Gumbez of Manas

The Gumbez of Manas is made of brick, has Arabic inscriptions, is decorated in traditional Kyrgyz style, and topped with a dome.  Something you may notice and find odd is that upon inspection of the mausoleum, there’s an inscription on that outside that says the daughter of a wealthy ruler from the Middle Ages is buried there, not Manas.  However, as the legend goes, it was actually commissioned by Kanykei, Manas’s wife, and built by expert craftsmen all the way from Bukhara and Samarkand.  The inscription was merely a ruse to confuse the enemies of Manas at the time so they would not defame his resting place. 

The Gumbez of Manas is part of a complex dedicated to Manas. Near the mausoleum you can also visit a museum dedicated to the epic of Manas, a traditional epic poem highly regarded among the Kyrgyz people that was passed down orally for generations.

The Gumbez of Manas is visited by many in Kyrgyzstan tourism packages and treated as a national treasure.