Yes Kazakhstan is worth visiting, I am going to tell you a story about my dream to go to Central Asia and visit the wonderful Kazakhstan.
I will begin first with a very short introduction of the country. The Republic of Kazakhstan is located in the central part of the Asian continent. Since 1991, it is independent from the former Soviet Union. Its population is about 16.5 million people.
Its area is about 2.7 million square kilometers. The capital of Kazakhstan is Astana. And that is the city where my journey led me to.
I landed at the Istanbul international airport and waited for my next flight. I was looking at my boarding pass and there was a printed text on it, which was saying: “destination: Astana”. Yes, this was not a dream.
Finally, I was going to visit that exciting place. I felt deep in my heart that this would be one of the greatest travels in my life. And I was not wrong. The flight with the Turkish Airlines was almost at the end and we landed at the Astana’s airport.
When I was walking through the terminal, I thought: “That’s it. I am already in Kazakhstan.” My heart was beating fast. I wanted to visit so many places. I wanted to see everything.
I walked out of the airport and there were so many taxi cars outside but there were no buildings or any signs of a city nearby. Actually, the city was tens of kilometers away and one big highway was leading to it. That was one of the straightest roads I have ever seen. The only turn we made was around an interesting monument with a star on it.
Suddenly, we entered a neighborhood with many blocks but a part of them were still under construction.
And this was a common view, the construction sites were all over that place. This was like an entirely new city. A whole new life was like about to begin. New and shiny, this city was definitely unique.
There was a river, which passed through the capital of Kazakhstan. On the one shore of it, I was impressed to see the glamour itself. There were a few buildings, that captured my attention and I was amazed – the towers of a business center, the buildings of the parliament, the ministries and the government.
Near them was the breathtaking palace of the president. I wanted to remember that view forever. Behind the residence, maybe about a kilometer away, I was able to see an amazing building which was constructed with a pyramid shape. That was some kind of a cultural building, where conferences were conducted. There was also a museum in it.
Astana appeared to be a modern city. I saw a church, a mosque and a synagogue in it. This was a symbol of the acceptance of religions and a true proof that people can respect each other.
But I saw something even more interesting that no traveler to Kazakhstan should ever miss. That was the “tree of life”. Its name was Bayterek. That was a monument tower with a shape of a tree and a golden egg on the top.
The legend from the mythology says that there was a river in the center of the continent. On the river’s shore, there was a tree of life growing, which was called Bayterek. The roots of the tree held the entire ground and its crown held the sky. Once a year a bird called Samruk was laying a golden egg. Then a dragon from the tree’s roots was always coming out and eating it.
This was a symbol of the rotation between day and night or summer and winter, or good and evil. The legend was so magical, like the whole magical country itself! This building was extraordinary. I was able to go to the top of it by a high speed elevator.
There was a print of a palm there. The people said that when you put your hand on it and make a wish, it comes true. I did that, of course. And now time will show if that is true or just a myth. I truly hope that the first one will be the case here.
Not far away from Bayterek, there was a place called Duman. This was an okeanarium, finished in 2003. It presented about two thousand see inhabitants.
So marvelous place! Like a whole see world appeared in front of my eyes! I listened to the stories of the guides and tried to remember every single word.
During my travel to Kazakhstan, I was able to do many other outdoor activities. One of the days our whole group of tourists (me included) made a trip to the “Bear” waterfalls at Turgen. The route included the place where the city was founded; Tien Shan mountains; trip to the falls and back to the city.
We saw the Meteo dam wall. We also took the lift and I was able to watch that whole great picture from above, like I watched an artist’s masterpiece! The nature was a true miracle! The next day we had even more walks among the beautiful nature. We went to The Big Almaty Lake. We walked on the shore and stared at the waters.
I had never seen such a beauty before in my entire life! I saw the Ile-Alatau National Park. I was also able to see the city water supply installations, built after the Second World War.
One of the destinations I wanted to visit while being in Kazakhstan was the Charin Canyon. It was near the Chinese border and that was one of those places, which each tourist should have in his program.
I am sorry my fellows, but I am wordless here! I took out my camera and captured that moment, because I needed to take a piece of it with me back home. Another beautiful picture that will forever stay in my mind is the lake Issyk in the Tien Shan Mountains. The green-blue waters were just breathtaking as the entire nature of this marvelous country!
Kazakhstan was an amazing place for me! The streets were clean. The parks were so beautiful. I felt as if I was in the wonderland or as I was dreaming. I didn’t want to wake up. My vacation was about to over. Feelings of sadness were tickling my stomach. I took my suitcases and headed to the airport.
The same straight highway and the monument I passed reminded me about the first day of my trip. I felt as if it was yesterday. Time passed so quickly.
This was the first time I was in Kazakhstan, but I was sad I had to leave. There was something special and magical about that place in the center of Asia.
I landed at the Istanbul international airport and waited for the next flight to Spain. My home was waiting for me. But I was already a new person.
I had already collected so precious memories that made me different and changed the man I was this was the first time I was in Astana, but now I knew it was not going to be the last one. I was going to go back there very soon and touch all that energy and feeling again! That was the wish I made at the top of the “tree of life”.
And while I was standing at the terminal, I was only hoping that there was a little bit of truth in the legend.