July 6, 2012 the largest mosque in Kazakhstan and Central Asia “Hazrat Sultan” was opened in the capital city of the country Astana.

The building is constructed in the classic Islamic style using traditional Kazakh ornaments. The mosque standing on the right bank of the Yesil River is located near the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, and a monument “Kazakh Eli”. Photos by voxpopuli.kz

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Tags: Astana city · mosques

The 151 General Assembly of the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) was held on June 12. This offered Kazakhstan an opportunity to present its bid to host EXPO 2017 – the next scheduled International Exposition after Expo 2015.

The winning candidate will be decided by the BIE in December 2012 in Paris. Here is the presentation video of Astana at the assembly.

Tags: Astana city

The Palace of Peace and Accord because of its characteristic form is simply called the Pyramid. It is one of the most recognizable, interesting and controversial buildings of Astana – the new capital city of Kazakhstan.

The pyramid was built in 2006 (architect Sir Norman Foster). The dimensions of the palace: length – 62 meters, width – 62 meters, height – 62 meters. The concept of the palace is tolerance and unity of different religions. Photos by Pavel Kremnev.

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Tags: Astana city · pyramid

Akorda is the residence of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan located on the left bank of the River Ishim in Astana – the capital city of the country. Official presentation of the new palace of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held December 24, 2004.

Next to the residence the Parliament, the Government, the Supreme Court, and the House of the Ministries of Kazakhstan are located. The residence is depicted on the banknote of 10,000 tenge. Photos by Karla Nur for voxpopuli.kz

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Tags: Akorda · Astana city

A couple of nice time-lapse videos of Kazakhstan new capital city Astana located in the steppe region of the country and former capital, largest city of Kazakhstan Almaty surrounded by the mountains.

Tags: Almaty city · Astana city · time-lapse

According to the officials of Astana it is the most beautiful fountain in Kazakhstan.

Tags: Astana city · fountain

Looking pretty good

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Tags: Astana city · park · reconstruction

Oceanarium “Duman” is a drop of the southern seas, taken away more than three thousand kilometers. It is a unique place in Kazakhstan, the heart of the entertainment center “Duman”.
Oceanarium is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most distant from the world ocean oceanarium. Address: Astana, Prospect Kabanbai batir, 4.

Tags: Astana city · oceanarium

The new railway station will be built in south-eastern part of Astana, on the continuation of one of the main streets of the city – G.Mustafin Street. This street leads to the most significant buildings of the new Kazakhstan capital.

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Tags: Astana city · railway station

Astana has the status of the capital city of Kazakhstan from December 10, 1997. The population of Astana is about 700,000, it is the second largest city in the country after former capital Almaty.

The main reason for moving the capital was the geographical location of the city – it is much more accessible to Russia and the chance of earthquake is much smaller. The following beautiful photos of Astana were taken by Stepanov Slava.

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Tags: Astana city