city, southern Kazakhstan, in the Syr Darya plain. An ancient centre of the caravan trade, it was known as Shavgar and later as Yasī. It became a religious centre known as Khazret (Hazrat) because of the 12th-century Sufi (Muslim mystic) Ahmed Yesevi, whose 14th-century mausoleum (World Heritage site) is the city's chief monument; a notable example of Timurid (Timurid Dynasty) architecture, the structure was made a World Heritage (World Heritage site) site in 2003. Captured by the Russians in 1864, Turkestan now has several industries. Pop. (1999) 85,600.