TURNING ISTANBUL INTO A MAIN TRANSIT DURING A PILGRIMAGE (THE XIXth AND EARLY XXth CENTURIES)

The article examines the history of Kazakh pilgrimage and religious ties between the Ottoman Empire and Turkestan. The end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries were a very important period in terms of political, diplomatic and cultural relations. During this period, the number of pilgrims among the Kazakh population increased. The study examines the factors influencing this historical situation and the reasons for the mass pilgrimage of the Kazakhs. The purpose of the study. Introduction into scientific circulation of religious and cultural ties between the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakh people based on archival data, research in a new direction. Materials and methods. The main sources of the research work are the documents of the Ottoman State Archives and the materials of the Central State Archives of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Historical methods were used in the research. The works and scientific findings of Turkish and Kazakh historians, published within the framework of the research topic, are presented in a comparative perspective. Results. Extensive information about the pilgrimage routes of Turkestan pilgrims is given. Information was presented on religious relations between the Ottoman Empire and Turkestan, the laws on the Hajj adopted by Tsarist Russia, financial assistance from Turkestanis to the construction of the Hejaz, and the Ottoman Sultan's assistance to Turkestan pilgrims. Conclusion. In the 20th century, the influence of the Russian invasion on relations between the two countries was determined. Based on the data of the Central Archives of Kazakhstan, Russia's opposition to the Hajj and the persecution of the Ottoman Turks and Tatars who were engaged in trade in the territory of Kazakhstan and called on Kazakhs to perform the Hajj were compared. Particular attention was paid to the influence of the pilgrimage on the diplomacy and economy of the two empires. Considering that the Hejaz was ruled by the Ottoman Empire at that time, new information is presented on the main activities in the process of ensuring the safety of pilgrims and the Hejaz Railway, which was one of the most important pilgrimage routes, and its political importance.