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This is a town 12 km to the south from Chimkent, some nice buildings remain there, though without particular highlights. The town itself, however, is older than Moscow , so it is of venerable age!Not Rome or Athens, but :)))
Otrar is not far from the town of Turkestan - go to the south as you leave the town. You can hire a car and make a trip to Otrar. Surprisingly, this place is not as well known as it should be... Remains of old houses, staircases of a palace, many bowls can be seen. You will also be able to visit the mosque and see how the water is extracted from deep underground.
When you travel by car or train from one city to another you can see endless deserts , hills & even wild animals, even the places where nobody steped before (because the population of Kazakhstan is too small for this huge territory)
Outside the city, the mountains and hills turn into rolling and almost treeless steppe Within 50 miles of Almaty's green foothills, you can be, incredibly enough,in a desert. Before that, there is endless rolling steppe, on which the Kazakh horsemen breed, raise and utilize their mounts as they have done for thousands of yearsIf you want to learn to ski, it can be done cheaply at Shymbulaq, but make sure you have good medical cover. Local facilities are basic, on the whole. With insurance you can get flown to Helsinki and your broken legs properly treated (I heard of an American who sustained a double fracture doing just that sport-- had to be flown by air ambulance to Finland, where specialists rebroke and reset the botched job done in Almaty ). I might add that the nursery slope is STEEP.Paragliding can be had (beginners upwards) via Sergey Uniazov, an excellent chap (ex-Soviet...
Wandering around in Zhambyl (now Taraz), my friend and I happened across a little plot of what seemed to be statues or headstones. This was just behind the local museum--pretty much every town larger than a village in the former Soviet Union has a local museum. To this day, I have no idea what these statues are or why they were placed there. They didn't look like gravestones to me, but there was no explanation of what else they might be. I'll leave it to some other intrepid VT'er to figure this out!
While I lived in Kazakhstan I took two day trips through the nearby mountains in aging Aeroflot helicopters. At the time, a five-hour trip (including lunch!) cost an incredibly cheap US$75. The rides were amazing--the helicopters, which seated about 15 people plus the two-man crew, had portholes that you could open and stick your head out. We flew over immense, spiky mountains covered with glaciers, and then over huge expanses of dry, open land that seemed totally uninhabited until you suddenly spotted a lone yurt (felt tent) and a couple of sheep tied out in the middle of nowhere. One the first trip, we landed for lunch next to a glacier-fed river, then flew on to look at a big canyon. The second trip was to Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan (see my Kyrgystan page). After I moved away from Kazakhstan, I heard that one of those same helicopter trips had crashed in a sudden fog. Yikes. Well,...
A young man and his pony. Surprised to know that they all speak Chinese..!!!!? From the top of the avalanche barrier there is a good view of the Zailiysky Alatau range further south. A few kilometers up this valley is Shymbulaq, the best skiing center on Central Asia. For all its difficulties, Almaty is a prosperous city with many shops, a big Zangar department store and this well stocked central market. Kazakstan's oil and gas explain its 3 010 US$ per inhabitant gross national product, the second of Central Asia after Turkmenistan (who has more of it). Several big internationals are investing here. This is a city of big power, big money and very big, very new personal fortunes.
For all its difficulties, Almaty is a prosperous city with many shops, a big Zangar department store and this well stocked central market. Kazakstan's oil and gas explain its 3 010 US$ per inhabitant gross national product, the second of Central Asia after Turkmenistan (who has more of it). Several big internationals are investing here. This is a city of big power, big money and very big, very new personal fortunes.
And if you're popping by Atyrau...
When there, a group of us & pilot rented a bi-plane and spent two hours flying round the peaks of the tien-shien in a bi-plane. Definitely recommended!
Intercontinental Almaty Almaty
68 Opinions
Radisson Sas Hotel, Astana Astana
31 Opinions
Renaissance Atyrau Hotel Atyrau
4 Reviews and 21 Opinions Best and most expensive business Hotel to stay in Atyrau. However this is not saying much. This...
Reviews and photos of Kazakhstan attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Kazakhstan sightseeing.
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Q: Hi Everybody, I will be in Kazakhstan in September 2012. I will arrive in Almaty but need to get to Astana. I would prefer not to...
A: As you might expect, Kazakhstan is not an "on-line" friendly place. It is difficult to book anything online. Sites like...
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