Travel from Almaty to Karatau to Tamdy settlement by jeep -
Organization and holding of individual tours in Kazakhstan -
The city of Karatau is one of the cities of Zhambyl region, it was founded in 1946 as an industrial city, the city is famous for its phosphorus deposit. The city is also a green oasis on the edge of the steppe and at the foot of the Karatau Mountains. The ancient settlement of Tamdy has been preserved near the city of Karatau. In recent years, the district administration has begun to take measures to combat the decline of the city after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the outflow of residents from the region. The abandoned houses were renovated as part of the housing construction program. The local authorities managed to sell several multi-storey buildings to construction investors with the condition of their repair.
How to get there, visit -
The city of Karatau is located 82 kilometers from the city of Taraz, at the foot of the Karatau mountains, near Lake Bilikol, Sholakty locality, Talas district, Zhambyl region, Republic of Kazakhstan.
GPS coordinates: 43°10'N 70°27'E
Information, history -
The history of the city of Karatau dates back to the founding of the Chulaktau work settlement. In 1946, German, Greek, Korean and Japanese prisoners of war from other parts of the Soviet Union were deported here to mine phosphorite. The amount of phosphorite mined continued to increase over the years, which meant that the village of Chulaktau also continued to grow. In 1963, the place received city rights and was renamed Karatau. For further processing of phosphorite, a chemical production was established on site in the city, the products of which were exported to Dzhambul. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the independence of Kazakhstan in the early 1990s, the economic decline of the city began. Many local companies have ceased operations, and the city has lost many residents who migrated to major cities in search of work. Although almost 55,000 people lived in Karatau at its peak, according to the 1999 census, this number fell to about 28,000 people. Due to the migration of the population, many residential buildings have been emptied. To this day, there are abandoned neighborhoods in the city. The descendants of many prisoners of war brought to Karatau after World War II left Kazakhstan and returned to their former countries of origin. Since December 2001, the seismological observation station of the Geophysical Institute has been located about 10 km from Karatau, which registers data on Kazakhstan's nuclear tests under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
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