Chillakhana (XII–XIV cc.), a monument of national significance. It is located on the territory of Turkestan necropolis, 22 m to the north-west from the mausoleum of Ahmed Yassawi. It is a quadrangular, semi-earthy structure, built specifically for performing religious rituals. ‘Chillahana’ from the Persian ‘chechel’ means ‘forty’, and the word ‘khan’ is a parking lot, a house in which they live for forty days. On this occasion, the Prophet Muhammad left the covenant ‘if anyone for forty days and nights sincerely intends to pray in the name of Allah, Allah will pour a spring of wisdom to the lips of his heart.’ To fulfil the covenant of the Prophet during the heirs of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi religious buildings were built for individual, solitary prayers.
In 1980, the monument was preserved and partially restored.
Source: Svod pamjatnikov istorii i kul'tury Kazahstana. T.1. Juzhno-Kazahstanskaja oblast'. – Almaty «Қazaқ jenciklopedijasy», 1994. – 368 p.
