Astana City Tour
Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan. The city is located in the northern part of the country amid the Kazakh steppe on the banks of the Ishim River. It is the second largest city in the country after Almaty. The city has changed its name several times recently. From 1998 to 2019, it was called Astana. Previously, it was Akmola from 1992 to 1998, Zelinograd from 1961 to 1991, and before that, Akmola.
The city was founded as a Russian fortress in 1830. In the 1950s, the site became the center of a Soviet campaign to reclaim arable land. This led to a change in the cityscape and accelerated the city's development.
After Kazakhstan gained independence from the Soviet Union, it was decided to move the capital, making Astana the planned capital on December 10, 1997. In the south of the city, a modern government district was built with striking buildings such as the Baiterek Tower, Khan Shatyr, and the Pyramid of Peace and Unity.
- Distance of the route:
5 km
- Season time:
all season
- Best time:
all season
- Group size:
12 pax
- Days & nights:
1 day
Tour itinerary:
During our tour of Kazakhstan's capital, we'll first visit the new National History Museum, built in the summer of 2014. Then we'll head to the symbol of Astana, Baiterek. The 105-meter-tall tower is located on Independence Square.
Baiterek offers a beautiful view of the city center, from the presidential palace to the Khan Shatyr shopping center. Next, we'll stroll along the Irtysh River embankment, after which we'll visit a park with a map of miniature versions of Kazakhstan's historical and natural monuments, called "Atameken."
After viewing the exhibits, we'll visit Astana's main mosque, Nur-Astana, and then the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After visiting these sacred sites, we'll stop by the monument to the victims of repression. At the end of the tour, we'll visit the oceanarium, located in the Duman entertainment center.
Akmola's history dates back to 1830, when construction of the Akmola fortress began in the Karautkul tract. In the middle of the first millennium BC, the so-called Great Steppe Route, mentioned by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, ran through these steppes. It later evolved into the widely known Great Silk Road.
Akmola remained a major steppe trade and economic center in the 19th century. On July 16, 1863, Akmola was officially declared a district city. On October 21, 1868, according to the "Temporary Regulations for Governance in the Steppe Regions of Orenburg and the West Siberian Governorate-General," the Akmola Region was established, with its capital in Omsk.
By that time, Omsk was the center of the West Siberian Governorate-General. It is believed that the Akmola Region was so named because the capital was planned to be moved to Akmola. This assumption is supported by the fact that in 1879, Major General Dubelt submitted a project to the Russian Ministry of Railways to build a railway from Tyumen to Akmola.
For the first 30 years, Akmola's population was just over 2,000. The collection "Volosts and Settlements of the Akmola Region," published in 1893 in St. Petersburg, noted that Akmola was a district town with a population of 6,428, with three churches, five schools and colleges, and three factories. The second, most important stage in the city's development was the development of virgin lands.
In December 1960, the city, with a population of approximately 100,000, became the center of the Virgin Lands Territory, which included all of Kazakhstan's northern regions. Soon, in 1961, Akmola was renamed Tselinograd. With the abolition of the Virgin Lands Territory in 1971, Tselinograd became the regional capital. In 1992, the city was reverted to its former name, Akmola.
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