Tashtar-Ata – Inclusion to Eternity

"The Mountain of Salvation" Tashtar – Ata, among such time anchors, as the Pyramids of Giza (Egypt) and the city of Machu Picchu (Peru) has a detached location. The sacred meaning of this place for the ancient people was bit by bit restored in our days. Mixed with historical events, ancient legends created a unique halo of mystery, majesty and prayfulness of this place.

The army’s march of conquest of Alexander the Great, Tamerlane’s crushing marches... One era switched another, and pagan shaman melodies were replaced by the Islamic namaz, read by the faithfull in Tashtar-Ata. The mountain turned into the hearth of hope, storage of history and mystery of human existence.

According to the legend, the great nation defender, named Tashtar-Ata, in the pursuit of freedom and prosperity of the beautiful fertile valley located in the foothills, was fighting with the evil forces during 40 days and 40 nights.

“Batyr” eventually conquered. He decided to rest after a heavy battle and passed to his eternal sleep. Many centuries went by and at the place where “batyr’s” heart was beating, there is now a majestic stone that embodies batyr’s power.

Since then, there was a belief among people that anyone who brings the stone to that place and throw it next to the heart of Tashtar-Ata (the stone), praying about happiness and prosperity, will feel how his life fill with the harmony and peacefulness.

This is how Tashtar-Ata, a huge, man-created and past reminding mound appeared.

The bonfire site, built not far from Tashtar-Ata, used to be the holly place, where ancient shamans in their ritual campaigns invoked spirits of ancestors in order to be saved from invasions of foreigners or guard crops from drought and cattle - from disease. Here people prayed for the salvation of their souls. The light of the majestic and healing fire was believed to purify minds of faithful.

Stairs, composed of 365 stairs and paved with stones from the plateau’s foot to the barrow, symbolize a path to the inner purification. Having passed every stair, the man carrying his stone became closer to gods, closer to the deliverance of his problems.

Experience and sincere love to his own story allowed Jenishbek Nazaraliev, psychiatrist, professor-narcologist, social activist and philanthropist, to recreate almost all the lost details of this magnificent complex for contemporaries. The mound, created by thousands of pilgrims, a ritual bonfire site and nearly lost staircase rising up to the mountains – all these ancient places were carefully restored in accordance with legends, chronicles and memories of old Tashtar-Ata inhabitants.

In our days The Rescue Mountain “Tashtar-Ata” is a unique spiritual historical and cultural complex, which in 2005 was given a special status by the law. Here you can still find people, who incline their heads in prayers over the stone, before leaving it with all the cares and problems. You can not erase memories of people, it will remain with them forever.