Astana, Where Everyone Gawks at Everything

By NORSHAZLINA NOR'AZMAN The writer visited Kazakhstan recently in conjunction with the country's 22nd independence anniversary on Dec 16. This is first of a three-part article about Kazakhstan. This installment focuses on the architecture, art and weather in its capital city, Astana. ASTANA (Kazakhstan), Jan 15 (Bernama) -- Nothing prepares you for Astana – not all the outlandish stories one has heard from colleagues, not the tales of a grand vision of a capital built from scratch, not even the prospect of leaving behind a pleasant weather to land in a city one fine December afternoon to find that the temperature outside was minus 15 degrees Celsius. That’s not cool, that’s chilling. Well, that’s Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, a landlocked nation in the Eurasian continent. As the grandiosity of a leader's vision, the scale of the architectural innovation and man’s ability to work with the vagaries of nature come together, even the most mundane of routines becomes something to cheer about. No wonder, when our Boeing 757's wheels touched down at the Almaty International Airport, Kazakhstan, eight long hours after it had left Kuala Lumpur, there was spontaneous applause. With most of the passengers being Kazakhstanis, the rather joyous clapping was their way to hail a smooth landing. Modern aviation’s achievements apart, this cheering seemed to have become a norm. Along with five other fellow journalists from Malaysia, as I boarded yet another flight from Almaty to Astana, we were to experience that feeling of déjà vu. One hour and 45 minutes later, once again, the touchdown at Astana International Airport elicited spontaneous clapping. Welcome to Astana. The ordinary world was far behind, and we were clearly the aliens moving about in a science fiction movie. AWE-INSPIRING JOURNEY Astana is a government city, but it can turn even the most sedate into a wide-eyed tourist. All tourists do is gawk outside, as we did when we hopped into a minivan to reach our hotel. In the 20-minute journey, we were left dumbfounded and awestruck. Spectacular seems a word from the dictionary of the understatements in Astana, the second coldest capital in the world. As a blanket of thick, pristine white snow covers all buildings and roads, and mercury falls below freezing levels, the extraordinary and futuristic shapes of the buildings make you wonder how are you going to tell the world your story, since that's why this group of scribes was here – on an invitation of the Kazakhstani Embassy in Kuala Lumpur in conjunction with the 22nd Independence Day of the country on Dec 16. The week-long trip involved five days in Astana and two days in Almaty to savour Kazakh culture and soak in the beauty of this ninth largest country in the world. Kazakhstan was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the current President Nursultan Nazarbayev, has been the leader of the country since 1990. BIZARRE ARCHITECTURE Kazakhstan’s old capital Almaty was pleasantly situated in the foothills of the Tian Shan Mountain range, 966km to the north, and bitterly cold. Astana is a modern city, envisioned by Nazarbayev, and projected as a well-planned city of 700,000 people and the pride of the nation has been the capital of Kazakhstan since 1997. Spectacular buildings, that may sometimes seem outlandish, line the city centre – futuristic shapes that one had never seen before. Bizarre structures sprout from anywhere – one designed like a flying saucer, another in the shape of a towering Egyptian pyramid, a huge tent of Brobdingnagian proportions, a gigantic egg, a mammoth piece of pottery, a gargantuan golden tree, a large crater and a building designed in the shape of a dollar. Britain’s most prolific architect, Sir Norman Foster, is the man behind the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, also known as Palace of Peace and Accord, a 62-metre-tall glass pyramid. The five-storey building also houses an opera hall with 1,323 seats, multi-purpose halls, an auditorium and several others facilities. It was built as a meeting point for religious leaders keen to understand the world’s various faiths. Since nothing, in any case, is ordinary in Astana, the opera that the media group watched could not have been, either – it was an 80-minute 'Rockopera' show, a combination of rock music and opera in the palace's opera hall titled 'Zheruyik' and based on the famous Kazakh legend. While little of the Kazakh language piece sung in the high pitches of the soprano could be understood, one thing the show indeed was – brilliant. ASTANA LANDMARK Even in this city, where every building beseeches one to stop and gawk at it further, there is one that is referred to as an iconic Astana landmark – the 'Bayterek' (above). A tall, spiky construction that cradles a glass and aluminium ball at its top, ostensibly representing a Poplar tree holding a golden egg of a mythical magical bird of happiness. The third secretary of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aduov Bakhytbek, said Bayterek attracts local residents, as well