Extraordinary buildings in a new capital
Unlike many popular tourist cities with hundreds of years of history, Astana, the new capital of Kazakhstan, is the youngest that I have visited. It did not even exist 20 years ago but is now the second largest in the oil-rich country.
It was striking to see the flashy buildings in contrast to the endless vast flat plains, and more are going to rise up in the future.
Like Brasilia in Brazil and Canberra in Australia, Astana is a planned city. It was an empty patch of land by the Ishim River best known as a former prison camp.
It began to change shape in 1997 when Nursultan Nazarbayev, president of Kazakhstan, moved the capital from Almaty in the southeast to the newly named Astana, which simply means “capital city” in Kazakh.
Located in the center of the Eurasian grasslands, Astana is at the intersection of Eastern and Western civilizations. Therefore, it has a strong foundation for multicultural integration, which you can see in its variety of buildings in Asian, Western, Soviet and weird futuristic styles.
The master plan for building Astana was designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, but many architects at home and abroad were also behind the eye-catching structures.
For example, English architect Norman Foster’s firm designed Khan Shatyr shopping mall and the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, a 60-meter-tall glass pyramid.
Most of the modern buildings are in the city center along or near the main axis of Astana, which makes tours convenient and efficient.
The translucent, tent-shaped Khan Shatyr is somewhere local residents would recommend to visitors.
It is one of Astana’s most extraordinary buildings.
Made of a heat-absorbing material, the temperature inside in summer is the same as in the middle of winter.
The brand outlets and foods in the mall are similar to those in Shanghai or any other international city. But it also accommodates a sky beach club on the top floor with a big swimming pool, sandy beach, palm trees and water slide.
The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation looks like a glass pyramid. With a theater and a conference hall, it is used as a meeting place for international and regional leaders.
It was suggested by President Nazarbayev at the first Congress of World and Traditional Religions, which took place in Astana in 2003.
Three years later, the second congress was held in the special building and now it hosts the event every three years, focusing on topics such as countering terrorism and extremism and solving conflicts through peaceful dialogue.
The palace, 62 meters high and 62 meters base, is decorated with a work of art by British artist Brian Clarke on the top floor — a picture of 130 doves that symbolize 130 nationalities living in Kazakhstan, which is a must-see for visitors.
It now also hosts the Kulanshi, a modern art center where visitors can see works by Dali, Chagall, Picasso and modern masters of lithography from Germany, the UK, Poland, Portugal, Turkey and Kazakhstan.
The Hazrat Sultan Mosque should also not be missed.
It is the largest mosque in Kazakhstan and one of the biggest of its kind in Central Asia, with a land area of more than 11 hectares and able to accommodate up to 10,000 worshipers.
It’s traditional Islamic architecture with huge domes and four 77-meter minarets rising from the four corners.