Holiday in Central Asia (3): welcome to Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is about the size of Western Europe and, as a single entity with defined borders, it was an invention of the Soviet regime in the 1920s. During the Cold War, the USSR decided that the republic was so empty and remote that they used it as the chief nuclear bomb testing ground. When the USSR collapsed, it was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence.
Although Kazaks – who ethnically split from Uzbeks in the 15th century – form two-thirds of the population, it is a multi-ethnic country with a substantial Russian minority. The dominant language is still Russian, but the Kazak language is in the process of moving from the Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet.
Our first day in the country – Day 2 of the tour – was just a resting day to catch up on our jet lag. For those who wanted it, there was a free extra option of a demonstration of falconry which I attended. Then, in the evening, we had our first group meal – there are eight of us – round the corner from the hotel at a restaurant called “Navat” which served us a selection of local foods, all of which were tasty.
We will be back in Almaty in a couple of days for a proper look at the city.