Following the American celebration of Independence Day, we celebrated a local holiday, Astana Day. Concerts, festivals, outdoor fairs, and celebration in honor of the capital and also the birthday of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Although the city is only 15 years old (Nazarbayev relocated the capital here from Almaty in 1997), the celebrations were elaborate and ubiquitous. We didn't fight the crowds to be in the middle, but we did manage to take a stroll in one of the parks and stop by the Bayterek for a shashlik before catching city views and some fireworks at a friend's home.
 |
| Festivities in central Astana yesterday included concerts and food vendors and lots and lots of families. |
 |
| A look at Astana's youthful faces - the average age of the cities is reputed to be only 38! |
 |
| Our first whiff told us that we needed to try some shashlik fresh off of the grill! |
 |
| Restaurants here are often fancy and expensive, so this was our first taste of something authentically from Central Asia... Tasty, tasty, tasty. |
 |
| The skyline at night in Astana is something to behold as nearly everything is lit -- and often with sparkles! |
 |
| The Bayterek lights the night sky in the center of new Astana |
No comments:
Post a Comment