Almaty

Why Almaty works

Almaty served as Kazakhstan's capital until 1997, and it remains the country's cultural and commercial heart, set dramatically against the northern face of the Tian Shan range with snow visible on the surrounding peaks for much of the year. Panfilov Park holds the Zenkov Cathedral, an Orthodox church built entirely of wood in 1907 without a single iron nail — reportedly the second-tallest wooden building in the world — and a Soviet war memorial with an eternal flame. Kok-Tobe, a hill on the city's southeastern edge, is reached by cable car and offers panoramic views across Almaty to the mountains beyond, alongside a small amusement park and restaurants popular for sunset dining. The Medeu ice rink, at 1,691 metres one of the world's highest, and the Shymbulak ski resort further up the valley give Almaty genuine mountain-sport credentials within a short drive of downtown. Green Bazaar trades in Kazakh dried fruit, horse meat sausages, kumis (fermented mare's milk) and Central Asian spices in a covered Soviet-era market hall. Almaty's broad, plane-tree-lined avenues and numerous parks give it a noticeably softer, greener character than Kazakhstan's purpose-built capital Astana, and its café culture and growing contemporary art scene make it the more relaxed of the two cities to spend time in.

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