Part IV

I write this next blog post with a heavy heart after learning the news of a fatal plane crash at the Almaty, Kazakhstan Airport. The cause of the crash, which killed all 21 aboard is still under investigation, but it is suspected that extreme weather played a role.

After the train ride from hell, a phantom hotel reservation and Dr. Kazakh’s (not his real name but for the sake of writing it sounds good) employment of ancient instruments, it finally seemed as if I was bound to have some good days ahead of me.

The Hawk and I!

And, sure enough the next few days in Kazakhstan were pretty drama free. Ilaria and I had fun visiting the local Tien-Shien Mountains which border China and eventually run right into the mother of all mountain ranges, The Himalayas. I also had a photo op with the national bird of Kazakhstan, the hawk (see picture on right). And, since it was Easter I attended Sunday services at my friend’s church (I’m not very religious, but Ilaria insisted on me coming to her church for Easter). The services were rather preachy with lots of singing. However, in the end it was all worth it since the church had a big ass Easter brunch complete with delicious Tatar/Central Asian Plov, one of my favorite dishes and lots of Russian/Kazakh desserts!

The middle of nowhere in KZ

The next morning I was off to the nation’s capital, Astana, a city that only a decade and a half ago was no more than a small town in the middle of nowhere! Now it’s the capital of Kazakhstan but still in the middle of nowhere! In the mid-90s shortly after the nation of Kazakhstan gained independence from the Soviet Union, the nation’s president, Nazerbayev, ordered the capital to be moved from the nation’s largest city, Almaty to Astana, then known as Akmola.

The goal of the move was to construct a brand new capital from scratch that would serve as a showcase for a modern Kazakhstan. And, what a showcase it is! After years of construction, failed projects and broken promises, Astana finally has come into its own as a modern world-class city. These days the city is dotted with towering futuristic looking skyscrapers, luxury apartments and a tent containing an entire mini city the size of ten football fields.

Probably the highlight of my visit to Astana was visiting the observation tower, Bayterek.  Bayterek Tower is to Astana as the Kremlin is to Moscow, the symbol of a city, if not an entire nation (the tower is on the back of the nation’s currency). The tower's shape is modeled after a poplar tree holding a golden egg, both of which are central symbols in Turkic mythology. 

Once at the top, the view was absolutely stunning! Just up a small flight of stairs "at the top of the egg" was a bust of Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev’s hand (see left). My hand unfortunately did not quite match, likely disqualifying me from ever being President of Kazakhstan.......oh well! 

One of the many colors of Bayterek Tower.

As the evening drew to a close in the nation’s capital, an array of different colored spotlights began to project onto the tower (see picture right) making for a magical scene. After completing a full day out in Astana and feeling the full wrath of the capital’s famous freezing white wind, I was ready to head back to my hotel and pack my bags for the flight back down to Alamaty.

The next day I returned to the ex-capital where I would spend one more night before departing to the Ukraine’s Crimea. My last night in Kazakhstan was great. I met with my friend for dinner, had a nice stroll through the downtown part and to top it all off the weather that evening was absolutely outstanding, clear skies and balmy temperatures! A perfect ending to a trip that started off on the rough side. Life was good!! However, as I walked back to my hotel room I looked up at the night sky and could see storm clouds approaching, a perfect metaphor for the coming day's events!! Stay tuned for the dramatic conclusion of my trip to Kazakhstan!