Kazakhstan

Visited: November 2023, September 2024

Duration of visit: 10 days

Capital city: Astana

Population: 19 million (2024)

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

• Almaty – the former capital, known as the birthplace of apples, Zenkov Cathedral and vivid coffee scenery.
• First cold and rainy days during in Astana.
• It is hard to be a vegetarian in Kazakhstan, where almost all traditional dishes are based on meat.
• Even fast growth and internationalization of the country hasn’t improved the knowledge of English among citizens.
• Connection with the nature, multiethnicity, multicultural and openness to various religions.
• Nomad Games – attending a range of nomad sports events while interacting with Kazakh minority groups.
• Big Almaty Lake – hiking along the water pipeline to the picturesque lake.
• Wide use of electronic payments, especially Kaspi app.

The Land of Wanderers (Kazakhstan in English) speaks about the nation’s ancient history as nomads and the deep-rooted spirit of freedom in Kazakh culture. People of Kazakhstan were the first to ride horses, lived as nomads, moving from one region to another.

Kazakhstan is the most developed country of all Stans due to rich hydrocarbon and mineral resources.

The world’s largest source of uranium, increasing oil production and booming prices have brought great prosperity to the whole country, particularly fostering rapid development in the new capital, Astana.

The light blue color in Kazakhstan flag represent peace, tranquility, and well-being, which together with a wonderful and very memorable emblem add to an impression that Kazakhstan is not only one of the Stans or countries of ex-Soviet Union, but a unique mixture of people, ethnic groups and religions, that will continue to attract more visitors in the future.

I visited Kazakhstan twice:

• In 2023 Kazakhstan was the last country after exploring Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
• In 2024, when my primary objective was to attend the World Nomad Games in Astana.

The main difference between previous countries on this trip and Kazakhstan (in 2023), is that foreign visitors don’t call attention in Almaty or Astana. People are not particularly friendly or willing to help, mainly due to language skill limitations. I was disappointed to find out how many youngsters are afraid to answer in English, except on basic questions. Again, without knowledge of Russian the communication would have been impossible.

Astana was chosen to be the new capital city in 1997 and, since then, it has grown to be one of the most modern cities in Central Asia. A planned city has been built from scratches in only a few decades, featuring renowned architects who have crafted world-class architectural landmarks.

Connection with nature, multiethnicity, multicultural and openness to various religions gave me the impression of Kazakhstan being a model country of multi-faith coexistence, where traditions of the country are above religion.

Therefore, people can pursue a normal life with modern approach, where men and women have similar rights and obligations. With natural resources and smart policy, Kazakhstan could continue developing, enabling their citizens higher quality of life also in the future.