KAZAKHSTAN
Situated in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world.
Kazakhstan was part of the USSR from 1922 until December 1991, when it became independent and the republic has maintained a presidential system of government since independence.
Kazakhstan's vast plains were home only to nomads for centuries together and they are still virtually empty and settlements are concentrated in the southeast and the east of the Republic.
The country has a very varied landscape ranging from the snow-capped peaks, to lakes and glaciers of the Tian Shan range and giving way to steppe and desert.
GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
Kazakhstan is bounded on the south by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan; and on the west by the Caspian Sea and Russia and covers a territory of 2,727,300 sq km. more than two-thirds of Kazakhstan’s surface area is covered by deserts and semi-deserts.
The country has a continental type of climate giving it severely cold winters and very hot summers. The best time to visit most of the country is April-June or September-October.
ECONOMY AND CURRENCY
The economy of Kazakhstan is mostly dependent on its natural resources. Since the 1990s the service sector has also increased in importance. The government is aggressively promoting the transition to a free-market economy and additionally the government also opened the economy to foreign investment, which has tended to focus on the extraction and export of the country’s large petroleum and gas reserves. The monetary unit employed by the country is Tenge.
HOW TO GET THERE
Air
Air Astana is the national airline and the main Airport is Almaty Airport which is located 10km (6 miles) northeast of the city. Buses and taxis connect the airport with the city center.
Water
The main ports are Aqtau, Atyrau, Oskemen, Pavlodar and Semey.
Train
There are international rail connections with China, the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and regular services operate from Almaty to Urumchi in China and daily to Moscow and also connect with the entire Russian Federation railway network.
Road
There are good road connections of the country with the Russian Federation, the other Central Asian states and China.
Bus services operate from Chimkent for Tashkent and Bishkek.
CAPITAL AND MAJOR CITIES
Astana is the capital and the second largest city of Kazakhstan and is the second coldest capital city of the world after Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar. Astana is a vibrant modern city with many interesting things to offer the visitor.
PEOPLE, LANGUAGES AND CULTURE
The current population of Kazakhstan 16, 763,795 and the Kazakhs, a Turkic people, constitute a majority of the population and the Russians form the largest minority community.
The cultural traditions of the country, distinctively Kazakh in orientation are grounded in the Kazakhs’ nomadic past and additionally the culture of Kazakhstan also reflects strong Russian and Islamic influences.
Kazakhstan is a bilingual country, with Kazakh language having the status of the "state" language, while Russian, which is spoken by almost all Kazakhstanis, is declared the "official" language, and is used routinely in business.
TRAVEL DESTINATIONS AND ACTIVITIES
Visit the numerous sanatoria holiday hotels and preventative medicine sanatoria in the country. These are mostly located in areas with much to interest the tourist, such as sports, cultural events, historical and archaeological sites.
Mountain climbing and trekking are becoming increasingly popular with visitors owing to the country’s rugged landscape and incredible mountain ranges.
Indulge in a variety of winter sports at the Zaili Alatau Mountains near Almaty. The Medeu ice-skating rink near Almaty is the largest speed-skating rink in the world and over 120 world records in ice skating and ice hockey have been set here. At the rink in Ust-Kamenogorsk Ice hockey games can be viewed.
Enjoy Kazakhstan's spectacular mountain scenery- the Tien Shan Mountains in the southeast of Kazakhstan stretch for more than 1,500km, the highest peaks are Pobeda Peak and Khan-Tengri Peak. The enormous Inylchek Glacier, which reaches almost 60km (37 miles) in length, splits the summits and the remarkably beautiful Mertzbakher Lake lies at its center. Then there are the three blue mountain lakes, the Kolsai Lakes, known as the ‘pearls of the northern Tien-Shan’, have all kinds of activities like swimming, fishing, boat trips, horse riding, skiing and skating in winter.
South Kazakhstan has many famous monuments in the region and is a focus of Central Asian history and culture. The desert in the south is home to the Singing Barkhan sand dune which, as it crumbles and shifts, produces a peculiar sound reminiscent of loud singing.
