Final Day in Kazakhstan


Our final full day in Almaty as we fly back to Dubai tomorrow morning. Julie turns around and flies to Istanbul on another business trip on Monday. However, I am staying back this time. Today, we had a tour guide for 3 hours, recapping many of the sites I had seen earlier but also getting a full explanation of the history and meanings. The photo above shows us at the base of the Independence Memorial, commemorating independence from the USSR in 1991.  The monument, mentioned in my earlier post, has a bronze book at its base with the handprint of the first independent president. It is tradition to place your hand inside the handprint and make a wish. 

Above we are standing in front of the Cathedral of the Holy Ascension. Below is a view from inside

War memorial photo

Eternal flame at the war memorial

Stone sculpture of a kobyz (native musical instrument) in front of the musical instrument museum

  

Wall mural

Inside St. Nicholas Cathedral

One of the biggest surprises was the Almaty Metro. Completed in 2011, it boasts escalators that are a continuous 190+ feet in length, descending at a 45 degree angle. The train platform sits 240 feet below street level.  It felt like Space Mountain going down there!  Below is the view looking up from the bottom. 

Our afternoon was spent atop Kok-Tobe, a tall hill south of the city.  There is a gondola, similar to ski areas, that brings you to the top.  There, you find several restaurants, a variety of decent souvenir shops, and some cool attractions. 



The city skyline from the hill is not so impressive.  However, it has a preponderance of tree-lined streets and parks that seems to make this a very nice place to live. It has a population of 2 million people and appears to be roughly the size of Boston. It is the largest city in Kazakhstan and was the capital until 1996 when it was moved to the more central city of Astana. Still, Almaty is the financial and cultural center of the country.  The people . . .  One on one, they are incredibly kind and nice. However, in a crowd, they are the pushiest rudest mother fuckers!  Truly, the biggest drawback of this place. 



Some sites at the top of Kok-Tobe. Below is the upside down house. We didn’t dare go in as in was filled with screaming misbehaved children

A couple of other cool sculptures


The TV tower. It seems that every eastern bloc country had one, almost as a monument. Hey, look everyone, we have TV!

The apple fountain. Again, this is the symbol of the city. Good luck to throw some coins in 

Well folks, I finally tried horse meat . . . . Below is my entré.  It totally tasted like a beef filet mignon. Not running out to do this again soon as I kind of think of them as pets. 

Less dramatic dinner selection:  Uzbek chicken meat pies. Essentially, a chicken McNugget on steroids, Uzbek style. Sour cream on the side. Nice touch!

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