The article examines some aspects related to the changes that have occurred in the urban culture of the South-West Zhetysu at the initial stage of the establishment of Islam. The results of archaeological research carried out at the architectural and archaeological complex Akyrtas, monuments discovered at the medieval fortified of Taraz, Kostobe, Lugovoye, Ornek are presented by the authors. The early period of Islamization includes the construction of pillar mosques (Akyrtas, Ornek), alteration of the temple into a mosque (Taraz), elements of Muslim decor in religious premises of representatives of other religions (Kostobe, Lugovoye Г) and relic manifestations in the design of the columns of the Ornek mosque. 8^th–12^th centuries – this was a time associated with a series of historical events: the mass resettlement of the Sogdians in connection with the seizure of Central Asia by the Arabs, the conquest of Taraz and the Talas Valley by Emir Ismail from the Samanid dynasty and the adoption of Islam by the Karakhanids.