Buildings are silent keepers of cities’ history. For its short life, Almaty has survived ravaging invasions, earthquakes, mudslides, the revolution, Civil War and the forfeit of its status of a capital. The building containing witnesses of all events that have influenced the local history is the Central Museum of Kazakhstan (open daily except Tuesdays, 10.00 a.m. - 06.00 p.m.) Most visitors to Almaty start their acquaintance with Almaty there.
National State Museum building
The three-story square building with nine domes on Furmanov Street, right opposite the President’s Palace, is visible from afar. The blue domes, biggest in the middle and the rest along the perimeter, coupled with white stone walls look impressive and magnificent. The Museum is even more beautiful at nights when illuminated with blue floodlights. People like to spend time in a small park with ponds, stone bridges, rock compositions and weeping willows in front of the Museum.
The Museum’s biggest collection in Kazakhstan consists of 120, 000 exhibits displayed in its four huge halls and 200, 000 in reserves. Especially popular stands hold Kazakh traditional clothes, household articles, jewelry and other pieces of art. There are also real pictures taken during 2 severe earthquakes that almost completely wiped out the city in 1887 and 1910. Even if you are not a lover of history, we advise you to visit the Museum to buy good souvenirs, national jewelry, paintings and sculpture.
Leaving the Museum, you might be fortunate to see guards changing a shift at the President’s Palace gates across the road. The President’s Palace was originally designed as a museum of Vladimir Lenin, the most profound Soviet leader, who, actually, had never visited Almaty. Many locals confess there is something thrilling in this building.
Republic Square. Akimat (City Hall) building. Going down Furmanov Street from the Museum you will finally come to the Republic Square, commonly known as the New Square (Novaya Ploshad). Founded in 1980 as Almaty’s biggest square, it is a regular place to hold parades and festivals. Locals favour it because it resembles vast Kazakh steppe enclosed with buildings like mountains. Even in hot stuffy summer evenings it is cooled by fresh breeze from the mountains and there is no better place in the whole city to have a date.
The Independence Monument in the middle of the square symbolically features crucial periods of the Kazakhstani history. Its central part, the Golden Man, is a 6 meter copy of a real gold finding from a burial mound near Almaty. In 1986, the New Square witnessed an allegedly staged rebellion against Moscow’s rule. A metal commemoration plate and the fountains stripped of marble tiles in some places remind people of that event today. A little higher the Monument, up the cascades of steps on Baiseitov Street, there is the Tribune art gallery of modern Kazakhstani artists.
Every visitor to Almaty cannot but notice a big TV tower in the foothills. The tallest construction (372 meters) in earthquake prone Almaty, it rests on a three story concrete and cement foundation dug deeply into the Kocktobe (Kazakh for Green Hill) hill. It has 18 meters in diameter on the ground and narrows to 13 and 9 meters at 146 and 252 meter levels respectively where technical service rooms are located. The Tower was constructed to resist 10 point Richter scale earthquakes. But you are unlikely to check it because inside excursions are not allowed.
Baiseitov Street, going down from the Independence Monument, leads to the Russian Theater of Drama named after Michael Lermontov. Every day but Mondays, the theater runs Russian language plays on its major and minor stages. The Tengri-Umai gallery occupies the foyer of the theater. Every Monday the gallery holds presentations of modern local artists’ works. The gallery’s collection of a little more than 300 items is a small but representative sample of today’s local art including paintings, graphics and sculpture. A theater museum and a souvenir shop also make the theater worth visiting. Stroll further down the Baiseitov Street to feel the charm of the old Almaty preserved in its old three and four story houses.
One block down from the theater is Kurmangazy Street, in the name of a famous Kazakh composer. Turn to the right and walk back to Furmanov Street. At the corner, you will see a small mansion with a spire. It dates back to the beginning of the XX-th century when Almaty was called Verny (Russian for Loyal).
Further along Kurmangazy Street is Tulebayev Street named after another Kazakh composer. Quiet and trafficless Tulebayev Street used to be primarily inhabited by the local Soviet elite and still remains one of the most expensive residential areas in Almaty. Walking up, you will bump into the Dzetysu (Kazakh for Seven Rivers) fountain system. Seven springs flowing from a pink and black granite pillar symbolize seven main rivers of the south-east Kazakhstan: the Ili, Karatal, Bien, Aksu, Lepsy, Baskan and Sarkand.
