Welcome To Almaty! The Birth Place Of Apples

From Nurul Hanis Izmir ALMATY (Kazakhstan), Jan 29 (Bernama) -- Almaty, the financial hub of Kazakhstan is said to have earned its name from the apple trees that once surrounded the city. According to a tourist guide Alexander Yezhor, 67, Almaty means apple in the Kazakh language. "Previously the city was called Alma-Ata, which means father of apples," he said, referring to the wild forms of malus sieversii (apples) found in the region that is said to be the ancestors of most apple cultivars found in the world today. Besides the real apples, Yezhor pointed out today Almaty is the apple of the eye for visitors due to the city's natural surroundings and modern architecture. ALMATY, THE FINANCIAL, COMMERCIAL AND TOURIST SPOT OF KAZAKHSTAN Located at the foothills of the Tien Shan range, Almaty is now a city of modern architecture, orderly streets lined with trees and adorned with flowers and not to mentioned attention-grabbing fountains, interesting parks and spectacular mountain views. With most of the country's population centred here, Almaty is also the financial, commercial and tourist centre of Kazakhstan. It used to be capital of Kazakhstan before President Nursultan Nazarbayev, moved the capital city title to Astana in 1997. However, despite the downgrade in official status, Almaty remained the financial hub not only of Kazakhstan but of central Asia. WHY IT SHOULD BE YOUR FIRST STOPOVER WHEN VISITING KAZAKHSTAN? The national flag carrier Air Astana's Director of Sales Worldwide, Richard Ledger said that the western modernity of the so called "southern capital" is complimented by the majestic mountains, lakes and canyons in the south. This, makes Almaty an ideal place to visit. "We have a lot of Malaysians who come to Almaty as there are many interesting activities here," he said. Air Astana, which is Kazakhstan's national airline, commenced regular flight operations on May 15, 2002 and currently operates a network of almost 60 international and domestic routes from hubs in Almaty, Astana and Atyrau. Ledger said Malaysians like to come to Almaty as it is located in the mountainous region in south of Kazakhstan, suitable for activities like ice skating, ice skiing and horse riding. KAZAKHSTAN'S CUISINE Kazakhstan's cuisine will surely not let down visitors. Among the restaurants that could be seen on the roads are Augustin, a restaurant created in the best traditions of the old Europe and Del Papa, the cozy Italian style restaurant filled with the peace and openness. Among the must-have food and drink when visiting that country are horse meat sausage and Kumys, a fermented mare's milk that also happens to be mildly alcoholic, available in the spring and summer months. FOR MUSLIMS VISITORS As 70 per cent of the population here are Muslims, halal food is no problem. A university graduate, Samat Kassymbayev, 24, who is a Muslim said that he and his family have no trouble in finding halal meat and other halal products in the country. "Sixty per cent of the products sold at the market are halal and there are a lot of restaurants providing halal food here," he said. He added that although there are many nationalities in Kazakhstan, everybody are so nice and friendly to one another. "Its just like in Malaysia. The people there are so welcoming," he said adding that he had been to Malaysia under the Universiti Putra Malaysia (Putra University, Malaysia) student exchange programme. --BERNAMA