KAZAKHSTAN ( EUROPE )

15 PLACE YOU CAN VISIT IN KAZAKHSTAN
















The best place in Kazakhstan
 
Kazakhstan, officially known Respublikası Qazaqstan Federalsanı (Республикасы Қазақстан Федералсаны) is a state Antarbenua that most areas are included in the Central Asian region and the other fraction is included in the Eastern European region. Territory that stretches from the ranks of the Altai Mountains in the east, to the Caspian Sea in the west, make this country as the 9th largest country in the world is the 2nd largest in the former Soviet Union after Russia. Kazakhstan is often referred to as "Virgin lands", because some of the region has not been touched at all. Most of the area is directly adjacent to Russia, particularly in the north and west. In the east, directly adjacent to the People's Republic of China (Xinjiang province). On the south side is bordered by Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and the Caspian Sea. In this country there are many ethnic Russians. The place of Russia's space rocket launch, Baikonur, also located in Kazakhstan.






1. Almaty Zoo

Almaty Zoo covers an area of 21 hectares, and has, in its collection, examples of the unique and diverse wildlife of Kazakhstan, in particular, deer, wild ram, wolf, beaver, golden eagle, and others.
The collection of animals also exibits animals from further afield including white and Himalayan bears, tigers, jaguars, Persian and Far Eastern leopards, elephants, zebras, yaks, deer, markhor, American condors, vultures, horned crows, snakes, crocodiles. The total number of species is more than 350 and about 6,000 different animals.
The zoo is well attended and loved by the local people, particularly in holiday periods.

Opening hours: Daily, 10:00-17:00 in winter, 9:00-19:00 in summer.

 




2. Nur-Astana Mosque

The Nur-Astana Mosque (Kazakh: Нұр-Астана мешіті, Nur-Astana meşiti), is a mosque located in the city of Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. It is third largest mosque in Central Asia. The 40-meter (131-foot) height symbolizes the age of the Prophet Muhammad of when he received the revelations, and the height of the minarets are 63 meters (207 foot), the age Muhammad was when he died.

The mosque is located at the left riverbank in the city of Astana, construction first started in March 2005. The mosque was a gift in accordance with the agreement of the Kazakhstan President, Nursultan Nazarbayev and the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa. It has a capacity of 5,000 worshippers inside the mosque, including 2,000 for worshippers outside the mosque. The structure is made of glass, concrete, granite and alucobond measures.

 





3. The State Theatre of Opera and Ballet

The theatre was built at the request of magnate Daniel Mailov and funded by magnate Zeynalabdin Taghiyev. In 1910, famous Russian soprano Antonina Nezhdanova visited Baku giving several concerts at various clubs and performance venues. On a ball organized on the occasion of Nezhdanova's departure at the local casino, she was asked whether she would like to visit Baku again. Her response was negative followed by a concern that in a city of so many wealthy people no one would fund the construction of a decent opera theatre where singers could fully demonstrate their musical talent. Daniel Mailov who had grown to admire both Nezhdanova's voice and persona during her tour decided to use this opportunity and offered her to revisit Baku in one year to attend the opening of a new opera theatre, which he would order to build in her honour. According to an urban legend, Mailov and his brother were not invited to a housewarming ball of a famous opera singer from Baku whose new house (now the head office of SOCAR) was one of the most outstanding pieces of architecture in the city. The Mailovs therefore decided to erect a building of their own outdoing the "tactless" singer.

 
4. National Museum of Kazakhstan

The museum has been created in the framework of the "Cultural Heritage" State Program on behalf of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. July 2, 2013 the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan № 675 was issued on the establishment of the Republican State Institution " National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan" of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan. "

 





5. Charyn Canyon

Sharyn Canyon (also known as Charyn Canyon) is a canyon on the Sharyn River in Kazakhstan, 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Almaty, close to the Chinese border. The canyon is 80 or 90 kilometres (50 or 56 mi) in length. It is within the Sharyn River valley and is part of the Sharyn National Park, which was established on 23 February 2004, and is located within the territory of the Uygur District, Raiymbek District and Enbekshikazakh District of the Almaty Province. Over several millennia of weathering action, the canyon has gained colorful formations of varying shapes and sizes. Though it is much smaller than the Grand Canyon, it has been described as being equally impressive.

One part of the canyon is known as Valley of Castles (Dolina Zamkov) for its unusual rock formations, and its length is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) with a depth of 100 metres (330 ft).

