“The Black Gold of Asia, Kazakhstan”

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Republic of Kazakhstan, commonly known as Kazakhstan is one of the most diverse and multicultural country, having 126 ethnic groups living together with peace and harmony. Major two ethnic groups include Kazakhs and Russians along with Ukrainians, Uzbeks, Germans, Tatars, Koreans and Uyghurs. The country sets perfect example of tolerance for humanity as tolerance is one of the basic cultural values. The country having population of 18.8 million, out of which 70% are Muslims.

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Official languages of the country include Kazakh and Russian. Kazakhstan has its borders with five countries including Russian, China, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Another interesting factor is that Kazakhstan is the only country having its borders with most and least crowded countries of the world.

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When we enter the land of Kazakhstan, the beautiful landscape is ready to welcome us beyond our imagination. Moreover, beautiful mountains, lakes, deserts, canyons, historical places along with hospitality of local Kazakhs overwhelms every tourist visiting the country.

THE BLACK GOLD:

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Kazakhstan is also known as “The Black Gold” as it produces around 81 million tons of oil per year. This is the reason why Kazakhstan is considered as one of the most developed country economically in Central Asia. Nur-Sultan is capital of Kazakhstan commonly known as Astana.

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1600 YEARS OLD ANCIENT CITY IN KAZAKHSTAN:

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When we talk about ancient sites in Kazakhstan, first name which comes in our mind is none other than Turkestan. This historical city was built back in 4^th century. The city witnessed countless rise and fall thought out the centuries. It became religious center in 12^th century because of famous Sufi personality of that period “Khoja Ahmed Yasari”.

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In today’s modern world, the city has magnetic attractions for tourists because of its ancient mausoleums, archaeological sites and some other fascinating man made creations. The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasari is the most notable monument from Timurid architecture in Turkestan which is also part of UNESCO’s World Heritage Site since 2003.

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ACCORDING TO THE AUTHOR GULIRUKH TASHMETOVA FROM KAZAKHSTAN:

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THE SARYARKA PLAINS:

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The Saryarka Plains in Steppe and lakes of Northern Kazakhstan is an important site because of its natural wet lands for the migration of water birds including rare and endangered species like Siberian White Crane, Pallas’s Fish Eagle, Saiga Antelope and Dalmatian Pelican.

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FOOD AND CUISINE:

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BESHBARMAK

In Kazakhstan, there are different nations living together, every nation has their own food but Kazakh’s National food is Beshbarmak. The word Besh means five while barmak means fingers. So, Beshbarmak means “five fingers”. Beshbarmak is traditionally made of mutton meat but commonly it is made with lamb.

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KUMIS/KYMYZ

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Kumis/kymyz is the National drink of Kazakhstan which is made from mare’s milk which is extremely tasty and at the same time, it is beneficial for human health.  Usually Kazakhs only use mare’s milk for making Kumis.

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BAURSAKS

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Baursaks is one of the famous dishes in Kazakhstan made from dough and fried in oil. Inside fillings vary according to the tastes and requirements of the guests. Sometimes it is filled with something sweet or sometimes without sweet but one thing is for sure, it is traditionally cooked for some of the important event like a wedding, any special event or a memorial.

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Note: We are thankful to the following for guide in our research

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhstan

https://www.journalofnomads.com/countries/traveling-in-kazakhstan/https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g293943-Activities-Kazakhstan.html