Astana, kazakhstan

• Kazakhstan The country's new capital has risen fast from the northern steppe and is already a showpiece for 21st-century Kazakhstan. Nur-Sultan was Astana until 2019, when it was renamed after the former president. Branding aside, the Kazakh capital is scheduled to go on rising and spreading into a city of over one million people by 2030. Its skyline grows more fantastical by the year as landmark buildings, many of them by leading international architects, sprout along the wide boulevards in a variety of Asian, Western, Soviet and wacky futuristic styles. Several spectacular structures are open to visitors and it's hard not be impressed by the very concept of this 'Singapore of the steppe'.

ALMATY, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's parliament renamed the Central Asian nation's capital from Nur-Sultan to Astana on Friday, the latest move by government officials and politicians to distance themselves from the former Soviet republic's first president. The windswept steppe city infamous for its harsh continental climate became the capital in 1997. It was renamed Astana the following year. Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan's president at the time, said he wanted the capital to be located closer to the geographical centre of the vast nation. The previous capital, Almaty, lies close to its southeastern border. Billions of petrodollars have since turned the current capital, which was also known as Tselinograd in the Soviet era, into a glitzy metropolis. In 2019, when Nazarbayev resigned after three decades in power, his successor Kassym-Jomart Tokayev renamed Astana to Nur-Sultan in honour of the ex-leader, who retained sweeping powers after his resignation. Tokayev, however, appeared to have a falling out with Nazarbayev after violent street protests over fuel prices in January. Nazarbayev gave up his remaining positions and many of his relatives lost their public sector jobs. On Friday, Kazakhstan's parliament voted to revert to the name Astana by changing the country's constitution. It also extended the presidential term to seven years from five and barred incumbents from running for a second term. The change will not stop Tokayev, elected under an earlier version o...

57 shares • Pinterest • Twitter • Facebook • Email Discover the best things to do in Astana with this handy guide. Kazakhstan’s newly-named capital city, Astana, is like a shimmering light in the middle of the Kazakh steppe. I visited Astana during the heat of August and I found its cool temperatures and even cooler modern vibes a relief from the otherwise sweltering summer in the southern parts of the country. While many tourists seem to pass this vibrant city by in favor of the The Kazakh capital is certainly worth a visit for its cosmopolitan feel, its otherworldly architecture, and its vast collection of museums and monuments. If you’re interested in architecture, history, or strange, photogenic landmarks, don’t miss Astana on your Top Things to Do in Astana, Kazakhstan Visit the Astana Waterfront at Night I had the huge pleasure of being introduced to a local by a friend of a friend. That local, Kamila, met me for dinner on my first night in Astana and blocked off the whole night to show me around. Unfortunately, some money exchange issues and a very unfamiliar taxi system had me totally frazzled and an hour late to meet her, but finally we sat down over pasta and chatted. Turns out Kamila was a total gem of a human and her love for her new city really shows! After dinner, Kamila took me for a walk around the waterfront. At sunset, all the buildings light up and shimmer across the blackness of the water – a beautiful sight, especially after a long day of traveling. Th...

The Astana Opera is set to stage a premiere of “Kalkaman-Mamyr” opera-ballet on Dec. 28-29. Photo credit: Astana Opera press service. Amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, the Kazakh capital hosted the seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions on Sept. 14-15 with the participation of more than 100 delegations from 50 countries, including Head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis, Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb, and Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem to promote interreligious dialogue and reinforce the commitment to the ideas of tolerance, openness, and trust. As part of his visit, Pope Francis conducted a holy mass in Astana, which gathered nearly 10,000 people. Pope Francis arriving for the Holy Mass in Astana. Photo credit: vaticannews.va All participants attended the Unity and Diversity concert, where Dimash Kudaibergen, the world-famous Kazakh singer, performed his new song , the work on which he began three years ago. His recent first long-awaited solo concert in Almaty was sold out in 15 minutes and gathered fans from 68 countries . On the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s membership in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity included two more Kazakh cultural traditions – the Kazakh ancient performing art Orteke, which combines applied arts, music, dancing, and puppeteering, and Kozhanassyr’s oral folklore , which en...

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The new city mosque in Astana, Kazakhstan, which has reverted to its original name after being renamed Nur-Sultan in 2019. Photograph: Igor Kovalenko/EPA The new city mosque in Astana, Kazakhstan, which has reverted to its original name after being renamed Nur-Sultan in 2019. Photograph: Igor Kovalenko/EPA Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has agreed to restore the former name of the country’s capital just three years after he renamed it in honour of his predecessor, his spokesperson said. Tokayev’s spokesman, Ruslan Zheliban, said the president agreed to the name change after an initiative by a group of MPs. Read more Nazarbayev, who led the country for three decades under the Soviet Union and after it gained independence in 1991, relocated the capital from Almaty to Astana in 1997. The move was widely questioned because of the city’s relative isolation in the northern steppes and notoriously frigid winters in which temperatures plunge as low as -51C (-60F). He made the city into a showplace of gaudy architecture, including an observation tower where visitors can place their hands in a print of Nazarbayev’s. After he stepped down, Nazarbayev retained enormous influence as head of the county’s ruling party and security council. But Tokayev removed him from those posts after In June, Kazakhs overwhelmingly voted for constitutional changes in a referendum after unrest ended Nazarbayev’s three-decade grip on central Asia’s richest country. The January bloodshed, which gr...

• • • • • Kazakhstan is a country that stretches from Central Asia to Eastern Europe and occupies an area of 2,724,900 sq. km. As seen on the physical map of Kazakhstan above, the country extends from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Altay Mountains in the east. A vast stretch of land accounting for nearly one-third of the country's area is the Kazakh Steppe. It is the largest dry steppe area in the world covering 804,500 sq. km. Kazakhstan is mountainous along its far eastern and southeastern borders, where much of the forested Altai and the Tian Shan ranges remain snowcapped throughout the year and with many elevated peaks exceeding 6,500 meters. Kazakhstan's highest peak is Khan Tengri (marked on the map by a yellow upright triangle), whose summit reaches 22,949 ft. (6,995 m). Along the edges of the landlocked Caspian Sea, the land dips way below sea level in some areas. In the west along its border with the Russian Federation, rolling prairies and forests dominate the landscape. The most important rivers include the Ishim, Irtush, Syr Dayra, Tobol, and Ural. The Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea, and lakes Alakal, Balkhash, Tengiz, and Zaysan are the largest bodies of water. The lowest point of Kazakhstan (marked by a yellow inverted triangle on the map) is the deepest point of the Karagiye depression at 132 m (433 ft) below sea level. Regions of Kazakhstan Map Kazakhstan (officially, Republic of Kazakhstan) is divided into 14 administrative regions (Kazakh: oblystar/obly...