Beside the fountain, there is a house and an operating museum of Mukhtar Auezov, the author of “Abai’s Path”. The museum is open daily except Sundays and Mondays from 09.00 a.m. to 05.00 p.m. Proceeding along Kurmangazy Street towards the TV Tower, you will see the Dostyk Hotel (è ñþäà ññûëêó íà íàøè îòåëè â Àëìà-Àòå) on your right and, a little further, on the left side of the road, the Academy of Sciences. The complex constructed in 1957 is an excellent example of the combination of the classic style and local ornaments. You might be interested to visit the Museum of Nature, which can be entered through the Academy’s main entrance on Shevchenko Street. Real corps and casts of mammoths, dinosaurs and huge rhinoceros that inhabited Kazakhstan thousands of years ago will make you feel a hero of the Jurassic Park movie. The museum also maintains a rich collection of existing local birds and animals. Working hours are from 10 a.m. to 04.00 p.m. on weekdays.
Academy of Science. North entrance. An 8-meter brass monument in front of the Academy of Sciences on Shevchenko Street is devoted to an outstanding Kazakh scientist, Chokan Valikhanov.
One more art gallery, Ular, is located in the same complex with the entrance from Kurmangazy Street.
Zodiac fountain. The main decoration of the park adjacent to the Academy of Sciences from the west is a fountain featuring twelve animals in charge of every year according to the eastern calendar.
Pushkin's bust at the Academy of Science. A little higher is a bust of Alexander Pushkin, one of the best Russian writers and poets. Almaty received the bust as a gift from neighboring Russia in connection with the 200-year birth anniversary of the writer.
For a small charge, you can visit the Geological Museum famous for its collection of semiprecious stones and minerals in the Isker Business Center, down Dostyk Avenue (10.00 a.m.- 05.00 p.m.). Gems and jewelry are available in a shop inside.
Behind the monument, there are three 12-story buildings commonly referred to as Tri Bogatyrya (Three Epic Heroes). On their common ground floor there is Iskra, a cinema recently renovated in the western style. The first floor is occupied by the Archeological Museum (open 10.00 a.m. - 05.00 p.m. except weekends). Among various archaeological findings, you will see a copy the Golden Man. Its costume is made up of 4000 gold parts.
A jewel of the 28 Panfilov Heroes’ Park is the Svyato-Voznesensky Cathedral. Another wooden creation of Zenkov, it is said to be built in 1904-1907 without a single nail . The building has survived the notorious 1911 earthquake graded 10 points under the Richter scale and all subsequent earthquakes.
Svyato-Voznesensky Cathedral. Despite the long period that the Cathedral was not functional (1927-1995), it has kept its splendor and spirit. The Cathedral resumed daily services in 1996 after it had been returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. To the west from the Park is the Arasan Bath-House (Kazakh for Warm Spring). This huge building with 6 domes and the interior in the Kazakh national style brings oriental palaces to mind. The Bath-House offers Russian, Turkish baths, saunas, water treatment and showers. There is a children’s department, first rate individual rooms with showers, saunas and swimming pools, cafes and a restaurant.
Another way to continue your walk after the Park is to visit the Green Bazaar (Zeleny Bazaar). If you were brave enough to come to Almaty, you should not lose the chance to see Almaty’s main bazaar, experience its eastern atmosphere, colors, smells and crowds. Of course, beware of thieves and watch your wallet. You will hardly be able to resist the temptation to buy dried apricots or raisins, Korean salads or honey from the Altay Mountains. Bazaars are one of the few places that expose ethnic diversities in the contemporary world going for uniformity.
At a short distance from the Green Bazaar, the biggest mosque in Kazakhstan is located. It was built with public donations and consecrated on 5 July 1999. The mosque replaced an old one that had been functioning since 1890 and finally was not able to hold all the believers. The new building’s size and beauty (white marble walls decorated with glazed tiles contrasting with a blue 20m x 36 m dome) make it unrivalled among other Almaty mosques.
A muezzin praying from the minaret, a mandatory attribute of every mosque is heard from afar.
We would like to finish our story here. You are encouraged to try the route and visit the places that we have described here. By the way, we did it ourselves several times when writing this Guide and every time it was different and exciting because Almaty, its streets and people are never the same.
