State Historical, Cultural and Literary Memorial Museum of Abay

The museum building is located in a two-story mansion, where Aniyar Moldabayuly lived. The building has been well. Abay often stayed in this house, and Aniyar Moldabayuly is one of the many representatives of educated Kazakh youth who were taught by the great poet. The museum was opened in the mansion in 1940. In 1970 the museum was reconstructed. Later, the museum moved to the former home of Russian merchants, the Ershov brothers. To date, the museum has become part of a single architectural ensemble, which included the ancient administration building and the mosque with the Ahmet Riza madrasah, where the famous educator studied. As part of the celebration of the 150^th anniversary of Abay in 1995, a new memorial complex was opened in Zhidebay. The museum funds consist of extensive materials that reveal many aspects of Abay Kunanbayev's creative work and social activities. The main halls of the museum are reserved for expositions: “Abai and his time”, “Seasons”, “Abay in the fine arts”, “Abay's poetic school”, “Abay and modernity”, “Oriental poems”, “Abay's works”, “Abay in the heart of the people”, “Hall of Souvenirs”, “Iskander’s Poem”. Today, the Zhidebay-Borili State Historical, Cultural and Literary Memorial Museum-Reserve of Abay includes the Abay Literary Museum and the Akhmet Riza Madrasah in the city of Semey, the M. Auezov Museum in the Borili tract, the Kokbay Zhanatayev Museum in the Takyr tract of the Kokbay rural district, the Shakir Abenov Museum in the village of Kundyzdy, as well as the Aset Naimanbayev Museum, located in the Urjar region of the East Kazakhstan region. In the Abay region, the total area of the reserve is 6400 hectares. It includes 16 objects, including the house-museum of Abay in the Zhidebay tract, the well of Kunanbay, the graves of Zere and Ulzhan, the memorial complex “Abay-Shakarim”, the mosque of the complex, the lake “Ospan Kol”, the grave of Kengirbai bi and etc.