Day 7 (July 6, 2025): Really getting into Almaty!
We were a little slow getting going this morning - blame it on a lack of sleep the night before and the time change. We left the hotel about 10 AM to go to a local place for breakfast. We had been planning to get a Yandex to famously turquoise Big Almaty Lake in the mountains. However, over breakfast, we realized it would require a 10 km rountrip walk from the Yandex drop-off point to the lake, so we opted against it. We went back to the hotel after breakfast to try to re-plan the day, and it was high noon when we set out. Compared to yesterday‘s temperature in the mid 30s, today was a few degrees cooler and we found it quite agreeable.
We feel like we covered Almaty pretty well today and were able to see the key sights we had been hoping to see. It was a wonderful day of exploring the city, and we gained a real appreciation for it. Everything is so clean and well organized. For a country that has only had its independence since the early ‘90s, it has come a long way in terms of its infrastructure and national identity outside the USSR.
Dinner plans didn’t work out as we had hoped, for the reason outlined under the last section of today’s blog entry. In lieu, we found a really good Thai restaurant and enjoyed a tranquil dinner there, making it back to the hotel by 9 PM.
Holiday Inn Almaty has been a very comfortable and convenient place to stay.
We walked a short distance from the hotel to a very modern and hip place called Coffee Boom for breakfast. The staff were so professional and kind. And the cutlery was all gold color!
Park of the Foundation of the First President
Telecenter (a video production facility).
The beautiful trees in the park.
Sculpture Park (within the park).
Residence of the president. I tried to take a picture of Pam on the sidewalk in front of the building front, and immediately, a security guard came running, blowing his whistle, and shouting at me that it was a forbidden to take pictures. One thing to note is that there was not another soul around. Can you imagine, in a European capital, there being no people around the presidential palace?
Residence of the president. I tried to take a picture of Pam on the sidewalk in front of the building front, and immediately, a security guard came running, blowing his whistle, and shouting at me that it was a forbidden to take pictures. One thing to note is that there was not another soul around. Can you imagine, in a European capital, there being no people around the presidential palace?
City hall.
Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Map of the country. Almaty is south central. Astana (next) is north central. And Aktau (last) is west central, right on the code of water shown (Caspian Sea).
Living quarters from the Bronze Age, 12th to 16th century BC, found in Kazakhstan.
‘Golden Man’. This is an artist reconstruction of a burial outfit found from the 4th century BC.
Falconry has been a long time practice/tradition in Kazakhstan, as in many other central Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
Traditional Kazakh winter dress.
An authentic yurt.
Pretty snazzy digs!
The museum gives a good accounting of the Kazik military, including its losses in battle. There was a small but important acknowledgment, as well, of the ethnic cleansing carried out on various ethnic groups over the decades.
Although the museum didn’t go into it much, Kazakhstan was the USSR’s - and now Russia’s -main launching point for space activities.
The emblem of Kazakhstan.
Independence Monument
Independence Monument occupies a large area in front of City Hall. It pays homage to the independence of Kazakhstan.
The monument also remembers 250 people who were gunnee down by the military in 1986. It was a time of ‘glasnost’ under President Gorbachev. Protests were starting to arise throughout the USSR, and that’s exactly what happened here when Russia tried to put a president in charge in 1986, who was Russian and not Kazakh. It led to the demonstration, and the consequent deaths of 250 citizens.
The obelisk features of golden warrior atop a winged leopard.
Atop Kok Tobe
A visit to Kok Tobe is an essential part of any visit to Almaty. While most of the summit is dedicated to carnival rides, the views of the city and mountains are second to none. On this national holiday – Day of the Capital - the crowds were particularly huge at the summit. There is a cable car connecting the city to the mountain top. We decided to take a Yandex up and the cable car down.
The lovely Madame Pam!
Almaty has an impressive TV tower, although it is not accessible by the public. That’s it to the left of the photo.
We enjoyed a compartment to ourselves on the cable car back to the city. The views of the city and mountains from there were quite stunning.
