The legend of Mount Abyraly

In ancient times, when the Kazakh steppes were attacked by hordes of Dzhungars, there lived in our region a glorious batyr named Ali. He bravely fought against the Dzungarian invaders and gained fame as a fearless and courageous warrior. The enemies were afraid of Batyr Ali like fire.

One day, at the foot of a high mountain, the armies of Kazakhs and Dzungars met in a deadly battle. Batyr Ali stood at the head of the Kazakh militia, and the Kalmyk warrior Abir headed the Dzungars. The bloody fight lasted three days. On the fourth day, the exhausted soldiers agreed on a temporary truce to continue the battle the next day. But on the way to his camp, batyr Ali was treacherously killed by Abir with an arrow in the back.

Batyr’s sister Ali Gauhar, distraught with grief, jumped on her horse, caught up with Abir and immediately cut off his head with a sword. Having lost their leaders, both armies were beheaded and demoralized. The battle was postponed, and the remains of both warriors were buried on the slope of a mountain, which later received the name Abiraly (Abyraly) – a derivative of the names of the two warriors (Abir and Ali).