Back to (a different) civilization

I was going to start this footprint with a different paragraph but just as we are about to leave the hotel I feel a bit of shaking (Birgit didn't feel anything) but it was an earthquake!!

A few seconds later my phone goes bananas with an alert 😲. It was a 4.4 magnitude one but apparently the locals don't get out of bed (unless it's a 6!). Everybody (bar one...😉) is pretty nonchalant as it's a regular thing around here. But I'm quite excited, think it was my first!

Anyway, what I was going to say was driving into Almaty last night felt slightly strange as this is a big modern, "normal" city with first world problems; too much traffic, pollution, people, etc. Seemed a million miles away from the last few weeks where the pace of life was different altogether. Perhaps it's a good half way point to getting us used to what life will be like at home.

With all that in mind we opted to do a city tour in the morning with Alyona instead of the published trip to a nomad camp with associated activities that we've almost certainly done before.

So the earthquake was a good starting point
They happen so frequently here that everyone ignores them and gets on with their day. Slightly easier said than done for some. Nevertheless, we hop on the bus and off to our first stop - the circus!

The Kazakh State Circus is one of Almaty’s most distinctive Soviet-era buildings. It was built in the early 1970's and is in a classical yurt design. Performances happen very regularly with the Russian state circus currently in town.
Sadly, there is no performance tonight!

This is a sort of entertainment district as directly opposite is the Auezov Theatre, another typical soviet era building, well if you could see it properly as it's being renovated and is way past its completion date.

Talking of theatres Alyona explained the city has many, including Deutsches, Uighur, Russian and Kazakh theatres. Apparently if you go to the Deutsches one you get a live translation through headphones 😀.

Before we left the circus area Alyona noted one of the few metro stations that was nearby. Almaty only has one line with 11 stations currently but it's difficult to build because of underground water and earthquakes...

Next stop is the New Square also known as Republic square. A couple of things to notice generally here typical of central Almaty. The big roads are laid out in a grid style and also there are very many fountains in the city because of the extremely hot summers - both things attributable to the Soviets and their city planning.

The first thing you notice is the Independence Monument which is an imitation of an Egyptian obelisik (because the KZ president saw one in Egypt and wanted one!!) The monument was erected in 1996, following Kazakhstan's independence in 1991.
The most recognisable feature is the Golden Man standing at the top. It represents the Saka warrior, inspired by the extraordinary archaeological discovery of a richly dressed Saka warrior burial at Issyk, southeast of Almaty, in 1969.

The original burial contained thousands of gold ornaments. The warrior's spectacular pointed headdress became one of the strongest visual symbols of ancient Kazakhstan. Today the actual Golden Man is in a museum in Astana, the capital.

Around the base are 10 reliefs depicting episodes from Kazakhstan's history including dark episodes where lives were lost in this very square in the run up to democracy.

The monument is essentially saying that the history of Kazakhstan is much older than the Soviet Union — and that independent Kazakhstan has inherited that history.

Next we go to Panfilov Park, an old, heavily wooded part of central Almaty, with broad avenues, enormous mature trees and a collection of some of the city's most important historic monuments.
It is named after the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen, soldiers associated with the defence of Moscow in 1941.

There are several war memorials here: the Russian Afghanistan war, the war with the Bolsheviks and the Great Patriotic War (WW2). Centre stage is the Soviet style monument to the Panfilov soldiers who supposedly had heroically stopped a large number of German tanks sacrificing themselves rather than allowing the tanks through. Subsequently this has turned out to be an embellished tale although it makes for good propaganda.

Walking further we come across the exquisite Ascension Cathedral. This is an extraordinarily colourful wooden Orthodox cathedral also called Zenkov Cathedral, after its architect Andrei Zenkov.

Built in 1907 it was particularly well suited to Almaty's earthquake-prone environment because the timber structure could flex rather than behaving like a rigid masonry building.
The cathedral is often described as one of the world's tallest historic wooden buildings. Inside it was breathtakingly decorated, the best we've seen.

On our way out of the park we stopped at another theatre, a small contemporary one that seemed to fit perfectly with Almaty's relaxed cultural vibes. (Alyona is also a theatre critic journalist when not working in tourism!)

And that was it, three hours had flown by but given us a glimpse of a vibrant city with really interesting history and culture. Certainly a place we could have spent more time in but as we fly home in less than 24 hours we had to go to the local mall for some last minute shopping before our farewell dinner with the group. With that, our silk road adventures draw sadly to a close, although we are both looking forward to going home.Read more