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Along the Silk Road: Kazakhstan, Greener and Stranger Than I Imagined
- Laurie Hull
- Apr 16
- 3 min read
Updated: 21 hours ago
The Five Stans: Countries I knew nothing of, yet here I was, arriving in Central Asia somewhere between exhaustion and wonder. After fifteen hours in the air, with a gloriously over the top layover in Istanbul's business class lounge (shower included), I landed in Almaty, Kazakhstan, asking myself how a city could possibly be this green. Parks at every turn. Tree lined boulevards. Exactly what my jet-lagged body and lungs needed.
Almaty exists in a category all its own. Not Europe, not Asia, not Middle East, but something entirely its own. By day it is green and alive. By night it transforms into a spectacle of neon lights, occasional enormous LED screens mounted on rooftops, and buildings crowned with lit architectural decor. One building outside my window wore an actual crown. Soviet era blocky buildings standing side by side with glitzy modern towers, in juxtaposition to the fountains and statues that, to me, are the true anchors of the city. It is a city reaching toward the future while carrying its past, and that contrast is endlessly interesting to watch. I found great coffee too. TJ's was a standout, and I tracked down what may be the best flat white of the trip at a spot called Jump in Goat. Yup, it's the name that drew me in.
My friend Kathy and I joined a Road Scholar group to see countries neither of us knew much about. It turned out to be a wonderfully well traveled, curious, and great group of people, the kind who by the end of a trip have become real friends. We shared three meals a day, stood side by side at ancient sites, and found ourselves participants in a raucous mock Turkmen wedding at the end of this marvelous adventure. One of my favorite things about organized travel is exactly this: the way complete strangers become a small, well oiled, bonded family, a temporary world unto themselves. We were fortunate to have such great fellow travelers. Our guide Timur, originally from Khiva, was the true treasure of this trip. More about him later.
Almaty
We visited the stunning Zenkov Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox gem built at the turn of the century entirely without nails, its yellow and green facade and golden domes going back to the era of the czars. It somehow survived the devastating 1911 earthquake that leveled much of Almaty. I arrived just in time for two services and the experience was absolutely magnificent.
The real surprise of the day was a falconry sanctuary demonstration unlike any I have seen, and I have seen a few. The falconer was edgy, funny, and very skilled. Birds flew directly over our heads, drawn by the lure of food (dead baby chicks), and the crowd was half thrilled and half ducking. Later, an enormous Eurasian Eagle-Owl landed directly on my head, which sounds thrilling until you remember the owl had just finished eating a dead baby chick moments before. The claws were strong and sharp. I could not wait to wash my hair.
Photo captions: Bearded Vulture with the last of a dead chick in its mouth; Himalayan Griffon Vulture; Golden Eagle; Eurasian Eagle-Owl; Great Gray Owl.
The Museum of Musical Instruments was a quieter pleasure, with a beautiful collection of traditional Kazakh instruments including the dombra, a two-stringed lute found throughout Central Asia.
Below is a musical group entertaining us at lunch with traditional instruments: dombra, Kazakh jaw harp, Kobyz.
The Green Bazaar was everything a market should be: overwhelming, colorful, fragrant, and impossible to leave quickly. Produce, nuts, dried fruits, spices piled high in brilliant abundance, and even dried bats, snakes and frogs. As for the food generally, it runs heavy on meat, to include horse, as expected across Central Asia.
Bats, snakes and frogs - oh my!