 




 
6. Indulge in Besbarmak

Like Sangeeta in yesterday’s blog, picking a cross-cultural art blend was difficult. Not for lack of choices, but for the diversity of art forms in multicultural societies. Yesterday evening, I finally sat down to write about the evolution of salsa and timba music and dance, and instead found myself indulging in a six-hour jewelry destruction, creation, rearrangement and repair extravaganza. I’ve been planning this for years with little momentum, other than a growing collection of stray beads, rings with missing gems, broken chains, and piles upon piles of beautiful clip-on earrings from my grandmother that either pinch my ears or fall off and lose their partners.

7. Big Almaty Hike

Surrounded by mountains and giant Tien Shan firs, Big Almaty Lake is a scenic place. It’s worth a drive, and it looks like in the pictures. You can definitely enjoy the atmosphere up here, as long as you remember a few basic pointers left out of most travel guides.
When to go

Avoid weekends at all cost. The proximity of Big Almaty Lake to the city and the perfectly maintained road towards the lake mean it has become a very popular place for locals to pick-nick and show off their cars. Summers are busiest. The best time to visit are May – June, when the road is clear but the lake is still a frozen beauty and the mountain freshness is incomparable, and September– October, when glacier melts turn the water a dazzling turquoise.

8. Baikonur

Baikonur formerly known as Leninsk (also, see Tyuratam), is a city of republic significance in Kazakhstan on the right bank of the Syr Darya river, rented and administered by the Russian Federation. It was constructed to service the Baikonur Cosmodrome and was officially renamed Baikonur by Russian president Boris Yeltsin on December 20, 1995. During the Soviet period, it was sometimes referred to as Zvezdograd (Star City).

In 2009, the population of Baikonur was 36,175 (2009 Census results), while in 1999, it was 28,776 (1999 Census results).

The rented area is an ellipse measuring 90 kilometres (56 mi) east to west by 85 km (53 mi) north to south, with the cosmodrome situated at the area's centre.

9. Tamgaly Tas

Tamgaly is a petroglyph site in the Zhetysu of Kazakhstan. Tamgaly is located 170 km (by road) northwest of Almaty. The majority of the 5000 petroglyphs are in the main canyon, but there are a number in the many side canyons. The petrogylphs are mostly Bronze Age, but in some cases have been overlaid with Medieval or later etchings. There are some petrogylphs from the Iron Age.

The name Tamgaly in Kazakh and other Turkic languages means "painted or marked place".

Tamgaly became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. (See List of World Heritage Sites in Kazakhstan)

 



10. Shymbulak

Shymbulak also known as Chimbulak (Russian: Чимбулак) is a ski resort near Almaty, the largest city of Kazakhstan. It is located in the upper part of the Medeu Valley in the Zaiilisky Alatau mountain range, at the elevation of 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) above sea level. The resort area is about 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Almaty city by the Medeo road. It is popular for its mild climate, large quantity of sunny days and great amount of snow through the winter (from November till May).
Shymbulak in summer.

Almaty hosted the 2011 Asian Winter Games, bid for 2014 Winter Olympics, considered a bid for 2018 Winter Olympics, but decided to bid for 2022 Winter Olympics instead; Shymbulak was a venue for the Alpine Skiing events (both speed and technical), and would have been for the latter.

11. Singing Barchan

The Singing Barchan in the territory of the Altyn-Emel Reserve is one of the unique phenomenons of nature. A lot of legends and sagas are connected with it. Scholars were not able to understand this phenomenon for a long time. And people who lived in the Middle Ages hearing the barchans singing believed that it was a yawl of the shaitan of desert.

This phenomenon of nature is located on the right river-bank of the Ili, 182 km from Almaty. The barchan reaches almost 3 km in length and 150m in height. This is the largest one among the known barchans. It stretches several kilometers perpendicular to the Big and Small Kalkan ranges. From the top of the barchan a beautiful sight is greeted to the surrounding countryside: the Ili River, mountains and Altyn-Emel Reserve.
However the barchan unicity is not only in its “singing”. The fact that it is formed in the place among Rocky Mountains is also rare. The reason for it is blowing out of sands from the Ili sandbanks during fresh gales, which rise sandy dust from the river sandbanks. At the Big and Small Kalkan, spreading under a small angle to each other, the sand forced by the winds smashes against the rocky ridge and subsides forming beddings. A huge sandy mountain being stationary as long as several millenniums has been built up over many centuries.

