May 2025 – Page 3 – wanderingbishops.com

May 4, 2025: Touring Almaty.

May 4, 2025 cjbishop@yahoo.com

It is expected to be sunny and 77 today as we tour the highlights of Almaty. We leave at 9AM and it should be a busy day. Our first stop was at Liberty Square to see the Independence monument and display of important milestone events in Kazakhstan history.

Large 50 passenger buses. So with 16 tour people we have plenty of room to move about.

Independence monument, celebrating the independence of Kazakhstan. it is 28 meters high.

Put your hand on the book and make a wish. Looks like many people have.

Metal sculpture portraying the early history of Kazakhstan. It is one of a series of such sculptures that portray significant events in the country’s history.

This scene portrays events when Russia was involved.

There are a lot of electric scooters all over the city. No evidence of electric bikes.

Then it was on to the Central State Museum where there are exhibits that detail the development of Kazakhstan and its people. A main attraction was a visit to heavily guarded “Gold Room” which houses gold objects from as far back as 800BCE. Needless to say we were closely watched so we would not attempt to take pictures of the gold jewelry and artifacts on display there. We did have some time to view other exhibits that describe the life and culture of the people who live here. One of the other important exhibits was the “Golden Man” a warrior’s armor made of 4000 gold pieces. That we were able to photograph.

We saw these same yellow markings in Japan. They are there to assist blind people.

The golden man wearing 4000 pieces of gold.

What the inside of a yurt might look like.

These ornaments are designed to portray elements of your life.

Wedding attire. The tall hat would contain precious stones as sort of a dowry.

Onward we traveled to Kok-Tobe, a 3500 foot hill that is reached by an aerial tramway where a sort of amusement park is located. It does provide a great view of the city and surroundings; however, today there was a bit of haze in the area which limited the view.

Each gondola can hold 8 people. The ride is less than 10 minutes.

There is a ferry wheel and many other activities for families to enjoy while here.

Powered kiddie cars for rent. Pretty creative designs. They are very popular.

City view of Almaty. Unfortunately it was hazy today.

From there we traveled to the outskirts of Almaty to see an exhibit of traditional Kazakh falconry, listen to a musical performance of Kazakh music played on traditional Kazakh instruments and have a authentic Kazakh style lunch.

The trainer with his first animal-a tiny owl.

The smallest owl in the owl family. He was about 8-10 inches long. Cute as all get out.

The biggest member of the owl family. He startled.us when he flew in as we did not know he was coming.

Making an entry with a golden eagle, the primary hunting bird in central Asia.

This is a griffon, a member of the vulture family. I had never seen one before.

After the animal show in walked a small ensemble of musicians wearing authentic costumes with musical instruments used in this part of the world. They proceeded to give us a short musical concert of traditional Kazakh music.

The ensemble who entertained us with local music played on local instruments.

Svetlana showing us the “dombra”, a two stringed mandolin type instrument.

A stringed instrument played like a violin but held on your lap.

This is a button accordion. I played a piano accordion where the right hand played on a piano like keyboard.

A yurt where the luncheon was waiting for us.

L to R: plate of beef and noodles (tasty), dumplings filled with beef (also tasty), salad, local small bread rolls, salmon rollups, and a pizza like bread.

A plate of beef tongue and horse meat. The tongue was tender, the horse meat was tough!

Late in the afternoon we went back to the city to visit the large Panfilov Park to view some war memorials and the famous wood Ascension (also called Zenkov) Russian Orthodox Cathedral, built in the 1907 without the use of nails! I must admit it was pretty spectacular.

Some of the new modern commercial buildings in Almaty.

The Park of 28 Panfilov Guardsmen,a large park de dotted to the memory of a Soviet regiment who defended Moscow against the Germans in 1941.

These electric carts, driven by little kids, were all over the park! You had to watch to avoid being hit.

The 1907 Ascension Cathedral in the park.

Stain glass windows create a serene atmosphere.

One of several receptacles where people can place votive candles.

This caught my eye as it is made with pearls and beads.

Near the cathedral are several war memorials, dedicated to those lost in various wars over the decades. The most important one is dedicated to the 28 soldiers of the Panfilov regiment that thwarted an attack on Moscow by the Germans in November, 1941.

The memorial to the Panfilov soldiers who defended Moscow against the Germans in 1941.

The visit to the park ended with a brief stop at a small museum dedicated to musical instruments, with a special emphasis on the popular Kazakh two -stringed instrument called the “dombra”.

I am a softie when it comes to accordions.

Instruments from other countries. In this case India.

