Султан-эпе

Sultan Epe

Useful Information

Location:	Mangistau district, Mangistau region. 30 km northwest of Tauchik village. (44.4713760, 51.0122503)
Open:	no restrictions. [2026]
Fee:	free. [2026]
Classification:	Cave Church
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	A=158 m asl.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Sultan Epe,
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1982	necropolis declared a local historic monument.
2003	archaeological research by A. Astafyev and M. Kalmenov of Mangystau National Historical and Cultural Reserve.
2026	included on the UNESCO WH Tentative List.

Description

Султан-эпе (Sultan Epe) or also Сұлтан Үпіһ (Sultan Üpi, Sulatn Upi) is located close to Sultan Epe Necropolis, both important archaeological and cultural sites. There are currently archaeological excavations. This is an underground mosque which was named after the Saint Sultan-Epe. It was dug into limestone and has nine chambers.

Sultan-Epe was the son of the famous Central Asian mystic poet Khakim-Ata (Suleiman Bakyrgani), a disciple of Ahmad Yassawi and Ambar-Ana. Sultan-Epe is the patron saint of drowning people and fishermen. His miracle included reviving slaughtered bulls But his father was jealous of his abilities, and so he became invisible and left the place. When Khodja Ahmed Yassawi heard of this he was annoyed and punished Khakim-Ata with an inverse blessing.

A century after the disappearance of Sultan-Epe the nomadic Nogais were living here. There was a mullah who taught children to read and write. Among his pupils there was a boy named Heyrulla. But as he was lame, he was bullied and beaten, in the school by the mullah and his classmates, and at home by his parents. One day Heyrulla went deep into the steppe to take his own life. Tired of walking, he leaned against a big rock and fell asleep. In his dream he saw an unknown person who said: 'My son! Don't cry, open your mouth', which he did. The stranger spat into his mouth and the boy became wise and educated. Then the stranger said to him: 'Get up, cross the steppe and in the place where you see a seated eagle, build a mosque'. Heyrulla responded: 'I am very weak and can't lift even a small stone'. The stranger said: 'I am Sultan-Epe, when you raise the stones, say: Oh, Sultan-Epe! and stones will rise with the divine power and you will easily put them where it will be necessary'. After this Sultan-Epe disappeared. Heyrulla woke up and walked through the steppe, and soon he saw a seated eagle. When he approached him, the eagle said loudly: 'Sultan-Epe!', took off and disappeared. Having noted the location where the eagle was sitting, Heyrulla returned to his teacher. The mullah beat him for being absent so long and gave him a book and told him to read. When he read without difficulty, the mullah assigned him another seven pages of the new lesson, and again he read them. After this he returned to the place where the eagle was seated, touched a big stones and exclaimed, 'Oh, Sultan-Epe!'. Every stone, he touched this way easily went up and down on the place where needed, and the was built very fast. After this miracle, the boy was respectfully called 'Sufi'.

Located on the northern coast of the Tupkaragan Peninsula it is located at the end of 5 km long Sultan-Epe canyon. There are also some wells named Sultan-Epe, and there is a stream which flows through the canyon, at least part of the year. As a result this place is a kind of oasis, there is abundant plant growth at bottom of the gorge with blackberry, buckthorn, kale, mulberry, sloe and wild herbs. Also, the area is full of life, especially birds like rose-colored pastor, bee-eaters and sea-eagle, but also Corsac fox and Brandt’s hedgehog live here.