10 days, four seasons
Travelling to Kazakhstan I really didn’t know what to expect. It’s the 9th biggest country in the world with a fascinating history, beautiful landscapes, diverse group of people and an ultra-modern capital juxtaposed with a rather underdeveloped country side. It is obvious that the autocratic president, about whose achievements you can learn in every museum’s top floor, is trying to connect with and open up to the West. The prime example is Astana, the capital since 1997, which was designed from scratch and seemingly intended to impress visitors.
We arrived late at night to Astana and were eager to start exploring the city early next morning. The weather was amazing with clear blue sky, snow and -18 degrees. I was awed
by the beauty of the frost covering the small trees and reflecting the sunshine in these early hours. Walking the wide streets of modern glass buildings and seeing hardly any people, we felt slightly strange. It just got more bizarre when we entered the museums fully staffed, but almost no visitors. We even got in a bit of a trouble by walking around and taking photos, as tourists do, on the empty square in front of the Presidential Palace. We noticed a police car circling around and finally a guard stopping us asking for passports. After answering all the questions we were let go and headed to the older part of the city. This experience put me at unease, but in general I felt very safe throughout our trip. After crossing the frozen Ishim river, we went to see the astonishing Hazrat Sultan Mosque and the surrounding area.
 Astana |  Presidential Palace |  Hazret Sultan Mosque |
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 Buildings in Astana |  Nur-Astana Mosque |  Astana Expo 2017 Exhibition Center |
 Alzhir Memorial |
Taking the night train to Turkestan was long, but relaxing. We saw camel herders and people engaged in the national sport, which is a version of polo played with a headless goat.
Turkestan is nothing like Astana. It’s a small town with dusty roads, old buildings and temperatures already around 20°C in March. The main sight is the old mosque and the Mausoleum of Khawaja Ahmed Yasawi, which is a pilgrimage site for Kazakh Muslims. Another thing to look out for are European tourists. It was fun to see schoolkids getting excited about taking photos with us.
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Our next stop was Almaty, the old capital which is a livelier city with an Eastern European vibe and architecture. We explored the city on the first day and indulged in some culinary
experiences trying the fermented camel (shubat) and horse (kumis) milk. These are slightly alcoholic drinks, but no need to worry. As we learned from one of the museum guides, there is a special allowance and it’s still considered halal. Eating out in Almaty was easier for me because there are a range of great restaurants, but in most part of the country chicken is considered the vegetarian option.
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We took two trips from Almaty: one day we climbed up to the Big Almaty lake, which was still frozen and covered with snow and the next we went to the Charyn Canyon (the little brother
of the Grand Canyon). On our last day we walked around in the rain and got soaking wet. We really did go trough all the seasons during our ten days in Kazakhstan.
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The final two days in Astana we visited some more museums. The national museum was well-worth it. It has a great collection and you can learn a lot about the history of the country from
the Stone Age through the time of wandering tribes, Russian colonisation, World Wars and the Soviet era to the modern days of Kazakhstan. However, I had most fun in the Expo centre built for the 2017 World Fair, which showcases sustainable solutions from all over the world. Each of the eight floors is dedicated to a different renewable energy source. It is a fun, informative and very interactive exhibition.
Visiting Kazakhstan was a great experience and it made me want to travel in other Central-Asian countries. It is culturally rich with friendly people and a lot to offer.
This video was taken during the Nauryz, the new year festival in Almaty and some of the surrounding sights with authentic Kazakh music.
Some fun moments from the trip including me being completely stuck in the deep snow, a little girl poking her family's camels, a newly wed couple in Turkestan and the girls who asked me for a photo with them.
