Astana, Kazakhstan

Almost there…………….

We awoke at 4 am to catch a flight to Astana. Astana is the artificially created capital of Kazakhstan. Attempts by the Russians to move power away from Almaty were unsuccessful. The current Kazak president, Nazarbyev, changed that by ruling that Astana would be the capital and all government business would be centred there.

Unlike Ashgabat, the architecture in the modern portion of Astana demonstrates a variety of textures, styles and building materials and yet it is still somehow sterile. The planned spaces and streets seem vastly unpopulated and devoid of life. There is not a store, bus or person in sight. Coming from a densely congested city, I cannot imagine how you could get anywhere without a car or while being chauffeured around in a police motorcade.

We were taken for a compulsory tour of the model of the city plan and 3D immersive experience of the creation of the city’s/country’s iconic central statue. A few members of our group wanted to skip the show and sit outside but were brusquely told that they were not allowed to break away from the group. Multiple guides and several observers spread throughout the building helped to make sure that no one strayed from the planned route.

Before checking into our hotel for a much needed rest, we visited the ALZHIR camp. One of 11 gulags in the area, ALZHIR was a forced work camp for the wives and families of traitors to the Motherland. Innumerable women were told that they were being taken to see their husbands who were convicted of crimes against the Soviet regime. Instead, they were transported to this featureless Kazakh backwater to be forced to work in order to reform themselves after their crime of association, The building of the museum was quite interesting architecturally but horribly non-functional. The egg-shaped building was open concept with hard surfaces and no carpets or corners. This causes sound to be focused in the centre of the building so if 2 people are talking, the sound bounces around and you cannot hear anything. It was quite irritating as I wanted to spend more time looking at the heart wrenching exhibits.

We skipped the last bit of sightseeing to rest for a few minutes (and complete these last few blog entries). Our farewell dinner was provided at the hotel. It is always bittersweet coming to the end of a vacation. We have learned and seen so much on this trip but it is time to get back to our real lives (and sleep in a comfy bed once again!!!) However, we have a few days of personal time in Istanbul to help us rest up for the long trip home.