Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is the world’s ninth biggest country and one of great travel unknowns. The most economically advanced of the "Stans", Kazakhstan is reinventing itself as a prosperous and modern Eurasian nation. President Nursultan Nazarbaev, who has ruled Kazakhstan since Soviet times, is forging a peaceful, multi-ethnic nation.
Rich in natural resources such as oil, natural gas and minerals, Kazakhstan is a country of huge economic potential. Oil development has brought rapid economic growth and the country is already a significant oil exporter.
Astana, declared a world city by UNESCO in 1999, has been the capital of Kazakhstan since 1997, and is one of the main commercial centres with all government organizations and many foreign businesses located there. Almaty, situated in the fertile fruit-producing region in the southeast is the former capital of Kazakhstan and is the largest city in the country. Famed for its beautiful architecture, grand ballet and opera houses, public sculptures and market stalls, an almost European feel of its quality hotels, slick boutiques, chic cafés and streets thick with BMWs and Mercedes, Almaty is the cultural centre of Kazakhstan and well worth a visit.
Travellers are captivated by the emptiness and mystery of this vast country. Around the fringes of the great steppes, Kazakhstan presents a surprising array of adventures. You can trek on foot or horse in the spectacular Tien Shan or Altay Mountains, watch flamingos on steppe lakes or discover mysterious underground Islamic retreats near the Caspian Sea. Community-based ecotourism programs in some of the most beautiful areas enable travellers to stay with village families at affordable rates
South Kazakhstan is a focus of Central Asian history, featuring many famous monuments. It is a scenically diverse region where the snow-capped peaks, lakes and glaciers of the Tien Shan range give way to steppe and desert. The desert is home to the Singing Barkhan - a sand dune 3.2 kilometres (2 miles) long, which produces a peculiar singing sound as it stirs in the wind.
Other sights and activities in Kazakhstan include skiing, visiting the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the famous spaceport launch site, bird watching in Korgalzhyn and visiting one of the country's striking nature reserves where bears, ibex and raptors can be observed.
Though the outside world is gradually becoming aware of Kazakhstan, largely thanks to oil and the comedy film of pseudo-Kazakh, Borat Sagdiyev, Kazakh is still an intriguing and little-known country of vast plains, mountainous horizons and beautiful culture, waiting to be unexplored and here our Discovery Kazakhstan Travel Guide comes in handy.
Silk Road Media has published Discovery Kazakhstan, Discovery Kyrgyzstan, Discovery Issyk Kul, Discovery Tajikistan and Discovery Uzbekistan travel guides. There have been 14 issues in five languages - English, French, German, Japanese, and Russian.
The Discovery Travel Guide is a reliable travel guide, with special features, such as 100 essential pages about any one country, apolitical in style, with accessible language, large photos and rich text, good maps, a favorable price, and an exclusive pocket-size format.
The Discovery Kazakhstan Travel Guide is researched and written by professional travel writers and local experts. It contains up-to-date information on visa regulations, public holidays, festivals, sight-seeing, museums, stunning landscapes, trekking, skiing, entertainment, and the best hotels and restaurants.