A mosque dug into the rock is a rare thing, and Sultan-Epe is one of the best. It lies on the Mangystau peninsula in western Kazakhstan, a stark region of chalk cliffs, canyons and salt flats stretching toward the Caspian Sea, and the mosque is cut into a hillside, with a low entrance leading down into a cool chamber. It is named after Sultan-Epe, a Sufi holy man revered in the region, and it forms part of a network of underground mosques and burial grounds that have been pilgrimage places for centuries.
Mangystau has a big history written into its rocks. The land was once the floor of an ancient sea, and fossils of shells and sharks' teeth lie scattered across the plains. Later it became a corridor for Silk Road caravans moving between the Caspian and Central Asia, and nomads buried their dead in great stone cemeteries marked with carved headstones and tombs shaped like small buildings. Pilgrims still make the journey to shrines such as this, and visitors are expected to dress modestly, remove their shoes at the entrance, and treat it as a sacred place.
The riding here is a long journey across wide, open land. The roads between settlements are mostly tarmac, but the tracks to the shrines are gravel and sand, and weather can turn them into a challenge. The nearest town in the data, Taūshyq, is thirty kilometres away and has only a few thousand people. The big regional centre is Aktau on the Caspian coast, and the small Caspian port of Fort-Shevchenko lies not far to the north-west. Fuel is scarce between towns, so fill up whenever you can and carry extra.
Summer is very hot and winters are cold with strong winds, so spring and autumn are better. In spring the steppe sometimes blooms with tulips, a surprise in such dry country. Take plenty of water, because you are a long way from help. The local people are hospitable and may offer tea and bread if you stop, and it is worth accepting.