[시사매거진] Kazakhstan in Central Asia is well-known as the 9th largest area in the world with 2.7 mil sq km and natural beauty and center of culture because of its location along silk road. Since Kazakhstan has a large land it has various distinct sceneries depending on the region.

Starting from South of Kazakhstan, a building that stands tall on a vast plain called Mousoleum of Kjaja Ahmed Yasawi is 38 meters high and it is built to dedicate to Ahmed Yasawi, the 12th-century Islamic religious leader. After the death of the temple-building leader, the unfinished building has been located at the center of Turkistan in Southern Kazakhstan for more than 600 years. The people of Kazakhstan, whose Muslim population is 70% of the total, call this cemetery as a spiritual home. The cemetery is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of its technological prowess of medieval Persian architecture and historical value. Two months ago, April 10, 2021 the largest tourist complex in Central Asia called Keruen Saray was grand opened in Turkistan. It has numerous attractions such as a street of merchants and artisans from silk road era, a flying theater, an oriental bazaar, shopping center, an amphitheater for the equestrian show, hotels, restaurants and family entertainment complex and etc. The achievement of the complex is not only intrigue tourists providing amazing attractions, but also created over 4,000 permanent jobs and that will eventually activate a community and boost tourism industry. Currently, the number of Kazakhstan’s average foreign travelers is 1 million per year and with all these effects Kazakhstan is trying to intrigue more tourists internationally; their initial goal is 30 million per year.

The key tourist resource is the colorful Mother Nature spread over 25 times larger land than Korea. The Charyn Canyon, which stretches east of Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan. It is called 'Little Grand Canyon' because over time, the canyon has gained colorful formations of varying shapes and sizes so Visitors can see exotic scenery and vegetation in the middle of Central Asia.. Although it is much smaller than the Grand Canyon, it has been described as being equally impressive.

If you go the South of Almaty, you'll see a vast mountain range of more than 2,000 meters above sea level, and deep in the mountains, there's an emerald color "Big Almaty Lake.” The maximum length is 1.6km, so it's hard to capture all into the camera at once. It is a place where you can enjoy winter sports such as skiing and skating in winter and clean nature in summer. The Kazakh government is developing tourist attractions that utilize the characteristics of each region, while also preparing economic incentives such as returning VAT to tourists and increasing visa-free visits.

Here we come with the Southern west of Kazakhstan, Boszhira Mountain, one of the seven natural wonders in Kazakhstan that has been formed as a result of gradual changes of the ocean’s water level. It was formed in ages ago at the bottom of Tethys, ancient impetuous ocean in Mesozoic era. The valley of Boszhira is well-known as the most beautiful place of Mangyshlak Peninsula. It fascinates with its stunning and spectacular views as if it belonged to another planet with no rivers or highways, where the greatness of nature is unwavering. So tourists can see vast white clay deserts, limestone mountains, buttes more than 200 meters high. Small tip for the visitors is touring at night, sitting on the cliff watching the moon set on the horizon while milky way is on the top of the limestone mountains.

If it weren’t for an earthquake in East of Kazakhstan in 1911, one of the most beautiful lakes in the world wouldn’t be existed. Kaindy Lake, which is situated in the middle of Kazakhstan’s Tian Shan Mountains, is known for its ominous, but stunning, dead spruce trees that stick out of its crystal clear, turquoise water. When the earthquake ripped through the Tian Shan Mountains back in the days, it caused a large landslide that blocked a valley and formed a natural dam. Over the period of time rain filled the lake and submerging the forest of spruce trees. The trees are currently all dead, their roots are drowned in the deep beneath of the water, yet the half trunk of the trees stay above the water so it kinda looks like a giant spears soaring from the water. So it’s one of a kind landscape and backdrop that is a lure for photographers and natural lovers.

Lastly, current capital city of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan is full of dynamic and magnificent buildings. If Southern, Eastern and Western Kazakhstan is the center of natural scenery Northern Kazakhstan is moreover focusing on modern and state-of-the-art structures. For instance, Baiterek Tower a symbol of Nur-Sultan with a meaning of ‘New Start’, it is one of the most unique architectures in the world. The monument was built in 2002 and is meant to embody a folktale about a mythical tree of life and a magic bird of happiness: the bird, named Samruk, laid her egg in the crevice between two branches of the tree. Palace of Peace and Reconciliation is well-known as Pyramid of Kazakhstan. It was meant to be the place for World Religious Leaders’ Conference held every 3 years and what was amazing is it was constructed only in 2 years of time considering Nur-Sultan is very isolated capital in the world. So it is considered as the result of advanced technological engineering and transportation system.

we have looked on the tourism insights in Kazakhstan and what we can recognize is that Kazakhstan gives travelers a wide range of choices to pick which aspect of travel that they are desiring for.

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