granted him boundless freedom from worldly concerns, yet it did not render him indifferent to the fate of his fellow tribesmen. After completing his forty-year journey of self-discovery, Hazrat Bashir decided to return to the people with a singular goal—to teach them faith and assist them in their daily struggles.
Tradition attributes to Said Ahmad Bashir three hundred sixty-five disciples—corresponding to the number of days in a year. Each of these disciples subsequently attained the title of wali—a holy protector of the people. Hazrat Bashir himself was born in 1368 and lived for 96 years. A year before his death, he indicated the location for his future mausoleum. According to legend, this happened as follows: standing atop a mountain surrounded by his disciples, the saint threw his staff down, indicating that where the staff would be found, there his master should be buried. The staff struck the ground at the bottom of the gorge and miraculously transformed into a tree.
Under the foundation of Bashir’s tomb, one of his disciples dug a deep grotto, where, following his teacher’s example, he lived as a hermit for forty years. This grotto was used by some pilgrims for prayerful solitude during the summer or winter “chilly” (Chilly—a forty-day seasonal period of maximum and minimum temperatures, which in these places typically range from +48 to -35 degrees Celsius). Remarkably, in this impenetrable earthen grotto, the temperature remains a constant +18 degrees year-round. Another unique feature of the grotto is that the air does not stagnate, feeling extraordinarily fresh.
The surroundings of the mausoleum of Hazrat Bashir still evoke thoughts of peace, drawing people toward solitude and contemplation. The slopes of the Turkestan Range south of the Takhte-Karacha pass are composed of whimsical outcrops of colorful rocks. Over millennia, water, wind, and temperature fluctuations have shaped these rocks into the most unusual forms—they resemble fantastic stone sculptures. Here, one can also find dozens of deep caves and numerous clear mineral springs. In a shady, forested gorge near the saint’s mausoleum, the healing spring Karabulak emerges from the ground—one of the sources of the Kashkadarya River. Wild walnuts and hawthorns coexist with the towering trunks of eastern plane trees, known as “chinar” in Uzbekistan. They are especially revered for their longevity. Chinars, several hundred years old, once adorned many ancient oases of Central Asia. Alas, few remain today. The upper reaches of the Kashkadarya River are one of those places where relic groves of wild chinar can still be seen, standing along the banks of mountain streams, their mighty roots, exposed by spring floods, prominently jutting from the earth.
The mountain village where the mausoleum of the saint stands atop a hill is sparsely populated, immersed in silence and the unhurried rural way of life. Here, grass grows directly on the roofs of adobe houses, hearths are heated with dried cow dung, and pomegranate trees bear fruit in the expansive gardens. During the warm season, the mausoleum of Hazrat Bashir receives up to 200 pilgrims daily. Families often arrive together, settling on the ayvans—wooden platforms surrounding the sacred spring.
The local population not only reveres but also deeply loves Said Ahmad Bashir. With particular joy, pilgrims recount the remarkable miracles he performed, many of which bear resemblance to those found in parables and folk tales. One story tells how, during his years of hermitage, Bashir taught his camel and dogs to transport medicinal herbs over the mountain pass to the market in the village of Urgut—silent buyers exchanged them for the necessary items for the ascetic and sent the “caravan” back. Another tale recounts how the saint sensed from a distance that the approaching pilgrims longed for watermelon—and in the midst of winter, he grew one from a seed in a single day.
However, some of the legendary deeds of Bashir were not entirely harmless. Once, while traveling through the surrounding mountains, the saint encountered a gang of teenagers who were engaging in robbery. Even realizing that there was nothing to take from the hermit, the young hooligans continued to pursue him, showering him with mockery and insults. Angered, Bashir shouted at them, “Begone, dogs!”—and they instantly transformed into a pack of stray dogs, which fled in fear from the saint. In this last legend, one can perhaps draw parallels to the biblical story of the prophet Elisha. In Jericho, children pursued him, mocking him as “baldy.” Elisha then cursed the children, and two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them (2 Kings 2:23-24). As we see, the local legend about Hazrat Bashir and the juvenile robbers is not so bloodthirsty. At least, no one perished. Yet the legend imparts a clear lesson to all: the word of a saint carries far greater weight in the world than the taunts, mockeries, and idle chatter of frivolous people, who are as unreasonable as little children. Perhaps this is why no one thinks to ridicule the stories of Bashir’s miracles, no matter how fantastical they may seem to a modern person.
Visit Timur’s birthplace, Shakhrisabz
Explore Ak-Saray Palace ruins
Visit Timur’s father’s burial vault
Admire Kok-Gumbaz Mosque
Scenic drive from Samarkand