!!!Mangyshlak, Kazakhstan. Tuzbair and Ayrakty

Photos and text by Max Nasekin,
member of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

3 June 2022

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

When I was a child, I read Igor Zabelin's science fiction book
"Kara-Serdar" (from the series "A Chronoscopist's Notes"), which
describes the beauty of Mangyshlak. I then had a dream - when I grow up,
I'll visit this amazing, magical place.

And now, I'm 52 years old, I'm no longer a child :)

The Mangystau Region is located in the southwest of Kazakhstan, its area
is over 170 thousand km2 (65,637 mi2), which is almost as large as all
the Baltic countries combined. The climate is sharply continental,
extremely dry. However, once a year in May, the heavens open for 7-10
days, which makes any dirt road almost impassable.

The scenery here is breathtaking. Bizarre weathered shapes... Comforting
"sculptures"... Pure magic!

[{Image src='01_Mangyshlak.jpg' caption='Ayrakty Valley of Castles\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='506'}]

During 30 million years, Mangystau was covered by a succession of water
bodies: the Paratethys Ocean, the Sarmatian Sea, the Pontic Sea, the
Akchagyl Sea, the Apsheron Sea... The last time the earth rose was a
million and a half years ago. It was subjected to selective weathering.
All the varied fossil record traces were exposed, and landscapers have
been enjoying spectacular shapes.

In the first millennium BC, the lands of Mangystau were crossed by the
Great Silk Road from Khorezm and Khiva to Europe and the Middle East.
Along this route, there were forts, caravanserais, settlements of
artisans, cattlemen and hunters. Archaeological artifacts indicate that
these settlements had a fairly high standard of living. The Great
Migration of Peoples and the associated countless wars brought an end to
the Great Silk Road through Ustyurt.

We first traveled to the Aktolagay Plateau. This limestone plateau
stretches for 90 km (56 mi) away from cities and well-paved roads. The
place abounds not only with mind-blowing panoramas, but also with
fossilized belemnite shells, teeth of ancient sharks...

[{Image src='02_Mangyshlak.jpg' caption='Aktolagay Plateau\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='506'}]

After several hundred kilometers, we drove to the Ustyurt Plateau and
managed to watch the sunset at Tuzbair.

Sor Tuzbair is a majestic creation of natural elements. In this place,
the chink, i.e. the cliff of the plateau, abruptly breaks off by a
cascade of clayey limestone chalky steps, at the base of which lies a
vast salt marsh. In this area, even the air is saturated with centuries
of salt and water winds. The steep chalk cliffs are riddled with
numerous scourings and deep channels, forming endless rows of fabulous
columns.

[{Image src='03_Mangyshlak.jpg' caption='Tuzbair\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='506'}]

If you visit these places, you should definitely stay overnight. Here
you can get a clear view of the skies: everything seems so close that
all you have to do is reach out and you can touch the sky. The moon and
stars shine so brightly here that they are fully reflected in the salt
lake, and you lose your sense of up and down. Waiting for the sunrise at
Tuzbair is also unforgettable... it reflects the morning dawn like a
mirror.

[{Image src='04_Mangyshlak.jpg' caption='Tuzbair Landscapes\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='506'}]

Mount Sherkala is another amazing natural landmark. The solitary
mountain resembles a giant yurt on one side and a lying lion on the
other. You can see from the canyons in the mountain that there used to
be mountain rivers and waterfalls here, some of them being as deep as
100 m (328 ft).

[{Image src='05_Mangyshlak.jpg' caption='Mount Sherkala\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='599'}]

The scouting team of our group went on a reconnaissance trip to a cape
on the Caspian Sea in a drizzling rain. But soon the drizzle turned into
a downpour, and only the driving skills of our serdar (kaz., turkm.
"leader") Eduard prevented the crew from being stuck in a clay trap for
days. The price was a busted bumper and broken roof rack mounts.

The next morning, Mangystau decides to take pity on us and lets us in to
see its treasury, the Ayrakty. And there you have fanciful remains,
hieroglyphs, and stone nodules.

[{Image src='06_Mangyshlak.jpg' caption='Road to Ayrakty\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='506'}]

The Ayrakty-Shomonay is a chain of small residual mountains. These
mountains are better known as the Ayrakty Valley of Castles. The place
got its name from a series of sketches made by the famous artist and
poet Taras Shevchenko, who was exiled here in 1851 for his participation
in an anti-slavery organization. These mountains impressed him so much
that, although he was forbidden to draw, he made a series of drawings
here under the poetic title "The Valley of the Castles". He even took
some photos of these places, which, unfortunately, have not survived.

The Ayrakty Mountains really do look like fairy-tale castles with
spires, towers, colonnades and fortress walls. A winding path, paved by
half-wild horses, leads to a small observation deck with a panoramic
view of the distant Aktau Mountains and all of the Ayrakty castles. On
the east side of the Shomanay Ridge, there is an area of small globular
nodules. Here you can find spheroids of perfect shapes, like bowling
balls.

[{Image src='07_Mangyshlak.jpg' caption='Ayrakty Mountains\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='450'}]

I have seen all that.

Well, one less dream now? No! I still have a desire to visit this
fantastic "laboratory" of nature over and over again and feel like a
child, a guest of these stone yurts and palaces.

\\ \\
[22 panoramas of Great 360° Panoramas of Mangyshlak Region|Geography/Asia/Kazakhstan/Pictures/Mangyshlak_region] and 9 [new ones|Geography/Asia/Kazakhstan/Pictures/Mangyshlak2]. 

[{SET customtitle='Great 360° Panoramas of Mangyshlak Region (AP)'}]












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