Aisha Bibi

Eternal Symbol of Love: the Aisha Bibi Mausoleum

There are no historical records about who Aisha Bibi was, except for a legend passed down from generation to generation. Written historical data related to the construction history of the mausoleum and the identity of Aisha Bibi have not yet been found, but there are many legends on this topic. One of these legends says: "One of the rulers of the Karakhanid dynasty erected a mausoleum for a girl named Aisha Bibi, who was his beloved, but they could not unite, and she departed from life early." According to legend, she was the daughter of Zengi Baba, who was considered the progenitor of cattle — one of the four types of livestock. According to the same legend, Aisha Bibi met young warrior Karakhan in Turkestan, and the two young people who fell in love promised to join their lives together. It must have been a time of wars, and Karakhan, busy defending his land and people from enemies attacking from all sides, could not come to Aisha Bibi on time. Some time passed. Finally, unable to wait any longer, Aisha Bibi decided to go herself to the city of Taraz — Karakhan's abode — taking along her nursemaid Baba-azhe, and set out on the journey. After several days of travel, they reached Taraz.

After seeing the rooftops of the city in the distance, they stopped by the riverbank to bathe, wash off the road dust, and rest a while. The nursemaid began preparing food. Refreshed after bathing in the cool water, Aisha Bibi decided to rest while the nursemaid prepared the meal and lay down on a bedding specially spread for her. The mountain breeze, mixed with the coolness of the water, gently caressed the young body of the beauty tired from the long journey, wrapping her in an embrace of bliss. Having seen the rooftops of her beloved's settlement and dreaming of their imminent meeting, rocking in the cradle of sweet daydreams, she dozed off and fell asleep. From this sleep she was awakened by a venomous steppe snake that bit her. As the poison spread through her body and her breathing became labored, Aisha Bibi immediately sent word to Karakhan. When Karakhan arrived with his healers and mullah, the beautiful girl was already swollen, lying between life and death. Karakhan asked the mullah to perform the wedding ceremony. Then he took the girl in his arms and cried out three times into the ear of the dying Aisha: "Aisha, you have now become bibi (a lady)!" A case where a khan married an already deceased girl has not been encountered in history before or since. Grief-stricken Karakhan tenderly buried the body of his beloved and erected a beautiful dome over her grave. Though rain has washed it, wind has weathered it, and time has left its marks, that dome — like an eternal sign of love between two truly devoted lovers — still stands by the walls of the city of Taraz.