En route to the UK, we're spending a week and a bit in Kazakhstan.

This is actually the rump of a rather longer projected trip, which would have taken us into Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan as well.

But our MM2H visa application meant we needed to be in or near Sarawak at this crucial time, rather than gallivanting around Central Asia. So our Kazakhstan trip became a stopover, with a few days in its biggest city, and then a few in its capital.

Never mind. We got the visas, and we can do the longer trip next year. (God willing. Always "God willing". Because you never, never know...)

Our first stop is Almaty.

Which is lovely. Just lovely. Immediately impressive is the Tian Shan, the mountain range that backs the city.




Plus it's spring at the moment; the sunny days are surprisingly balmy; and leaves and blossom are bursting out all over.



Almaty's chief claim to fame, from our point of view, is that it is wonderful for walking. The streets are tree-lined; the pavements are broad; there are traffic lights for pedestrians; and -- amazingly! -- motorists politely respect those pedestrians' right to cross. It's the kind of place where you're happy to just walk and re-walk various permutations of the grid, adding layers of context as you become more familiar with what's around you.


The "alleika" -- a pedestrian walkway that is almost like an elongated park -- constitutes another enjoyable feature of the cityscape. Tulebaev Street, for example, has a wonderful alleika running down the middle. A classical statue of Kazakh composer/conductor/teacher Mukan Tulebaev stands at the end. Mid-way, another sculpture commemorates Soviet rock star Viktor Tsoi. And many of the houses lining the way sport commemorative plaques.




Architecturally, Almaty is quite a gem. A few buildings (such as the all-wooden Zenkov Cathedral in Panfilov Park) survived the devastating earthquake in 1911.


Additionally, there are examples of Constructivist, Stalinist Empire, and
Soviet Modernist styles.










You'll notice I'm quoting a lot from Dennis Keen's amazing website, Walking Almaty. I love not only his detailed work on a city he obviously has a passion for, but also his more general vision for "documentary urbanism". As he explains, "Walking Almaty is a project where I systematically explore a city on foot, documenting the visual landscape with photography. Using careful observation, I try to identify the phenomena in Almatys architecture, infrastructure and street scene that give the city its 'feel,' and then I collect photos of these things to make a kind of annotated catalogue."

Of course, this approach works for any town/city, and he has identified many kindred spirits. It's the kind of thing we've always aspired to in our photographic records of the places we've lived in, but have never quite pursued in such a consistent, disciplined way.

Another very perceptible aspect of Almaty -- and Kazakhstan more generally, it would seem -- is its symbolism, with snow leopards, eagles, and guiding hands playing an important role.






In sum, so far, so awesome. Looking forward to more over the next couple of days.