The mausoleum of Turabek-khanym is considered a masterpiece of architecture and mosaic art. The architectural monument is especially striking with a high and light six-sided hall with an area of about 100 square meters, the walls of which are abundantly decorated with colored mosaics. Above the hall, an inverted spheroid bowl seems to float in the air, on which a mosaic panel of the finest work is applied - a complex geometric ornament of stars and polyhedrons with a floral and plant pattern. From this hall you can go down to the crypt, where the ashes of several representatives of the dynasty rest. The building was crowned with a huge dome, which many researchers considered the most perfect dome in the whole of Turan. The inner side of the dome is covered with a panel of the finest work with an ornament of stars and flowers. The panel is a masterpiece of oriental art, unparalleled in all medieval architecture. Above the building, a blue glazed tent once towered on a high drum with twelve openings. Today, unfortunately, it cannot be seen: the structure was badly damaged.

The building is covered with tiles from above - a tradition of very few buildings of that time. The inner plan of the tomb is made in the form of a hexagonal prism, into the edges of which deep arched lancet niches with window openings are cut. From the outside, the niches look similar. There is a high portal on the south side.

Tyurabek Khanym was a princess, the beloved daughter of the ruler of the Golden Horde, Uzbek Khan. She became the wife of Kutlug-Timur when the latter was governor in Khorezm. Turabek-khanym was beautiful and kind. She died young, and the people of Khorezm considered her a saint, which was reflected in the appearance of the mausoleum.

According to the legend, Tyurabek-khanym promised the master Gulgardan, who was in love with her, that if he built the most beautiful building in the world for her, she would marry him. People admired the accuracy of the lines, the richness of the interior decoration and the beauty of the multicolored ornaments of Gulgardan's creation, which later became the burial vault of the kings and Tyurabek-khanim herself. But you cannot order your heart, and the beauty married Kutlug-Timur. The architect could not survive the grief and threw himself from the top of the mausoleum.

The fact that the mausoleum was erected during the period of the brilliant development of architecture - during the reign of Kutlug-Timur, is confirmed by the fact that the historical testimony of Ibn Battuta, who described Urgench, mentions buildings dedicated to Tyurabek-khanum and Najm-ad-din-Kubra. Both of these buildings aroused particular interest among the traveler, who mentioned them along with the cathedral mosque and madrasah.

Based on the records of Ibn Battuta, the time of the construction of the mausoleum currently dates back to the thirties of the XIV century.

Roman Teplyakov