12. Khan Shatyr Entertainment Centre

Astana, the new capital of Kazakhstan, lies in an austere eastern landscape with an inhospitable climate that can generate temperatures of -35 degrees Celsius in winter and +35 degrees in summer. The Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center is designed to provide the city with a range of civic, cultural and social amenities all sheltered within a climatic envelope - 'a world within' - that offers a comfortable microclimate all year round, whatever the weather. The building's tented structure has great resonance in Kazakh history as the tent is a traditional nomadic building form - Khan Shatyr translates as 'the Tent of the Khan'.

 





13. Green Bazaar

Today Green bazaar (Zelyony bazaar or Green market) in Almaty on the crossroad of Zenkov and Jybek Joly streets looks like a usual oriental market where you can purchase everything: starting with meat, spices and fruits up to textile and furniture. Anyone should bargain here, vendors praise their goods and try to treat the customers; and customers, in their turn, prefer to choose and socialize; life is on. For those tired and hungry during shopping, there are places to rest, drink tea and have a snack. Green bazaar amazes some with its abundance of goods and colorful atmosphere of the East, and some remain indifferent. Tastes differ.

Green bazaar is inseparable part of Almaty tours for its rich history too. The first prototype of the trade center appeared on its current place more than hundred years ago, and since then it has remained an important central trade point of the entire Almaty. In 1875, according to the order of Rafikov, an influential merchant from Semipalatinsk, there was built a Guest Yard. Almaty then was named Verniy, and Vernenskiy Guest Yard served as a haunting place for traveling merchants and caravans; local vendors opened market stalls there. The Guest Yard consisted of two medium pavilions located along the Trade Street. As today, customers had a big choice of fresh fruits, vegetables and grains there. Rare things like Chinese tea could also be found. The stalls were filled with raw materials, household items and many others. Like current taxi-drivers, there were coachmen standing at the market ready to drop off.

 



14. Zenkov Cathedral

Is located in Panfilovets’ Park and is probably the only wooden Cathedrals in the world. The cathedral is built without using any nails, which again, makes it pretty unique. The Cathedral was used as a museum after the ‘Revolution’, but was again restored to its original use as a Russian Orthodox Cathedral in 1990. The idea for a cathedral in Almaty was initiated by the bishop of Turkestan and Tashkent and was constructed between1904 and 1907. It was believed that an ‘act of God’ saved the building from the devastation of the 1911 earthquake. The inside of the church is as elaborate as its exterior and is a member of the Russian Orthodox church. If entering the church, visitors should respect the customs of the church as this is a very active religious building.

Views from all four sides are different and a walk around is worth doing. On one side is an open area where stalls are laid out for children’s activities and rides.

As the image opposite shows, the Zenkov Cathedral stands proud in the middle of Panfilovets’ Park and is well with a visit.

15. High-mountain Medeo Skating Rink 

The Medeu is outside of speed skating and bandy rink. It is located in the mountain valley (Medeu Valley, or Valley of Malaya Alma-Atinka River) in the south-eastern outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Medeu sits 1,691 meters above sea level, making it the world's highest skating rink. Medeu holds this distinction during rinks like Stephen C. West Ice Arena in Breckenridge, Colorado (elevation 11,300ft / 3,445m) were not considered due to a significantly higher elevation. Having 10,500 square meters of ice and freezing and utilize advanced watering system to ensure the quality of the ice. Mountain valley was named in honor Medeo, a nomad who lived in the last century and established themselves in this beautiful aul. situs.Pembangunan stadium began in autumn 1949, and the first competition took place at the stadium on February 4, 1951. Medeu switched to the current system of artificial ice in 1972 by a team of engineers Soviet.The Medeu Dam, built in the late 1960s, stood up immediately south rink skating, protect it - and the city of Almaty itself - from potentially devastating mud flows. Viewpoint above the dam gives a view of the stadium. dam has three height levels respectively. Special water reservoir enables holds about 6 million cubic meters of water. Stairs known to townspeople and tourists consisting of 842 steps leads to the dam. Contests on the rise along the stairs of this unique regularly dilakukan.Medeu has seen many world records in all distances speed skating from 1951 until the 1980s: 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m and 10000 m. In 1972, the arena made a highly successful transition from a natural ice rink to rink buatan.Tim crooked Dynamo Alma-Ata played his homegames in Medeu and won the Soviet Championship in 1977 and 1990 and the European Cup in 1978.