Beautiful Almaty (Алматы) in the Autumn

Hello. Welcome to my blog and this post of Almaty in Kazakhstan. I was here in October. The climate was fabulous. And the city, so green, was awash in autumn colours. I hope you enjoy the photos. I had a fabulous day exploring Almaty.

Almaty is the largest city in Kazakhstan

The city is located in the mountainous area of southern Kazakhstan. This shot was taken close to where you used to be able to take a cable car up to the tower but it was closed when I was there. This is the Republic Palace. It is a concert hall

Just glorious!

Such a splash!

Music is very important. There are several statues in the city depicting the Kazakh love for music

Entering beautiful Panfilov park

Zenkov Cathedral is located in Panfilov Park and is probably the only wooden Cathedrals in the world.  The cathedral is built without using any nails, which again, makes it pretty unique

A great place for families to spend some of their Sunday

I do love the climate in Singapore, but it was awesome to be in Almaty and enjoy the lovely colours

Ivan Panfilov was the name of the General commanding the 316 division who, in spite of suffering heavy casualties,  managed to significantly delay the Nazi advance on Moscow

The Cathedral was used as a museum after the ‘Revolution’, but was again restored to its original use as a Russian Orthodox Cathedral in 1990

Up close

I'm not sure if this is General Panfilov

The Green Bazaar, or Zelionyj Bazar.  This market is central to the every day life of the local people

It is called the Green Bazaar, or market, because in the past it was the traditional place to buy and sell fresh local food

Almaty is the largest, most developed, and most ethnically and culturally diverse city in Kazakhstan

Always great to see trams!

Example of Almaty architecture

Love the truck! The building is the Kazakh-British Technical University

A plant replica of the Bayterek monument in Astana. The shape of Bayterek represents a poplar tree holding a golden egg

Here is the egg again

Action! Filming a movie

Policemen directing the traffic to allow the filming to happen without accidents!

 Almaty was the capital city from 1929 until 1997 when capital city status was transferred to Astana

Abay Opera House was built in 1934. Over forty western and Kazakh pieces are performed, including operas, ballets and classical music performances

Love the colour of this building

Walking up to the Presidential Palace

The Republic Square

The Presidential Palace

Gardens to the side of the Palace

The Republic Square has at its centre the Independence Monument. The monument is dedicated to the Republic of Kazakhstan’s rich history

This is close the Palace. It is one of the city's museums

The main entrance of the Central State museum of Kazakhstan

To the East of the city there is a range of mountains called the Zailiysky Alatau 

Apartment blocks

Modern buildings in the East of the city

On my way back to find a good restaurant for dinner. Passing the Republic Square

An Autumn Walk in Astana, Kazakhstan

It's been a while since I posted. Busy life.... Last week I was In Kazakhstan for work. It was my first visit to Central Asia. It was a fascinating experience. The Kazakh people were a major contributor to that. I had three quarters of a day to explore what I could of Astana and then a full day to explore Almaty. I hope you enjoy the walk. The weather started off freezing and gloomy but then the sun broke through and gave me a glorious day.

Astana is the new capital of Kazakhstan. It was transferred from Almaty to Astana in December 1997. The word Astana means 'Capital' This building is the 'Triumph of Astana'. Like Triumph-Palace in Moscow, this building is modeled after the flamboyant style of 1950s Soviet architecture, exemplified by the Vysotniye Zdaniya skyscrapers (the Seven Sisters)

The State Theatre of Opera and Ballet «Astana Opera» was founded in 2013 on the initiative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. At the opening of the theatre the President said: "A country that is building factories and roads, creates a solid footing for years to come. A country, which builds schools and hospitals, takes care of the future of the nation for decades. The country that is building theatres looks forward through the centuries"

Khan Shatyr ("Royal Marquee") is a giant transparent tent. The 150m-high (500 ft) tent has a 200m elliptical base covering 140,000 square metres (14 ha; 35 acres).^[2] Underneath the tent, an area larger than 10 football stadiums, is an urban-scale internal park, shopping and entertainment venue with squares and cobbled streets, a boating river, shopping centre, minigolf and indoor beach resort. I didn't get the time to go inside!

