This is a travellers account of his visit to Kazakhstan:
Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked country, covering 2,724,900 square kilometres (1,052,100 sq miles) – which makes it larger than Western Europe.
I continued to encounter its “strangeness” as I processed my travel documents. And as I checked in at Entebbe airport, immigration officials wondered which country it was that I was going to.
The weird perception of the country that I had in my mind was to later change upon arrival at Astana airport; and for the next five days, its rich history, flourishing economy and tourism would tell the story that Kazakhstan is a unique and amazing country.
EURASIA
Depending on which side of the country you are, you can claim to be either European or Asian, being that one part of Kazakhstan is in Europe and the other in Asia. Kazakhstan got its name from the dominant ethnic group – the Kazakh, which makes up nearly 63 per cent of the country’s population that also comprises 130 other ethnic groups.
Kazakhstan got its independence in 1993, being the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence from Russia. The Kazakh language is the national language while Russian is the country’s official language although, most recently, English began to be taught in all schools and universities in preparation for Expo 2017, an international exhibition on innovation and technology.
The exhibition will lead into the establishment of an international finance centre in Astana, and English will be adopted as the official language because the centre will be based on British law.
Astana's Clock Tower
Official government records put Kazakhstan’s population at 16.7 million people, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $178 billion (Shs 534 trillion). It has $13.6bn (Shs 40.8tn) in its current surplus account while its foreign reserves stand at $36bn (Shs 108tn).
Kazakhstan’s annual industrial production rate stands at six per cent, with a proven oil reserve of 40bn barrels and a daily production of 1.7m barrels. It also enjoys large deposits of natural gas and is said to have the second largest uranium, chromium, lead, and zinc reserves.
It also has the third largest manganese reserves, the fifth largest copper reserves, and ranks in the top 10 for coal, iron, and gold. It is also an exporter of diamonds.
ASTANA
Unique architectural designs light up the skyline of Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana. Located in the northern part of the country, Astana was named capital city in 1997 when President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a declaration that saw it lose its former name, Akmoly.
Prior to the declaration, Almaty, the biggest city located in the south, was Kazakhstan’s capital.
The government contracted Japanese architect, Kisho Kurokawa, to design the city’s master plan. From his plan came one of the world’s best-planned cities and, to its skyline, a sight of amazing structures designed in different shapes that resonate with the purpose for which a given building was constructed.
TREE OF LIFE
Astana is defined by the Bayterek (tree of life) tower which has turned into a major tourist attraction. The tower was constructed as a monument to symbolise a mythical tree of life and a magic bird of happiness.
According to Saule Suyunzukova, our tour guide, the idea was mooted by the president at the declaration of Astana as the country’s capital in 1997, the same year construction started.
The 105-metre tall structure was unveiled in 2003, and consists of a narrow cylindrical shaft, surrounded by white branch-like girders that flare out near the top, supporting a gold-mirrored, 22-metre-diameter sphere.
At its base is a ticket booth and exhibition space, with two lifts rising within the shaft to the observation deck within the ‘egg’ at 97 meters.
“The height of the 97 metres is symbolic because of the year 1997 in which Astana was declared as the capital city of Kazakhstan,” says Suyunzukova.
“It is considered to be the main sightseeing tower of our capital and the country in general. People come here, see all the city; the old Astana and the new Astana,” she adds.
Astana Unique Architectual Design
GREETING THE PRESIDENT
Inside the ‘egg’ is a composition of the ‘Holy blessing’, the golden globe with signatures of 17 world religious leaders who first took part in the congress of leaders of world and traditional religions.
There is also the composition of the ‘careful hands’ of the Nazarbayev. It is an imprint of the right hand of Nazarbayev; and people who visit the tower everyday put their right hands into it and look directly into the Ak orda – the official residence of the president.
“That way, you symbolically greet the president, make a wish,” Suyunzukova said.
The composition of Nazarbayev’s caring hands is made of a golden belt,one of the Kazakhstan’s archeological discoveries, 2kg of gold and 6kg of silver. The number of foreigners and local Kazakhs that come to the Bayterek every day make Nazarbayev the most “greeted” president in the world.
Although he is the only president that Kazakhstan has had since independence, Nazarbayev is idolised, thanks to his policies that have turned around the Kazakhstani economy within 15 years. In that time, the country’s unemployment burden has reduced by half.
Nazarbayev’s first official residence in Astana has since been turned into the presidential museum with various collections about the president’s life right from his infancy. The collections include his school report cards, family collections plus his achievements and awards as president.
STRANGE FOOD
Imagine being served a platter with a whole sheep’s head! Well, that is a dish for a special guest, according to Meiram Islam, an official of the ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“In the Kazakh culture, special guests are served with a cooked head of a sheep. It is considered a special meal,” Meiram said.
Traditional Kazakh cuisine is mainly composed of four types of meat; horse meat, camel meat, beef and mutton.
“Traditionally, we are nomads; herders of animals especially horses, cattle and sheep. That explains why our main courses of food are mainly meat,” Meiram said.
Meiram nearly made me cause a stampede during one of the lunch breaks at the leaders’ congress when he welcomed me to taste some of the local delicacies.
My surprise at the fact that horses are eaten got him to explain that in Kazakhstan, horses serve a dual purpose; transportation and food, just like they keep sheep for wool and food.
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