Gorod Astana Things to Do

KazMunaiGaz

by Alsu

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KazMunaiGaz
by Alsu
Apartment complex "7 barrels" (7 bochek)
by Alsu
UFO Shaped Cirus Building in Astana
by WorldPassenger
The Horse Bridge and its Horse Statues
by WorldPassenger
Presidential Palace in Astana
by WorldPassenger

Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Enjoy the Ishim River flowing through Astana

by WorldPassenger

The Ishim River, a tributary of the Irtysh River, runs through Kazakhstan and Russia. Its length is 1,530 miles (2,450km). The Ishim River is partly navigable in its lower reaches but it is the upper course of the Ishim River that passes through Astana.Since the founding of Astana as the governmental capital of Kazakhstan the Ishim River, within the city, has been actively managed for flood management and maintaining good water levels. This provides for recreational use and ensures the showpiece appearance desired of this river within the capital. Most Kazakh’s will tell you that if the river had not been dammed, "we would have been able to walk across it".The Ishim River is dammed downstream of central Astana, keeping its level higher than it otherwise would be most of the time. At the same time the river bottom was made deeper in order to let flood waters through faster. Its serene...

Check out the interesting bridge statues

by WorldPassenger

The Radisson SAS hotel in Astana is very close to the "Horse" bridge that crosses the Ishim River. There are horse statues at each end of this bridge to honor the nomadic past of the Kazakh's and to honor their ancestral horse culture.Evidence suggests that the ancient inhabitants of what is today Kazakhstan were among the first to domesticate horses as early as 3700-3100 BC.Kazakhs were, and still are, superb horsemen. Few people know that stirrups and chariots originated with the Kazakhs. They also perfected the technique of shooting an arrow with surprising accuracy while atop a galloping horse. These are war technologies that gave the Mongol Hordes such a devastating impact in their many battles.In the past many Kazakh children, it is said, learned to ride before they walked. At the center of most Kazakh festivals is the horse in some form, be it the meat on the table, the drink...

Check out the Soviet-style Triumph of Astana tower

by WorldPassenger

"Triumph of Astana" is an office building and tower that takes a prominent but awkward place in the Astana skyline. It is modeled after the flamboyant style of 1950s Soviet architecture, exemplified by the Vysotniye Zdaniya skyscrapers (the Seven Sisters) in Moscow.It seems to me that Astana is striving to become a very modern and engaging city and looking forward to what prosperity the future will bring. So this monument to their Soviet past just seems out of place. Its architectural style is out of step with the rest of the modern buildings in town.The building is 466 feet (142m) tall and contains 39 floors. Regardless of what I think, it is a prestigious address in which to locate a local business.

Go See The Circus!

by WorldPassenger

In the early years of the new millennium the president of Kazakhstan decided to revive the declining art of the circus as family entertainment in Kazakhstan. To that end a new circus building was erected in the capital city of Astana while the dilapidated circus theater in Almaty was also totally renovated. Circus’s had been a fixture of Soviet life since the 1920s, when Lenin established the renowned Moscow Circus School and city planners built auditoriums to accommodate the traveling troupes that endlessly zigzagged through nine time zones to entertain the Soviet masses. Some cities like Moscow and Saratov established permanent circus’s as they were so popular. Those circus’s can still be visited today. And so Astana took a page from their book and established its own permanent circus.For Astana, their circus building is in the remarkable form of a UFO (Unidentified Flying Object)....

The Pyramid of Peace and Accord

by WorldPassenger

The Pyramid of Peace and Accord (also known as the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation) has been constructed completely above ground with no basements. It was designed and then built in less than two years. The pyramid portion of the building is 203 feet (62m) high and sits on a 49 foot (15m) high earth covered block.Dressed in a lattice of stainless steel with pale grey granite triangular inserts, the building houses a 1,500 seat opera house, a university faculty, an archaeological and ethnological museum, a national spiritual center and a cafe. The pyramid shape of the building is symbolic of the unity of the diversity within Kazakhstan. The pyramid’s apex is adorned in stained glass that features images of doves which is the internationally recognized symbol of peace.At night the pyramid is bathed in lights that change color regularly providing a subtle and tranquil beauty to this...

Kazakhstan's Symbol of a New, Vigorous Capital

by WorldPassenger

Bayterek Tower is a popular tourist attraction for everyone who visits Astana as it symbolizes the new status of this young capital city of Kazakhstan. The top of the artistically appealing structure is a gilt sphere (like an egg) crowning a mythological tree. The total height of the structure is 105 meters (344 feet) and at 97 meters (318 feet) there is an observation deck providing a bird's eye view of the city. The figure of 97 was not chosen at random. It symbolizes the year (1997) of the movement of the capital from Almaty to Astana.The philosophy of "Bayterek" is that it embodies a legend about a magic bird of happiness. The bird, named Samruk, laid its egg in the crevice between two branches of a poplar tree. Bayterek translates into Kazakh as "a tall poplar".The Bayterek Tower complex has an art gallery, a nice aquarium and a restaurant.

Go out and see Astana at night!

by WorldPassenger

The lights of Astana are festive and colorful!I was only in Astana for one day and two nights so I could not take the time to visit the attractions of Astana the way I would have like to see them.But we did than an opportunity to drive around Astana at night and it was very nice. It is hard to take good photos at night, mostly from an automobile with only an occasional real stop, but I found the eye appeal of Astana to be very satisfying.

Many interesting government buildings in Astana

by WorldPassenger

Because the governmental capital of Kazakhstan was moved to Astana just a few years ago, 1997, all of the government buildings are new and in good shape. They were all built to have function and purpose while being pleasing to the eye and providing visual appeal to Astana.Provided here are a few of the governmental building that I saw, on my drive at night through Astana.