TWO MORE ALMATY NIGHTS

After a good nigt's catch-up sleep and hearty breakfast, it's a short walk up to Central State Museum, one of the largest in Central Asia, established in the 1930s and contained within this building since 1985.  



The museum houses the most significant collection of Kazakh historical, archaeological, and modern cultural and political artifacts.  A few highlights...









  
And a nice cafeteria in the basement for chicken+veg lunch 

It’s a 1 mile walk to the Kok-Tobe cable-car






which feels rather like an out-of-season seaside town with horrible piped music, sad-looking golden eagle for costumed photos; good view of town though, the mountains and tall Almaty Tower




The Ferris wheel gives that little extra height


  
  

but the 'Beatles'(!?) statue is quite bad


Coffee and view-admiring until sunset



 
 


And a birthday boy is 'enjoying' his present - a reverse bungee jump, propelling him, stomach-churningly,
Next to the 1970 concert hall 'Palace of the Republic' (formerly, the Lenin Palace of Culture, for the 100th anniversary of his birth)


is a statue of the poet, Abay 


The 2011 Asian Winter Games were held in Kazakhstan.  On the SE outskirts of Almaty is Medeu, an outdoor speed-skating rink, in a beautiful mountain valley, 1,691 above sea level.



 


and a local minibus takes you further up


to Shymbulak, the largest ski resort in Central Asia, at 2,200 m (7,200ft)


Not much snow lower down
 
 
  

but you reach 3200m and it starts - not enough for skiing (til November) but pretty

 
 
  


 After lunch, back down to Medeu


and onto a local #12 bus back into town
 



 

Views of Kok-tobe, up the hill


Last morning and we've agreed with yesterday's taxi driver to take us into the hills 15km south



 


 

to the Big Almaty Lake, a natural lake formed as the result of an earthquake at 2,511m,  It's a major source of local drinking water

 

 And straight to the airport for our afternoon flight north to Nur-Sultan


 


 with some last views of Almaty


including passing under the cable-car to Kok-Tobe


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