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Kazakhsta n is a country in Central Asia. It borders on Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.

It is a beautiful country; however, it is yet undiscovered by tourists. It is the 9th largest country of the world with a little over 16 million people and a lot of places to visit. Those who might be interested in travelling to Kazakhstan should be able to understand its natural beauty, because even though its history is over a thousand years, the nomadic people of Kazakhstan have not left a lot of material evidence of their culture. Their culture, though, has been preserved in their folklore and traditions. I am sure that tourism to Kazakhstan should become more popular within several years, the outdoors lovers will be able to appreciate all the wonderful things that Kazakhstan has to offer.

The old capital city of Almaty - a word, according to the most popular explanation, derived from "alma" (apple) - is a place most visited. It is a laid back city, with a nice atmosphere. From Almaty you can make excursions into the picturesque mountains nearby or visit the skating rink - one of the fastest outdoor tracks in the world.

The new capital of Astana is not yet a true capital. It is situated in the windy steppes of the northern part of the country, and its climate is not very inviting.

The Republic of Kazakhstan is well known for rather unique natural and geographic conditions.

East Kazakhstan is represented by the Altai and its wooded foothills, the river of Irtysh and such lakes as Zaisan, Markakol, Alakol, Sauskan. Fairly rich are flora and fauna of the region. Besides Semipalatinsk region is the birthplace of the great Kazakh poet - enlightener Abay Kunanbaev, remarkable writer Mukhtar Auezov.

South-Kazakhstan (Almaty, Jambyl, South-Kazakhstan and Kyzylorda regions) is an area rich with ancient history and culture known for such famous monuments of medieval architecture as mausoleums of Aisha-Bibi, Karakhan, Babadzha-Khatun in Taraz, an architectural ensemble of Khodja Akhmet Yasavi in Turkestan, etc. This list may be nicely supplemented with unique Scythian burial mounds in Semirechje (Almaty region). It is, incidentally, the very region that has played host to the world-famous space-vehicle launching site Baikonyr. Besides, the region affords unique climatic opportunities for recreation, rehabilitation, hunting, alpinism, mountain-skiing and skating.

West Kazakhstan (Aktobe, Atyrau, Mangystau regions) is situated on the crossroads of the European and Asian continents in the basin of the Caspian Sea, the Volga and the Ural. It is the location of the world second deepest depression - that of Kargije lying 132 m below sea level, remarkable chalky rocks. One can find here fine areas rich with game which promise good hunting, can entertain ideas of good luck in angling, in water sports. Tremendous scientific interest present reserves and monuments of ancient Mangyshlak and Ustyurt, numerous memorable places evoking Kazakh epos.

North Kazakhstan (Kostanay, North-Kazakhstan and Pavlodar regions). Everything here - landscape, climatic conditions - favour all sorts of tourist recreation - automobile, bicycle, water ones.

Health resorts of Kokshetau, Bayan-aul, Muyaldy offer fine rehabilitation opportunities while natural preserves Kurgaldzhino and Naurzum would be quite interesting for amateurs of “cognitive” tourism.

Central Kazakhstan (Karagandy region) displays to perfect advantage one of the largest lakes of the world - the lake of Balkhash supplemented by a unique mountaneous and forest oasis. The area harbours plenty of memorable places exhibiting various archaeological and ethnographic relics.

Places of Interest:

Almaty
Almaty (uhl-muh-TEE, former Alma-Ata) is the former capital of Kazakhstan. It is the most populated city in Kazakhstan at present. Its population is almost two million people. Even though Astana (then Akmola) became the capital in 1995; Almaty is often called the Southern Capital. It can be rightfully called the most beautiful city in the country.

The history of Almaty is not very long. In comparison with other cities in Central Asia it is quite young. It was founded in 1854 by Russians in the valley of Almaty and was just a fort at first. Its name was Zailisky, then it was named Verny. In 1921 it became Alma-Ata and in 1929 it became the capital of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1993 it became Almaty.

The city is located at the foot of Tien Shan Mountains at the altitude of 1500-2000 meters above sea level. Unfortunately, because the city is located in a valley, smog easily accumulates here. However, a little higher in the mountains the air is crystal clear and many people have "dachas" (a small garden or an orchard with a small hut or a house) there. A dacha is not only a source of various fruits and vegetables, it is also a place to relax and enjoy the fresh air.

The city has a lot of unique architectural sites. Among those are the bath-house Arasan, the Otrar Hotel, the Cathedral in the Park of the 28 Panfilov Soldiers, and many others. The architectural sites of Almaty are comparatively modern because of the destructive earthquakes that happened in Almaty in 1887 and 1910. A lot of buildings were destroyed at that time.

The climate of Almaty is quite mild. It is never as cold here as in the northern parts of the country and you can easily survive without a fur hat and a fur coat. However, because of higher humidity it may seem a little colder in winter than it is in fact.

