After a 15-hour journey from my home in Manchester, I arrived in Astana, the shiny purpose-built capital of Kazakhstan.
This first taste of Central Asia promised to be far from the myths created by Borat.
Astana became the Kazakh capital and seat of government in 1997, a thousand miles north of biggest city Almaty.
It bristles with tall, ambitious landmark buildings and wide avenues. Is Astana a strange folly or an architecture fan’s wet dream? CONTINUE READING BELOW
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My initial impression of Astana was like any other big city – snarled up with traffic. A light monorail is being built to take some pressure off the roads.
Some of Astana’s landmarks loomed large on the drive to the hotel, including the huge gold orb of the totemic Bayterek Tower.
My first little trip out with my camera ended stickily. I was photographing the blue dome of the Presidential Palace and was promptly apprehended by a police officer, asked for my passport and told to delete the image.
Nur-Astana mosque has to be visited
But me and my camera were never questioned again, which was welcome in this sparklingly photogenic new capital city.
It’s hard to walk around Astana without looking up at the vast collection of lofty architecture, from the symbolic to government ministries and very large modern apartment blocks.
Meanwhile, a visit to Nur-Astana mosque outside of the centre is a must with its many domes, palatial hallways and an awe-inspiring prayer room prompting more looking up.
Independence Square is a place for peering up
Astana may seem like an architectural playground, but is the heart of Kazakhstan’s government and the people who keep it running and live there.
There are plenty of restaurants and cultural amenities to visit in the evening, while the city is fond of its caffeine with coffee shops in abundance. It’s a fully fledged metropolis less than 25 years after it took shape.
As a visitor it feels fresh, new and exciting. But it has some big distances which you might prefer to cover with a trusty taxi app. Worth the lengthy journey to get to this capital city on the steppes? That’s a yes from me.
