Highlights of Almaty

10:00

Voznesenski orthodox cathedral was built by the architect-engineer Zenkov in 1886. It was further enlarged in 1904. From 1930 to 1940 it was used by important public organizations. This cathedral was built without a single nail from wooden plates and is considered the Second tallest building in the world that was built from wood. It was the only building that withstood earthquakes of 1887 and 1910. Also the first radio transmitters in Almaty were situated in the cathedral's belfry;

11:00

Museum of Kazakh folk instruments was built in 1910 by architect Zenkov from wooden plates and nowadays hosts exhibitions of more than 297 ancient Kazakhstani and ancient Turk instruments that can’t be seen anywhere in the world such as Narkobyz which is more than 300 years old and was used by shamans during rituals. The collection includes personal dombras of poets, zhyrau and composers, such as: Abai, Zhambyl, Makhambet, Dina, Shashu bai, Kazangap, Nartai, Kenen, Seitek, Muryn zhyrau, Kyzyl zhyrau, Boltirik zhyrau, A. Zhubanov, A. Kashaubaev, A. Khasenov, D. Myktybaev and other figures of the musical arts.

12:00

Central Mosque of Almaty is one of the largest and most beautiful magnificent mosques in Kazakhstan. The authors of the project were S. Baimagambetov, Sh Sharapov and K. Zharylgapov; it was constructed in the Timurid style of architecture. The Mosque looks ancient, with its Turkish calligraphy, domes and minarets, but was only completed in 1999. Inside the mosque is designed with luxury, but in such manner that the interior seems quite plain and such combination of rich decoration and religious simplicity creates the harmonic image of mosque, which one will not want to leave from.

13:00

Lunch

14:00

Hotel Kazakhstan was built in 1975–1977 by architects J.G. Ratushny, L.L. Ukhobotov. It is the second tallest building in the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan. It is 102 m (335 ft) tall, with 26 floors. It is situated in the southern center of Almaty and located on Dostyk Avenue, a major road in the east part of the city which runs all the way from Medeo to Panfilov Park, in the north part of town. This is a triumph of design and engineering of the 20th century builders. Architectural individualism of the hotel combines the achievements of modern civilization and traditional hospitality of Kazakh people. It was the first high rise building which was built by seismic stability technologies.

15:00

The Monument of Independence is located on Republic Square, one of Almaty’s main squares. The monument is dedicated to the Republic of Kazakhstan’s rich history, from the time of Queen Tomiris to the present day. The architects of it were a group of Kazakh architects under the leadership of Shota Valihanov. The statue of Golden Warrior and a barys stands atop a 91 feet (28 m) tall column. The Golden Warrior is a rich example of a historical artifact pre-dating Russian Imperial rule and provides insights into the history of Kazakhstan. Also at the foot of stele there is the bronze book of wish fulfillment. On the one side of open book it is written on Old Turkic language “Choose and be happy”, and on the other side there is the imprint of palm of the President of the country.

16:00

The Central State Museum is one of the oldest and largest museums of the Central Asia. From 1985 the state museum was housed in specially designed building with a total area of 17557 sq. m. The building of the museum was constructed by J.Ratushniy, Z.Mustafina and B.Rzagalieva's projects. A display area of the museum is 4800 sq.km. The total number of stored exhibits is 215972 units хр.(including a fixed capital 176.565); 4383 subjects are presented to expositions. At present the collection of the Central State Museum consists of more than 300 000 artefacts of worldly and religious heritage. The museum has 7 main exhibition halls.

17:00

Transfer to the hotel