Zhylagan ata, a spring and a cave
They are located 80 km north-west of Turkestan (Babaykurgan Rural District, Turkestan Region).
The place of attraction for pilgrims is a spring periodically pouring out from a rock with the height of 10-12 m. The periodicity, as well as the reasons for this natural phenomenon, is unknown. The cave is located 45-50 m from the spring. The height of the cave passage is 3-4 m, width is 8-9 m, depth is about 50-60 m.
According to the legend, the cave is still inhabited by Zhylagan ata. Locals call the spring Zhylagan ata's tears. Not far from the cave there is a small mausoleum. It is believed that a woman who does not have children should spend the night here to give birth to a child.
In translation into Russian the name of the area Zhylagan ata means "Crying grandfather". Legend has it that elderly spouses Kuryshkhan ata and Shash ana, who lived here, had no children. They asked the Almighty to send a child to comfort them in their old age. When Allah heard the prayer, He made it a condition for the spouses to carry the mother of their long-awaited child in a leather bag for seven years until she got back on her feet. The old woman carried a long and difficult burden. Once she couldn't stand it, she prayed, saying that she couldn't do it! At the same moment, the unborn child was as if he were an angel, and began to leave quickly with the words: "You did not endure just one day before my birth, and now I am leaving you forever". He withdrew into the crevices of the rocks and disappeared into a cave on top of the mountain. The father of the unborn child sat down on the rock, grieving and weeping bitterly and inconsolably. A waterfall emerged from his tears on that spot. And rocks cried on the opposite bank of the river, where the poor mother shed tears. The angel said to both of them: "Going back to the village, don't look back, then the spring will bring its clean water to the people living there". But Shash ana couldn't stand it and looked at the angel who was leaving. And the water disappeared in that place, and never reached the village.
It is a part of the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve "Azret Sultan" as a monument of religious and spiritual importance. Actively visited by pilgrims, who, despite the inaccessibility of the object, in the summer season bathe in the healing waters of the spring Zhylagan ata.