From November 1 to 3, Asylbek Kozhakhmetov, President of AlmaU, and Nick Fielding, a British journalist, writer, and researcher of Central Asian history, were on a working visit to the Ayyrtau District of the North Kazakhstan Region. The three-day trip focused on exploring the region’s historical and cultural heritage, including sites associated with the Botai culture and the life of the prominent Kazakh scholar and educator Shokan Ualikhanov.
One of the key stops on the visit was the Botai State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve in the village of Saumalkol. The guests were introduced to archaeological finds, ceramic vessels, tools, and other artefacts illustrating the lives of the ancient inhabitants of the steppe. Today, the museum’s collection comprises more than 14,000 artefacts reflecting the richness and uniqueness of the Botai culture.
The international recognition of this historical heritage is particularly significant: the Botai Museum-Reserve has been included on UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage Sites. Efforts are currently underway to preserve, study, and promote the site.
For Nick Fielding, visiting Botai provided an opportunity to see firsthand a place of particular importance to the study of the history of horse domestication. For many years, the British researcher has explored the history of nomadic peoples, travelled throughout Central Asia, and written books about the Great Steppe. He has visited Kazakhstan more than 20 times, but this was his first visit to the North Kazakhstan Region.
A significant part of the programme was dedicated to the legacy of Shokan Ualikhanov. Asylbek Kozhakhmetov and Nick Fielding visited the Shokan Ualikhanov Syrymbet Historical and Ethnographic Museum, where they explored exhibits documenting the prominent scholar’s childhood and youth. The guests also visited the historic Aiganym Estate, the residence of Shokan Ualikhanov’s grandmother, located at the foot of Syrymbet Hill. The ancestral estate includes a residential house, a mosque, a school, a bathhouse, and auxiliary buildings, preserving the history of the Ualikhanov family and the region’s cultural heritage.
The visit continued Nick Fielding’s longstanding research into the life and scholarly legacy of Shokan Ualikhanov. The British scholar is the author of The Selected Writings of Chokan Valikhanov, published by Cambridge University Press in 2020, as well as several other studies devoted to the history of Kazakhstan and the Great Steppe.
On November 5-6, Nick Fielding will participate in the Shokan Ualikhanov Forum, which will take place in Kazakhstan. Asylbek Kozhakhmetov highlighted the importance of further studying Shokan’s legacy, identifying new historical evidence, and promoting his scholarly and educational contributions in Kazakhstan and internationally.
The three-day trip gave the international researcher an opportunity to explore the historical sites of Northern Kazakhstan firsthand, discover unique evidence of the region’s ancient and more recent history, and gain a deeper understanding of the cultural heritage of the Great Steppe. Such research visits contribute to the development of international academic and cultural dialogue, while also promoting Kazakhstan’s historical heritage on the global stage.