Theme Week Kazakhstan

Monday, 19 November 2018 - 12:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General, Theme Weeks
Reading Time:  2 minutes

Ak Oda Presidential Palace in Astana © panoramio.com - Nikolay Olkhovoy/cc-by-3.0

Ak Oda Presidential Palace in Astana © panoramio.com – Nikolay Olkhovoy/cc-by-3.0

Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is the world’s largest landlocked country, and the ninth largest in the world, with an area of 2,724,900 square kilometres (1,052,100 sq mi). Kazakhstan is the dominant nation of Central Asia economically, generating 60% of the region’s GDP, primarily through its oil/gas industry. It also has vast mineral resources (List of cities in Kazakhstan, Economy of Kazakhstan, Tourism in Kazakhstan and Kazakh cuisine).

Kazakhstan is officially a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic with a diverse cultural heritage. Kazakhstan shares borders with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, and also adjoins a large part of the Caspian Sea. The terrain of Kazakhstan includes flatlands, steppe, taiga, rock canyons, hills, deltas, snow-capped mountains, and deserts. Kazakhstan has an estimated 18 million people as of 2014<. Given its large land area, its population density is among the lowest, at less than 6 people per square kilometre (15 people per sq mi). The capital is Astana, where it was moved in 1997 from Almaty, the country’s largest city.

The territory of Kazakhstan has historically been inhabited by Turkic nomads who trace their ancestry to many Turkic states such as Turkic Khaganate etc. In the 13th century, the territory joined the Mongolian Empire under Genghis Khan. By the 16th century, the Kazakh emerged as a distinct group, divided into three jüz (ancestor branches occupying specific territories). The Russians began advancing into the Kazakh steppe in the 18th century, and by the mid-19th century, they nominally ruled all of Kazakhstan as part of the Russian Empire. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, and subsequent civil war, the territory of Kazakhstan was reorganised several times. In 1936, it was made the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, part of the Soviet Union.

Shymkent © panoramio.com - Saken Kenzhebayev/cc-by-3.0 Mountain region in South-eastern Kazakhstan © panoramio.com - Ilya Rudakov/cc-by-sa-3.0 Khan-Shatyr Entertainment Center in Astana © Ninaras/cc-by-4.0 Kazakh National University of Arts in Astana © flickr.com - Ken and Nyetta/cc-by-2.0 Karaganda © panoramio.com - Валерий Парфёнов/cc-by-3.0 Kazakh Parliament in Astana © flickr.com - msykos/cc-by-2.0 Astana © Ninaras/cc-by-4.0 Ak Oda Presidential Palace in Astana © panoramio.com - Nikolay Olkhovoy/cc-by-3.0 Ascension Cathedral in Almaty © Vmenkov/cc-by-sa-3.0
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Mountain region in South-eastern Kazakhstan © panoramio.com - Ilya Rudakov/cc-by-sa-3.0
Kazakhstan was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The current President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has been leader of the country since then, and is characterised as authoritarian, with a government history of human rights abuses and suppression of political opposition. Kazakhstan has worked to develop its economy, especially its dominant hydrocarbon industry.

In 2012, Kazakhstan ranked 51st in the world in terms of number of tourist arrivals. In 2000 total 1.47 million international tourists visited Kazakhstan, which was increased to 4.81 million in 2012. The Guardian describes tourism in Kazakhstan as, “hugely underdeveloped,” despite the attractions of the country’s dramatic mountain, lake and desert landscapes. Factors hampering an increase in tourist visits are said to include high prices, “shabby infrastructure,” “poor service” and the logistical difficulties of travel in a geographically enormous, underdeveloped country. Even for locals, going for holiday abroad may cost only half the price of taking a holiday in Kazakhstan. The Kazakh Government, long characterized as authoritarian with a history of human rights abuses and suppression of political opposition, has started an initiative named the “Tourism Industry Development Plan 2020”. This initiative aims to establish five tourism clusters in Kazakhstan: Astana city, Almaty city, East Kazakhstan, South Kazakhstan, and West Kazakhstan Oblasts. It also seeks investment of $4 billion and the creation of 300,000 new jobs in the tourism industry by 2020.

Here you can find the complete Overview of all Theme Weeks.

Read more on Kazakhstan Tourism, LonelyPlanet.com – Kazakhstan, U.S. Department of State – Kazakhstan, History, Culture, Cuisine, Tourism, Economy, Democracy, Human Rights, Wikitravel Kazakhstan, Wikivoyage Kazakhstan and Wikipedia Kazakhstan. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




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