This is the HQ for Kazakhstan's state-owned oil and gas company KazMunayGas

The Nur-Astana Mosque (Kazakh: Нұр-Астана мешіті, Nur-Astana meşiti). It is the second largest mosque in Kazakhstan and in Central Asia

It was a gift in accordance with the agreement of the Kazakhstan President, Nursultan Nazarbayev and the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa. It has a capacity of 5,000 worshippers inside the mosque, including 2,000 for worshippers outside the mosque. 

Northern Lights is a mixed office and residential building. Its construction was completed in early 2010. It is located on the fast-developing Left Bank area of lying approximately halfway between the now iconic Bayterek Tower and the giant KazMunayGaz headquarters. The complex consists of three towers of 32, 34 and 42 floors, all of which are recognisable from some considerable distance by their distinctive wavy, curvaceous outlines and garnish of blue-green reflective glass. I only managed to shoot two of the towers!

Here is the most famous landmark in Astana. Bayterek (Kazakh: Бәйтерек, Bäyterek, "tall poplar [tree]"), is a monument and observation tower. A tourist attraction popular with foreign visitors and native Kazakhs alike, it is emblematic of the city, which became capital of the country in 1997.

The shape of Bayterek represents a poplar tree holding a golden egg. These come from a folktale of the tree of life, a central symbol in Turkic mythology, and Samruk the magical bird of happiness, said to have laid its egg between the branches of a poplar tree.

The 105m tall structure rises from a wide flat base within a raised plaza. It consists of a narrow cylindrical shaft, surrounded by white branch-like girders that flare out near the top, supporting a gold-mirrored 22m-diameter sphere. The base contains a ticket booth and exhibition space, with two lifts rising within the shaft to the observation deck within the 'egg'

View to the Akorda (Kazakh: Ақорда, Aqorda, "the white horde") Presidential Palace is the official workplace of the President of Kazakhstan

There was hardly anyone around so getting an unblocked view was not difficult!

Situated on the left bank of the Ishim (Esil) River, it is the president’s place of work and houses the staff of the Presidential Administration; it is not the president’s place of residence.^[3] The palace includes a blue and gold dome topped with a spire. This golden statue atop the dome includes a sun with 32 rays at its apex, and also includes a steppe eagle flying beneath the sun.

The golden towers. They are government buildings but not sure what purpose they serve practically. Aesthetically that add to the incredible attention to symmetry that is present all along the the direct walk from the Khan Shatyr to the Pyramid behind the Akorda

At this point I think I got just a little too close. A Guard was sent to check me out. Luckily all my papers were in order and I had them with me. He was very polite and we managed well with my non existent Kazakh and his slighlty better English

One of two weddings I encountered on my walk

At the beginning of the day I had to take refuge in a shopping centre to buy a hat. It was sooooo cold. But at this point it was positively warm and I had far too many clothes. I didn't know where to put them all!

Photogenic!

The Government built one huge long building and put all the ministries in it! Practical and sensible. I wish Singapore had done the same!

Walking back, the Bayterek is too lovely to ignore

Beijing Palace Soluxe Hotel Astana.I didn't stay there, but the Hilton, where I did stay was very comfortable and the staff just great.

The trees were a beautiful autumn colour.A real treat for me as I live in Singapore and rarely see the beauty of the autumn....

....and just to prove the point

Reindeer are found in the highlands of Kazakhstan, far away from Astana which is firmly planted on the Kazakh steppes

This building is known locally as the "cigarette lighter" building

Coming to the end, which was also the beginning of my walk now

Building and completion work is going on in many places around the city

One last look!

My first photo was in the gloomy cold weather. This puts another light on it!!!

As does this....

....where I met my second wedding and managed to get a better shot. I hope their wedding will be as good as my visit to Astana. An intriguing, unusual city of the future. I wish the happy couple, and the Capital City of Astana every success.

Next....the old capital of Kazakhstan - Almaty