The national cultural and historical complex Manas Ordo is located 22 kilometers from Talas in Tash-Aryk village. In its center is the kumbez (grave) of Manas. According to legend, it was built by his relatives. The great baatyr (hero) is buried here, at the location of his main headquarters.
The epic of the same name, consisting of more than half a million lines, is about the life and deeds of Manas. It tells about a real baatyr, who returned the Kyrgyz from Altai to the Tien Shan and protected them from Chinese raids.
In fact, kumbez is not the tomb of Manas. The mausoleum was built in 1334 for the burial of the daughter of emir Abuka. This is evidenced by a carved inscription on the upper plinth of the building. The building of the mausoleum is covered with carved clay mosaics, and the dome has the shape of a carved cone, which is rarely found in the buildings of Central Asia.
Numerous balbals (stone statues), petroglyphs (rock carvings) and stone tools from different eras are found near the mausoleum.
On the other side, there are monuments to the heroes of Manas and his famous forty horsemen. There is a museum of the Manas epic in Manas-Ordo and a special yurt, where akyns recite the epic live.
A large park is located in the middle of the complex. You can climb the Karaulnaya (Guard) mountain, also mentioned in the epic, which offers a majestic view of the kumbez and the surroundings.