Kyzylorda
KYZYLORDA is a city in Southwestern Kazakhstan, only 400 kilometers far from the infamous Aral Sea. The name of the city, according to the local people, is translated as Red Center.

The city is located in a vast semidesert that might remind you of some places in Utah or Nevada. In spring, the lands near Kyzylorda are covered with a beautiful carpet of flowers, among which wild tulips are the most beautiful. The landscape is quite flat, which is very representative of Southern Kazakhstan. One of the most constant features of Kyzylorda is the wind. As one of my acquaintances said, it only blows twice a year: six months in winter and six months in summer. It blows salt from the Aral Sea to the city, and as you take a ride to the north, you can easily see salty crust on the sand.

The first thing that attracts your attention when you go to the city from the airport is the Syr-Darya, or the Syra, the river from the Kazakh folk tales. It is amazing that a river can flow so far through the sands without drying. At some point in history, it supplied fresh water to the people who lived on its banks. However, at present nobody uses its water anymore. As it runs from the south, on its way there are fields that need a lot of water and from which various toxins such as pesticides pour into it. Presently, people have to drill wells to have fresh water supply.

The region is rich in oil. There are oil wells to the north of the city. It gives hope that some day this place might become one of the richest in Kazakhstan.

It is never very cold in the city if not to take wind-chill factor into account. However, only two hundred kilometers north temperatures can drop down to -30 degrees Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit) in winter.

Semipalatinsk
Semipalatinsk also known as Semey is the location of a former Soviet Nuclear Testing Area. The Semipalatinsk Test Site was founded in 1948 with the first nuclear explosion tested in 1949 and the last in 1989. Of the 467 nuclear detonations conducted there, 346 were underground, with the first of these underground experiments conducted in 1961. A total of 87 atmospheric and 26 surface nuclear detonations were also performed at the site between 1949 and 1989. Some tests involved multiple weapon detonations. During the early days of the atomic energy program in the former Soviet Union, some unfortunate events occurred. The country's first atomic test in Semipalatinsk in 1949 exposed over 25,000 people downwind from the blast to significant doses of fission products, especially 131I.

Along with the problem of economic development, Kazakhstan must cope with some of the some of the worst prevailing conditions of environmental pollution in the world, existing pollution inherited from the Soviet era. Major current environmental problems in Kazakhstan include radioactive and toxic chemical sites associated with former defense industries and test ranges which are found throughout the country, posing health risks for humans and animals.

Culture

The biggest name in Kazak cultural history is Abay Qunanbaev, a 19th century poet and man of letters who launched Kazak as a literary language and translated Russian works into Kazak. Before Abay, Kazakhstan literature consisted chiefly of long oral poems. Recitals by bards (aqins) and contests between them known as aitys are still important and popular. Kazakstan's most impressive textiles originate in the country's north-east, near the 'four corners' region of Kazakstan, Russia, China and Mongolia. The mix of influences is apparent in wall carpets and rugs unmatched in their striking colour combinations and the intricacy of their geometric designs.

Though Kazaks are Muslim (Sunni) they are not, by and large, strictly so, and Islam is not a major political force. Reasons for this include the Kazakstan's location on the fringe of the Muslim world, and their traditionally nomadic lifestyle, unsuited to central religious authority. Kazak women appear Central Asia's most confident and least restricted, despite the lingering custom of wife-stealing, whereby a man may simply kidnap a woman he wants to marry (often with some collusion, it must be said), leaving her parents with no option but to negotiate the bride-price.

Many Kazaks maintain a seminomadic existence, moving with herds, flocks and yurts from their collective farms to summer pastures every year. An affinity with the horse is shown in sports like kokpar, the wild free-for-all ancestor of polo (with a headless goat's carcass instead of a ball) and qyz quu, a boy-girl horse chase - if a boy catches a girl he kisses her, if a girl catches a boy she beats him with her riding whip, all the while both of them riding hell for leather.

Much Kazak food resembles that of the Middle East or the Mediterranean in its use of rice, savoury seasonings, vegetables and legumes, yoghurt and grilled meats. Other dishes have developed from the subsistence diet of the nomads - mainly mutton (including entrails), milk products and bread - whereas in the heavily Russian-populated cities of northern Kazakhstan, the dominant cuisine is Russian. Rural Kazaks make good qazy, smoked horsemeat sausage sometimes served sliced with cold noodles. If that sounds a bit hardcore, look out for a sweet plov (pilaf) made with dried apricots, raisins and prunes or Kazak apples which are famous throughout Central Asia (Almaty literally means 'father of apples').

Kazakhstan is a Turkic language written in a 42-letter version of the Cyrillic alphabet. At least as many people in Kazakhstan speak Russian as Kazak; Kazakhstan is the official state language but Russian is the 'language of inter-ethnic communication'.

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