Visit Almaty, which is a city of modern architecture, wide streets, cool fountains, parks and squares and spectacular mountain views. The city has a number of attractions city including the Panfilov Park, which is dominated by one of the world’s tallest wooden buildings, built at the turn of the 20th century without using a single nail, and the Zenkov Cathedral. During the Soviet times this served as a concert and exhibition hall, but is currently standing empty as the Christians of Almaty worship at St Nicholas Cathedral. The New Square at Almaty is usually the location for national ceremonies and parades and is overlooked by the City Hall (the president’s official residence) and the Obelisk of Independence. There are also several fine museums in Almaty including the Museum of Kazakh National Instruments, the Central State Museum and the State Art Museum which has, among its exhibits, traditional Kazakh rugs, jewelry and clothing. In the western area of Panfilov Park are the Arasan Baths, which have Eastern, Finnish and Russian saunas.
Some other places worth a visit are-
The 14th-century Kodja Ahmed Yasavi Mausoleum in Turkestan, built under Tamerlane, this mausoleum has the largest dome in Central Asia, the village of Golovachovka, the11th-century Babadzi-Khatun Mausoleum and the 12th-century Mausoleum Aisha Bibi.
Visit the Lake Balkhash in Central Kazakhstan, which is half saline, half fresh water.
The Bayan-Aul National Park has rock drawings, stone sculptures, clean, sparkling lakes and pines clinging to the rocks. Go to Kzil-Orda from where, on 12 April 1961 Yuri Gagarin, the world’s first cosmonaut, took off, and it is still a point of departure for space launches.
East Kazakhstan has a spectacular landscape consisting of snow-capped mountain peaks, plunging forested canyons and picturesque cedar forests.
Visit Lake Marakol in the north, which rivals Baikal in beauty. Explore the city of Semipalatinsk, which is 30km (19 miles) from Siberia and was a Russian place of exile; Dostoyevsky was exiled here from 1857-1859 and his house is preserved as a museum.
Kazakhstan is a nature lover’s paradise, where one can witness an extensive variety of flora and fauna and remarkable landscapes. The country has a very large number of nature reserves including- Aksu-Zhabagly, Almaty, Barsa Kelmes, The West-Altai, Kurgaldjino, Marakol, Naurzum one, Ustiurt and Bayan-Aul National Nature Park.
Food and Drink
Kazakhstani cuisine is a reflection of the country's unique ethnic and religious composition.
The national delicacies include- Kazi and chuzhuk or horsemeat sausages, Kaurdak or mutton stew, sheep's head, Besbarmak, made from horse meat or mutton and dough and Shashlyk or skewered chunks of mutton barbecued over charcoal.
Wash down the national delicacies with some national drinks like Kazakh tea or chai, which is drunk very strong with cream, Kumis fermented mare’s milk and
The camel’s milk called shubat.
Nightlife
There are a number of nightclubs and casinos in Almaty and Kazakhstan’s most renowned concert halls and theatres are all located in Almaty. Thus night life of Kazakhstan is mostly centered in Almaty. Several other cities too have a few nightclubs and casinos. It was only after 2000 that some of the restaurants began playing music.
Shopping
Almaty has a bazaar, located north of Panfilov Park, where a diverse range of items can be bought.
GETTING AROUND
Air
Air Astana operates frequent domestic flights and domestic airports include Astana, Almaty, Kyzylorda, Oral and Aktau.
Rail
Two TurkSib trains leave Chimkent daily, one to Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and the other to Novosibirsk (Russian Federation), stopping at destinations in between and there are regular connections between all the main centers as well.
Road
There is a reasonably good network of roads in Kazakhstan connecting all the towns and regional centers.
Regular bus connections between all the main cities of Kazakhstan are there and taxis are available too. Car hire is available in Almaty and Astana and at the airports.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Kazakhstan has a limited supply of reasonable accommodation advanced reservations should be made. Most hotels deliver a basic level of comfort.
Almaty has two 5-star hotels and new hotels of a reasonable standard too.
Turbazas, 'tourist bases', or basic bungalow accommodations are available for a small fee and three meals a day.
The permanent base camps from which the high peaks of Kazakhstan are climbed are available as camp sites.
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