Almaty Metro
When we travel in former Soviet countries, one of my passions is exploring the metros. No metros in the world are built as deep as Soviet metros, as they were meant to serve the dual role of nuclear bomb shelters for the populace. But beyond that, Soviet metros were built with class. No expense was spared when it came to their artistry. Kazakhstan was late to the metro party, in terms of Moscow‘s investment in rapid transit for its capital city, Almaty. In fact, it wasn’t until the late ‘80s that work began on the Almaty Metro. And just after it began, work, halted because the USSR imploded, cutting off the investment in the city’s new metro. In the 1990s, Kazakhstan recommemced the work. The metro system comprises 11 stations on one line, making it convenient for getting across the city, from the southwest to the northeast. We stopped at six of the 11 stations to photograph some of the most noteworthy stops.
When we travel in former Soviet countries, one of my passions is exploring the metros. No metros in the world are built as deep as Soviet metros, as they were meant to serve the dual role of nuclear bomb shelters for the populace. But beyond that, Soviet metros were built with class. No expense was spared when it came to their artistry. Kazakhstan was late to the metro party, in terms of Moscow‘s investment in rapid transit for its capital city, Almaty. In fact, it wasn’t until the late ‘80s that work began on the Almaty Metro. And just after it began, work, halted because the USSR imploded, cutting off the investment in the city’s new metro. In the 1990s, Kazakhstan recommemced the work. The metro system comprises 11 stations on one line, making it convenient for getting across the city, from the southwest to the northeast. We stopped at six of the 11 stations to photograph some of the most noteworthy stops.
You’ll be hard pressed to find Metros anywhere in the world that go down as deep as those of the former USSR. This is the escalator down to the Abay station.
The trains on the Almaty metro are incredibly modern, quiet, comfortable, and clean.
Baikonur station.
Glass work in the Almali Station.
Jibek Joli station.
Raimbek Batir, the end of the line in the northeast.
Auezov station.
Auezov station.
Miscellaneous
Almaty has tons of flowers. They have done a beautiful job of making the city colourful through flowers - and keeping them well watered. The other thing about Almaty, compared to Astana, which we will explore in a few days, is that Almaty has a lot of trees, making the shade much more pleasant for going around than (apparently) we will experience in Astana, which has many fewer trees.
An interesting feature about Almaty is that you will find the cement ditches filled with mountain water, flowing throughout the city. They are called “ayrk” and are used to irrigate different parts of the city.
In front of the Republic Palace is a statue of the famous Kazakh poet and philosopher Abai Qunanbaiuly.
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In front of the Republic Palace, there were several TV cameras, set up, with VIP seating, and a massive screen. Later this evening, there will be a show here for dignitaries that will be broadcast across the nation, in honour of Day of the Capital.
In front of the Republic Palace, there were several TV cameras, set up, with VIP seating, and a massive screen. Later this evening, there will be a show here for dignitaries that will be broadcast across the nation, in honour of Day of the Capital.
This is the view from our hotel room. The top picture was taken today; the same scene below it shows the haze of yesterday. We are glad we chose to go up to the top of Kok Tobe today instead of yesterday, as we likely wouldn’t have seen much yesterday.
Just to show you that Kazakhstan has a sense of humor, here are two random ads from a Metro Station. The top one is advertising a cell phone network, and the bottom one is advertising Yandex, the ride-share service.
And just to give you a sense of restaurant prices here, a Wendy’s cheeseburger, fries, and soft drink combo cost an equivalent of $3.40 CAD.
Sunset from Kok Tobe
Having gone up to Coto Bay mid afternoon, we found a wonderful terrace restaurant there and decided to make a 7 PM reservation for dinner, to watch the sunset over the city. Unfortunately, our Yandex Driver cheaper out and dropped us about 1.5 kilometres from the summit. We really didn’t know just how far it was from the drop off point. Earlier in the afternoon, the driver had taken us right to the summit. We started, walking uphill, with literally, hundreds and hundreds of other people. It felt like everyone was on a pilgrimage to Mecca! After about a kilometre of uphill walking, we realized we were going to miss our reservation window, so we just plopped down right there and waited for the sun to set. It was still beautiful to see it set, but we were very much bummed out about our lazy driver and his antics that caused us to miss our reservation.
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