Tamgaly Tas petroglyphs

Petroglyphs of Tamgaly Tas

Tamgaly Tas («stones with signs/written stones») is a tract near the Ili River 120 km north of the city of Alma—Ata, where many petroglyphs, images of mysterious deities, and late Buddhist inscriptions have been preserved on the rocks. Among the petroglyphs, there are about a thousand rock images, among which the most famous are the images of Shakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha of Boundless Light and Avalokiteshvara bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion. In addition to Buddhist drawings and inscriptions, there is a stone with ancient Turkic runic writings of the VIII-IX centuries, presumably left by the Kipchaks.Tamgaly-Tas is protected by the Government of Kazakhstan as a cultural monument and is an open-air Buddhist temple, as evidenced by a sign at the entrance to the tract.