The final stop was at the local bazaar called the “Green Market” which sports a green roof and happens to be open on Sundays. It is mostly a food market although there is a section where all sorts of clothing items are sold.

The meat area. Note each aisle features a meat.

Attached to food market is a mall loaded with small shops selling all sorts of clothing.

We stopped at a local chocolate factory and I bought this bar.it turns out to be similar to our Snickers bar.

We returned to the hotel late in the day and because of the late lunch most people skipped dinner, including myself. Tomorrow we leave on our fairly long overland trip the next “stan” on the list: Kyrgyzstan.

During the day we learned a variety of information about the area.
-There are 16 mosques in the city but they are not very obvious. Islam is the major religion but I never heard a call for prayer. There are 17 different religions.

-It can be hot in the summer, often reaching 30-35 degrees C, sometimes even 40 degrees. And winters can bring temperatures of -15 to -20 degreees C.

-Kazakhstan is one of few countries that has snow leopards. They are protected and it is estimated there are about 850 living in the mountains.They live about 3000 meters!

-Earthquakes and slides can be a problem for Almaty.

-Swetlana said the most expensive housing apartments cost $4000/sq meter ($400/sq ft) which is expensive for here.

Steps for the day: 12,397. No wonder I was tired at the end of the day!

May 3, 2025: First Stop-Almaty, Kazakhstan

May 3, 2025 cjbishop@yahoo.com

We arrived in Almaty as the sun arose in this modern metropolitan city. 3:40 AM landing in Almaty! We were met, as promised by a MIR representative. Svetlana will be our local host while in Almaty. It is 5AM at the airport and there were bands and music waiting for some arriving people. It was pretty rowdy, but in a happy way.

We were met, as promised by a MIR representative. Svetlana will be our local host while in Almaty.

A bit of trivia: Kazakhstan is the largest totally landlocked country in the world. By land mass it is the 9th largest country. The total population is about 22-25 million people so the population density is one of the lowest in the world.

Almaty was an oasis on the old Silk Road and was originally called Almatu. It was destroyed in 1211 by the Mongols (probably Genghis Khan). Almaty’s name means “the place with apples” and scientists believe this might be where apples originated. Almaty dominates the local region’s economy because of its oil, gas, iron and silver. It was part of the Soviet Union until its breakup in 1991. Ethnic Kazakhs make up 71.3 percent of the population and ethnic Russians are 14.6 percent. The majority of the people are Muslim.

Almaty is the largest city in Kazakhstan with a population of over two million people. It was the capital of Kazakhstan until 1997 when the capital was moved to Astana. It is a very cosmopolitan city and still the center for culture, economy, commerce and finance. It’s elevation is 2300-3000 feet. Almaty actually made a bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics and the city is considered an international hub for winter sports.

After check in at the hotel we were free for the day as it was felt that most people needed to catch up on their missed sleep. We agreed to meet our tour leader, Furkat Pulatov, at 5 PM to kick off our formal tour.

I had breakfast, showered, worked on this blog, took a short nap and went for an afternoon walk in the area. It was 70 degrees and a beautiful sunny day in Almaty. Svetlana said yesterday it rained all day and snowed in the mountains. What a difference a day makes!

Observations of my walk: the city is very clean; I saw no garbage anywhere. There is greenery everywhere. There are pedestrian-only walkways lined with trees. There are electric scooters everywhere. Cars are new and clean and they drive on the right side of the road. And they do honk their horns, unlike Japan! It seems to be a modern, dynamic city.

One of several young ladies in local attire waiting for the arrival of some government guests. I used google translate to speak briefly with her. Most people speak Russian although there is a Kazak language.

Musicians awaiting the guest arrival. Wish I could have heard them play as an accordion was part of the group.

One the the many pedestrian walkways in the city.

At 5PM all travelers gathered for a short meeting with our team leader, Furkat Pulatov, who briefed us on some of the details and logistics of the trip. Our group has 16 members (all from the USA) and I am one of four singles (3 men, 1 lady). There are two ladies who travel together and the rest are couples.

Having a local beer while waiting for our group meeting.

Furkat Pulatov, from Uzbekistan, is our tour leader for the trip. There will also be local guides in the individual countries.

For dinner I joined a health care couple (from Seattle) and a gentlemen from the Bay Area and walked to a recommended nearby restaurant that featured food and wine from the country of Georgia. It was such a pleasant evening we dined outside, but surprisingly by the time we finished it was a bit nippy (altitude?). By the way the food was spectacular and modestly priced.