as international tourists, lured by its observation deck, 97 metres above ground level, that offers a spectacular panoramic view of the city. Surprises are the norm in Astana, as one comes face to face with yet another beautiful piece of architecture – the Norman Foster-designed giant white tent, 'Khan Shatyr' or 'the king of tents', all aglow in neon colours at night. The world's largest tent is an under-one-roof unique mall that offers entertainment, shopping, dining, a supermarket and other amenities and attractions, including thrill rides, a miniature golf course, a sports centre, a spa and also a pool, complete with a sandy beach. If you are not impressed, the sand was shipped from the Maldives. OPERA HOUSE Opera and Kazakhstan are inseparable. Most Kazakhstanis are crazy about opera, especially nowadays when performances aren't at all stodgy. Tickets for every performance of classical opera and ballet at the Astana Opera have been selling like hot cakes since the opera house officially opened on June 21 last year. The Director of the State Theatre of Opera and Ballet, Astana Opera, Tolegen Mukhamedzhanov said Astana Opera is one of the largest and most technically advanced theatres in the world. Equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technology, the theatre built on a sprawling 3.6-hectare land is a 64,000 square metre building with a gigantic 3,000 square metre stage area, divided into four stages. "This opera house is designed in the classical style with various motifs, such as 'Hellenistic', 'Mannerism' and 'Baroque'. Only classic opera and ballet masterpieces are permitted on the stage of the opera house. "All those who step over the threshold of the new theatre immediately find themselves in a different atmosphere, where they wish to leave behind the hustle and bustle of everyday life and dive headlong into the enchanting world of art," he said. MUSEUM SHOWCASE KAZAKH HISTORY Meanwhile, for culture, history and arts enthusiasts, the gleaming blue-domed five-storey Presidential Centre of Culture showcases the evolution and historical development of Kazakhstan. It provides an excellent opportunity to any visitor to understand the past and present of the country. The museum houses about 150,000 artefacts related to Kazakhstan's archaeology, history, culture and arts, including items connected to the era of its nomadic life, such as yurt domes and tools, as well as those depicting the history of Islam and other religions. It is also displays the Kazakh traditional ornaments, costumes, horse equipment, rare books, weaponry, photographs, replicas of Kazakhstan's warriors and also the collection of gifts received by the President from various heads of state and governments of other countries. Astana also houses an Oceanarium in the Duman Entertainment Centre, the only aquarium in the world that is located over 3,000 km from the ocean. It has more than 2,000 inhabitants of the sea, representing some 100 species of sea fauna from different parts of the world. BIGGEST MOSQUE IN CENTRAL ASIA Another architectural wonder in the Astana panorama is the Hazrat Sultan Mosque, the largest mosque in Central Asia, and large enough to host up to 12,000 congregants at one time. Spread over 17,000 square metres, the mosque took less than two years to build and officially opened its doors to visitors, including non-Muslims, in July 2012. The gleaming white structure is one of the seven mosques in Astana built in the classic Islamic style with traditional Kazakh ornaments and decorations. The mosque has four 77 metre tall minarets. The height of the main dome is 51 metres with a diametre of 28 metres. Every corner of the mosque is amazing and incredibly detailed, right from its grand exterior, its posh fountains, lavish carpets and chandeliers, the colourful glass and marble on the walls, the calligraphy and the dome. The Imam of the Hazrat Sultan Mosque, Bahytzhan Ottelbai, said although the temperature outside plunges below zero degrees, visitors will feel warm inside as the mosque is equipped with a modern heating system embedded under its carpets. He said the four-storey mosque houses praying halls for men and women, rooms for Al-Quran citing, tajwid and Arabic classes, a library, an ablution facility and a washroom, a cloakroom, a wedding hall, studios for television and radio programmes, offices, a lift system and other modern facilities. Kazakhstan, he said, now has 10 Islamic schools and madrasas, as well as one Islamic university in Almaty, while one more Islamic university is to open this year in Astana. Kazakhstan is secular country with a Muslim majority. Some 70 percent of Kazakhstan's 17 million people are Muslim, with the Sunni belief system based on the Hanafi Mazhab being the direction in which the country is headed. Astana is proof of Kazakhstan not only having emerged as a viable state from the USSR’s collapse, but also the most prosperous and seemingly stable in Central Asia, credit for which goes in large measure to Nazarbayev’s tact, vision and unerring political instincts. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA