Kapal ( kz, Қапал), formerly known as ''Kopal'' (russian: Копал), is a village in

Aksu District Aksu District ( kk, Ақсу ауданы, ) is a district of Almaty Region in Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the settlement of Zhansugirov. The population of the district according to the 2013 estimate is 40,242. Asku ...

Almaty Region Almaty Region ( kk, Алматы облысы, Almaty oblysy; russian: Алматинская область, Almatinskaya oblast) is a region in Kazakhstan, located in the southeastern part of the country. Its capital, from 1997 to 2022 was the ...

of south-eastern

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. It is situated on the

Kapal River The Qapal ( kk, Қапал, ''Qapal'') is a river of Almaty Province, south-eastern Kazakhstan. It is a tributary of the Qyzylaghash, which ends in the plains south of Lake Balkhash. The main settlement on the river is the village Qapal Kapal ...

. Until 1921, it was an

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd; rus, уе́зд, p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context ( uk, повіт), or Kreis in Baltic-German context, was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, and the ea ...

center of the

Semirechye Oblast The Semirechyenskaya Oblast (russian: Семиреченская область) was an oblast (province) of the Russian Empire. It corresponded approximately to most of present-day southeastern Kazakhstan and northeastern Kyrgyzstan. It was creat ...

Tamshybulak Spring

The Tamshybulak Spring is a large spring on the territory of the village, situated on fertile ground. The water does not freeze in winter and algae grow all year round. The water flows down from the mountains in small drops, so it is called in Kazakh "Tears of the Earth" or "Weeping Spring". The spring is renowned for the beauty and sacred power of its water, which is medicinal: each arm of the spring has its own properties. In one place, the water is believed to benefit eye diseases, in another, those of the stomach, and so on. Many pilgrims and tourists visit because of their belief in the healing properties of the water, which are yet to be confirmed by scientific studies. The first records concerning the medicinal properties of the spring were studied and collected by the great traveller and geographer

Shokan Valikhanov Shokan Shyngysuly Valikhanov ( kk, Шоқан Шыңғысұлы Уәлихан, russian: Чокан Чингисович Валиханов), given name Mukhammed Kanafiya ( kk, Мұхаммед Қанафия)Shoqan, his pen-name, later becam ...

in 1859–1865. In 1848, the English travellers

Thomas Witlam Atkinson Thomas Witlam Atkinson (1799–1861) was an English architect, artist and traveller in Siberia and Central Asia. Between 1847 and 1853 he travelled over 40 000 miles through Central Asia and Siberia, much of the time together with his wife Lucy an ...

and his wife

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...

visited Qapal. He published his first article describing the spring and the nature of Kapal village in 1869 in the St. Petersburg magazine "Around the World". The Atkinsons' son was born in Kapal and was named after the spring:

Alatau Tamchiboulac Atkinson Alatau Tamchiboulac Atkinson (November 16, 1848–April 24, 1906) was a member of the House of Representatives for the Republic of Hawaii. He served as Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Territory of Hawaii following annexation to the U ...

.Lucy Atkinson, 1863: '' Recollections of Tartar Steppes and Their Inhabitants''

Notes and references

External links

TripAdvisor.co.uk: Tamshybulak Spring, Kapal - map and photo
Populated places in Almaty Region Semirechye Oblast Landforms of Almaty Region Springs of Kazakhstan Tourist attractions in Almaty Region {{Kazakhstan-geo-stub