Almaty has the energy of a city that knows it lost its capital status to Astana in 1997 and has largely decided not to care. It's the largest city in Kazakhstan, a settlement with roots in the Bronze Age that Genghis Khan needed three attempts to capture, and it carries its layers of history, nomadic, Silk Road, Tsarist, Soviet, independent, with a confidence that newer capitals tend to lack. The Baikonur Cosmodrome, the Russian-administered rocket launching site that occupies a 4% enclave of Kazakhstani territory, is a reminder of how recently this country was operating under a very different set of arrangements.
Kazakhstan has a good railway network, tulips and apples both trace their origins to this part of the world, and the border crossing we used from Kyrgyzstan was apparently closed in winter until recently to stop Kazakhstanis crossing to ski. These are the kinds of details that accumulate into a picture of a country finding its own shape.
Sights & Culture
Ascension Cathedral
Also called Zenkov Cathedral and built between 1905 and 1907 in Panfilov Park, the cathedral is constructed entirely from wood without nails and survived the 1911 earthquake that flattened much of the surrounding city. It is painted in a palette of greens, yellows, and terracotta that makes it look almost confected against the mountain backdrop, but the construction is serious, the craftsmanship evident up close. Still in active use.
Memory of Glory Memorial
In Panfilov Park, the Soviet-era memorial complex was erected on the 30th anniversary of the Second World War. Three elements make up the ensemble: a soldier in a heroic pose, a map of the fifteen Soviet republics, and an eternal flame. The 9th of May, Victory Day, is the occasion it was built around, and the flame burns continuously. The memorial is to the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen who held off a German tank assault outside Moscow in 1941, all of them from the Kazakh division of the Soviet Army.
Independence Square
The square marks Kazakhstani independence, declared on 16th December 1991, with a monument to that moment at its centre. The building opposite is the city hall. It's a grand Soviet-scale space that the post-Soviet city is still working out what to do with.
Soviet Officers' Housing
On the walk through the park, a substantial Soviet-era residential block built for officers, the kind of architecture that was meant to signal permanence and now signals something more ambiguous. Worth a look as part of the broader walk rather than a destination in itself.
Museums & Galleries
Museum of National Musical Instruments
A wooden building with a green roof on the park circuit, housing a collection of traditional Kazakhstani instruments. Compact and easy to combine with the memorial and cathedral walk.
Parks & Gardens
Panfilov Park
The park that contains the cathedral, the memorial, the museum, and several Soviet-era buildings in various states of use. It's the natural anchor for a morning in Almaty, everything is walkable from here and the tree cover makes it a decent place to slow down between sights.
Restaurants & Bars
Navat
Pizza and soft drinks at reasonable prices by Central Asian city standards, 3,400 tenge for a pizza, 1,300 for a Coke. Functional and fine.
Shopping
Green Bazaar (Zelyony Bazaar)
The market near the city centre covers food, spices, meat, souvenirs, and most things in between. A functioning market rather than a tourist one, which means the prices are honest and the atmosphere is less managed. Worth time if you have it.
LOTTE Rakhat Confectionery Factory
A chocolate shop near the bazaar area that was worth the stop.
Getting Out
The airport has a new terminal that opened a month before we passed through, fast, efficient, and a reasonable place to spend the last of your local cash before a flight. The plane to Dushanbe boarded early and left late, the seats were small, and the leg room was not. At an hour and a half it's survivable.