I am going to travel to kazakhstan to see my girlfriend i met over the summer, can you tell me more about it?

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just1brown

wow
so you're a adventures seeker?..
have fun

who knows - it could be a travel of your life...

Ravin

God, I knew there'd be people mentioning Borat. For the record, Borat's character is not based on anything having to do with Kazakhstan in reality, just on American stereotypes of remote countries that generally few Americans bother to learn about. To his credit, though, Sasha Baron Cohen's character is only really giving Kazakhstan more attention... hey, at least more people have heard of it now, and that's a start. Also, for the record, Kazakhstan is NOT a European country. It is 100% in Asia, although it used to be in the USSR. A couple of the previous answers (especially the guy who was stationed there) are good... you'll likely find that the most 'modern' cities, at least for Kazakhstan, are Astana and Almaty. Astana lies farther in the north, but Almaty is closer to the mountains and to the borders of the smaller neighboring 'Stans' (I think it's fair to mention that it was incredibly shortsighted and smallminded for a previous answerer to say he'd never go to a place that ends in "stan". How pathetic). Almaty also used to be the capital of Kazakhstan, until fairly recently. It's the biggest former Soviet republic in size after Russia, so what you can expect to see and experience really depends on where your girlfriend lives and where you might go... in which case, your best bet is to ask her yourself!

keri0426

Why don't you ask your girlfriend?

lil_fella2

I lived in Kazakhstan while in the Army. Kazakhstan is pretty primitive once you get out of the major cities(Astana and Almaty). Life is grand in the cities; they are very receptive to Americans and will do most everything to help you (for a very modest price). I was suprised at the Turkish influence that far East. If you are going soon, make sure you take warm clothes as Almaty is at the base of the Tian Shan mountains, and frequent snow storms are the norm for winter.

SundaeG1rl

Ask Borat.

stevensontj

Kazakhstan. It's niiiiiiiiiice.

Lonely planet says:

If you're not a fan of endless semi-arid steppe and decaying industrial cities, Kazakhstan (Kazakstan) may seem bleak, but those who enjoy remoteness, wide open spaces, lunar landscapes, long hypnotic train rides and horse sausage will definitely be in their element.

Almatinsky Nature Reserve
mountain ; national park

This rugged area is an important habitat of the elusive snow leopard, among other rare species. It contains Mt Talgar, the highest peak in the Zailiysky Alatau at 4979m (16330ft), which takes experienced climbers four days to climb. You're supposed to have special permits to enter the reserve but, in practice, no-one seems to be checking.

Have fun.

andrew b

yeh sorry mate you missed the summer!

Mantra

Kazakhstan, also spelled Kazakstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of northern and central Eurasia. A portion of its territory west of the Ural River is located in eastern-most Europe. It has borders with Russia, the People's Republic of China, and the Central Asian countries Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and has a coastline on the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan was a republic of the former Soviet Union and is now a member of the Commonwealth of Independent states.

Kazakhstan is a constitutional republic with a strong presidency. The president is the head of state. The president also is the commander in chief of the armed forces and may veto legislation that has been passed by the Parliament. President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has been in office since Kazakhstan became independent, won a new 7-year term in the 1999 election that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said fell short of international standards. The prime minister, who serves at the pleasure of the president, chairs the Cabinet of Ministers and serves as Kazakhstan's head of government. There are three deputy prime ministers and 16 ministers in the Cabinet. Daniyal K. Akhmetov became the Prime Minister in June 2003.

The terrain extends west to east from the Caspian Sea to the Altay Mountains and north to south from the plains of Western Siberia to the oasis and desert of Central Asia. The Kazakh Steppe, with an area of around 804,500 square kilometres (310,600 sq. mi), occupies one-third of the country and is the world's largest dry steppe region. The steppe is characterized by large areas of grasslands and sandy regions. Important rivers and lakes include: the Aral Sea, Ili River, Irtysh River, Ishim River, Ural River, Lake Balkhash, and Lake Zaysan

The climate is continental, with hot summers and colder winters. Precipitation varies between arid and semi-arid conditions

The majority of modern Kazakhstanis are currently either ethnic Kazakhs (58%-60%) or Russians (25%-27%), with smaller Ukrainian, Uzbek, German, Uyghur, Koreans and other minorities totalling 15%-17%. There is also a small but visible Jewish community. Before 1991, one million Volga Germans lived in Kazakhstan; much of this community emigrated to Germany following the breakup of the Soviet Union. The main religious groupings are Sunni Islam, Russian Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism and Ukrainian Orthodoxy.

Kazakhstan is a bilingual country: the Kazakh language, spoken by 64.4% of the population, has the status of the "state" language, while Russian is declared the "official" language, and is used routinely in business.

cleo the pussycat

look out for Borat

Blackbird

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhstan

axemanjase

has your girlfreind got hair on her head 2 eyes a nose 2 arms & 2 legs because if so i think i might know her

ArskElvis

I would not go anywhere that has a name ending in STAN

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