Museum complex of Zhambyl Zhabayev

Location: This complex is located 70 kilometers from Almaty, in the village of Zhambyl, at Zhambyl Street, 28.

What’s interesting about it?

Zhambyl Zhabayev is a legendary Kazakh akyn. He composed hundreds of lyrical, casual, social-satirical songs, heroic poems, and fairy tales, such as “The Dog of Bay Kadyrbay,” “Black Decree,” “Poem of an Angry Heart,” “Armed People,” “Lullaby,” and, of course, "Leningraders, my children," dedicated to the siege of Leningrad during the Second World War.

Zhambyl Zhabayev finished his life’s journey on June 22, 1945, a couple of months before his 100th birthday. Two years later, a literary and memorial museum was created in the house where the akyn lived from 1936 to 1945.

What kind of entertainment is there?

The complex consists of a house that once belonged to the poet, a garage with a car, a garden, and an administrative building. Furthermore, on the territory of the museum complex, in the depths of the garden (which the poet grew with his own hands), there is the mausoleum of Zhambyl Zhabayev, designed by the architect Alexander Belotserkovsky based on sketches by the People's Artist of Kazakhstan, Abylkhan Kasteev. White marble was used in the construction of the mausoleum. Thanks to the efforts of the caretakers, many things that belonged to the outstanding akyn are still preserved there.

When is the best time to visit?

The museum is open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Lots of visitors and admirers of Zhambyl’s creativity come here on February 28, the akyn’s birthday. It should also be noted that the famous Kazakh composer, conductor, and dombra player Nurgisa Tlendiev was buried in the same village because he asked to be buried near the Zhambyl mausoleum.