"We are all Kazakhstan."

When asked if he was Russian or Kazakh, our tour guide replied "we are all Kazakhstan."  Our history professor who I was sitting next to on the tour bus leaned over and said, "he is also Tartar."  I asked how she could tell.  She peered at me over those sunglasses and just laughed a bit.  You can tell that since the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, Kazakhstan has taken one line in terms of defining themselves to others.  This is not by clan, or ethnicity, it is by nationality.  The Kazakh national identity has gone through some struggles historically.  Due to proximity, it is a natural crossroad of many cultures, and many cultures tried to or were very successful at gaining control of this region of the world.

 Old Soviet Era Architecture

Average cost of an apartment 60 sq. meters, at an average cost for rent/mortgage on one 1000-2000 dollars a month.

 Lunch at Noodles In Almaty. 

 Kazakhstan claims to have had the first tulips in the world. 

 My new friends who teach in places like Virginia, Vermont, and Arizona.

 This building was to catch a gondola that would take you up in the mountains.  Might do that another day although my palms sweat at anything above ten feet off the ground. 

 This machine is how people pay their utilities, television, cell phone etc. bills. 

 Statue is Pushkin.  This is the Academy of Math & Sciences.  Kazakhstan has literacy rates of more than 99%. 

 No, our tour guide isn't flipping you off.  He is discussing things like land area, natural resources, etc. with his map.  Why he is wearing a Canada hat - we shall never know. 

 The temps today were around 65-70.  Beautiful & sunny. 

 I took a picture of this dump truck to show Gavin & Sean.

 Typical looking teenager around here.  People here dress really well.

 Mosque - you can tell because of the minarets and shape of the dome.  Muslims brought writing to Kazakhstan prior to 1900 through study of Quran.

 Orthodox Christian Church.  It was beautiful!!!

 Big Jesus staring down at followers from the sky.  I was afraid I was going to burst into flames when I looked up at this. 

 Some of the most beautiful works of art can be found in an Orthodox Church.

 We drove past a lot of former Cossack houses.  Cossacks were the nationalist fighters and defenders as well as early explorers of Russia.

 Cable car.

 Big ass tulip.  It was made out of styrofom. 

 Governmental building.  Pretty typical architectural style of Soviet Era.

 Behind all that smoke and smog is a beautiful set of mountaintops with snowy peaks. 

 This is the monument which celebrates Kazakhstan's independence from Russia.

 This section is displaying the Great Ghengis Khan who took over this area by 1400. 

 Our tour guide is pointing and talking bout the Romanov dynasty. 

 Kazakhstan was under Stalin and anyone who opposed him met their quick demise.

 These people do not know how to park.  I cannot imagine this always works out well.

 They do have a roller coaster, but it is a bit slow . . . . .