Kazakhstan - Central Asia - page 89

mug of beer, especially in the shady garden
in warm weather.
Guns¨&¨Roses¨ PUB $$$
( % 52 49 41; Kazakhstan Respublikasy Preziden-
tininy dangyly, Dom 66, mikrorayon 2; mains 1500-
4500T; h 11am-2am Sun-Thu, 11am-4am Fri & Sat;
WE ) The best of Aktau's handful of British-
style pubs, Guns & Roses serves generous
burgers, steaks and pizzas, shows sport on
TV and hosts a live rock/jazz/pop band from
10pm Thursday to Saturday.
6 ¨Drinking¨&¨Nightlife
Lido¨ CAFE
(mikrorayon 7; h 4pm-3am) Lido's two open-air
decks are packed for summer night drinks.

8 Information
There's an Azerbaijan consulate (p125) in
Aktau.
Matrix Internet (Dom 22, mikrorayon 9;
internet per hr 200T; h 24hr) In the building
with a huge painting of Abylay Khan on its
street end.
Migration Police ( % 47 48 89; Dom 123,
mikrorayon 3; h 9am-noon mon-Thu & Sat)
Come here if you need to register your visa.
Partner Tour ( % 52 60 88; www.partner-tur.
ru; Office 5, Dom 12, mikrorayon 2; h 10am-
6pm mon-Fri) This well-organised agency can
set up guided trips from one to seven days
around the sights of mangistau. Contact them
at least a couple of days ahead. English- and
german-speaking guides are available.

THE¨PILGRIMAGE¨TO¨BEKET-ATA
Beket-Ata, 285km eat of Aktau, is an underground mosque to which the clairvoyant
and teacher Beket-Ata (1750-1813) retreated in the later part of his life, ultimately dy-
ing and being buried here. A Mangitau native, Beket-Ata tudied in Khiva (Uzbekitan)
and on his return he is believed to have set up four mosques, including this one where
he founded a Sui school. Every day dozens of pilgrims - and hundreds on holidays -
make the bumpy journey across the deserts to pray and receive Beket-Ata's inspira-
tion. The underground mosque (three caves) is set in a rocky outcrop overlooking a
desert canyon.
Aktau tour companies run two-day 4WD trips to Beket-Ata coting around
80,000T to 100,000T for up to four people. Private drivers will do it for much less -
ask at your hotel and check the Beket-Ata ads in Tumba newspaper, where you'll ind
Toyota Land Cruisers that may cot 25,000T to 30,000T round-trip and minibuses
charging as little as 4000T per person. Alternatively, take an early public minibus or
shared taxi from Aktau bus tation to the duty oil town of Zhanaozen , 150km eat
by paved road. Zhanaozen saw serious unret in 2011, when an oil workers' trike
ended with security forces shooting dead at leat 14 unarmed demontrators, but
there have been no reported violent outbreaks since then. From Zhanaozen bazaar,
4WDs (3500/14,000T per person/vehicle round-trip) and more uncomfortable
minibuses (3000T per person) leave in the morning for Beket-Ata. You'll spend mot
of the ive- or six-hour, 135km trip lurching and bumping along teppe and desert
tracks. En route, vehicles top at Shopan-Ata , an underground mosque and large
necropolis dating back to at leat the 10th century, where Shopan-Ata, a disciple of
Kozha Akhmed Yasaui, dwelt. Mot groups sleep (free) in the pilgrim hotel-cum-
mosque-cum-dining hall at Beket-Ata, before leaving early next morning. Zhanaozen
has hotels in the treet along the eat end of the bazaar, including Hotel¨Lyuks
( % 72934-3 32 64; Rakhmet Otesinov; r incl breakfat 6000-16,000T; paW ) , with large
rooms in reasonable condition, and the more dilapidated but quite friendly Hotel¨
Zhansaya ( % 72934-3 49 29; Rakhmet Otesinov; s 2000-3500T, d 4000-7000T; a ) . Bet
in town is Hotel¨Temirkazyk ( % 72934-5 25 47; www.temirkazykhotel.kz; ulitsa 2, mikro-
rayon Aray 1; s/d incl breakfat from 11,000/13,000; paW ) , with good, big, comfy rooms
and a decent cafe/retaurant.
On arrival at Shopan-Ata and Beket-Ata all visitors are expected to purify themselves
by using the squat toilets. If you're travelling with pilgrims, be ready to join in prayers,
ritual walks around sacred trees and communal meals of the Kazakh national dish
beshbarmak .