Jochi Khan Mausoleum: a medieval brick tomb in the Ulytau steppe

The Jochi Khan Mausoleum is a domed brick tomb in the Ulytau region of central Kazakhstan, about 50 km north-east of the city of Zhezkazgan, near the village of Malshybai. Tradition holds that Jochi, eldest son of Genghis Khan, lies here, but research summarised by Russian Wikipedia dates the building to the 14th century and casts doubt on that. It is a small, single-building site, so it suits travellers who are already in the Zhezkazgan or Ulytau area rather than anyone planning a trip around it alone.

Where it is and what kind of trip it takes

The mausoleum sits in the middle of the Kazakh steppe, far from the country’s two main cities. Zhezkazgan is the nearest city, about 42 km away in a straight line; Wikipedia gives 50 km, which is closer to a road figure. Astana is about 425 km away and Karaganda about 427 km, both in a straight line, so this is a long overland or multi-day trip from either.

We could not confirm any public transport to the site, a road description, or the distance from Almaty. For a visitor without a car or Russian, the realistic plan is to reach Zhezkazgan first and arrange a ride from there. The granite hills of Ulytau, about 79 km in a straight line, are the natural pairing for the same trip.

What you see: one portal, a double dome, plain walls

The building is small and is best read up close. It stands on a low hill on the bank of the Karakengir and is visible from a long way off. The main facade faces south-west and is a tall portal with a pointed arch over a deep entrance niche about 4.5 m high.

The two Wikipedia editions differ on some details, as the table shows; neither changes what you will see. The dome has a double shell. The original outer dome did not survive; it once sat on a rare star-shaped drum faced with turquoise-glazed tiles. The frame around the portal niche held glazed tiles 45 × 45 cm. Kazakh Wikipedia says an official of Atbasar district stripped these tiles in 1911 and sent them to a museum, and only fragments now remain. Inside, the walls are clay-plastered and undecorated apart from tamgas (clan marks), and a gravestone stands at the back of the brick-floored chamber.

Is Jochi really buried here

Probably not, according to the research cited by Russian Wikipedia, though Kazakh Wikipedia tells the traditional version. The difference matters if you come for the history: the building is medieval Golden Horde architecture, while the link to Jochi rests on legend and on one disputed burial.

Russian Wikipedia notes that members of Jochi’s Borjigin clan were buried in secret by pre-Islamic rites. The burial rite found here combined Muslim and pre-Islamic elements. The Kazakh article mentions remains of fine clothing, red leather boots, silk, animal bones, a camel skull and iron weapon fragments in the first grave.

The legend and the written record

The story told locally is that Jochi died while hunting. A lame kulan (wild ass), wounded by an arrow, turned on him, pulled him from his horse and tore off his right arm. Kazakh Wikipedia ties this to the missing right arm in the first grave.

The earliest written mention dates from the 16th century. Hafiz-i Tanysh Bukhari referred to the mausoleum when describing the 1582 campaign of the Bukhara ruler Abdullah Khan II to Ulytau. In 1946 the Central Kazakhstan archaeological expedition led by Alkey Margulan surveyed the site and attributed the burials to Jochi and his wife. In 1982 the mausoleum was listed as a historical and cultural monument of national significance and placed under state protection. It remains a grave, so plain, respectful behaviour inside is expected.

When to go

Late spring and early autumn are the comfortable windows; winter is harsh. The figures below are computed normals for 2011–2020 from the ERA5 reanalysis at a grid point at 428 m, not readings from a weather station.

May and September have daytime highs around 18–23 °C and cool nights, good for standing on an exposed hill. July averages about 30.1 °C at its peak, with little shade at a single small building. From November to March, daytime highs sit below or near freezing and January nights average about -17 °C. Precipitation is low all year, roughly 12–25 mm a month, so rain is rarely the problem; heat, cold and steppe wind are.