The Kazakhs are ethnicity and nation, indigenous and general population of Kazakhstan. Kazakhs are also living in nearby regions of China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia.

At present Kazakhstan is experiencing a period of national revival and the revival of national statehood. During the Soviet period Kazakhs’ traditions were proclaimed the relics of the past and were methodically eradicated. The following set of videos introduces you to the traditional games of Kazakhs.

Kazakh people national games – Intro

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Tags: Kazakhs · national games

Dzungarian Alatau is a mountain range located in the eastern part of the country on Kazakhstan-China border between Ili River and Alakol Lake.

The mountain range was named after the nearby desert. The total length of Dzungarian Alatau is about 450 km., width from 50 to 90 km, maximum altitude 4464 m on Mount Besbaskan. Photos by Grigoriy Bedenko.

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Tags: Dzungarian Alatau · Eastern Kazakhstan · mountains

Sary-Shagan is a military testing ground in Kazakhstan. It is located to the northwest and west of Lake Balkhash in the desert Betpak-Dala on the territories of Karaganda and Zhambyl oblasts.

Sary-Shagan is the first and only in Eurasia ground for developing and testing anti-missile weapons. Military units of the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan have regular training activities there. Photos by Grigoriy Bedenko.

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Tags: Karaganda oblast · missiles · Sary-Shagan · testing ground · Zhambyl oblast

Interesting video about several traditions of native people of Kazakhstan.

Tags: Kazakh traditions

Almaty oblast is one of the most beautiful and fascinating regions of Kazakhstan. Nature here is so amazing and full of contrasts that there are almost no repeating landscapes.

During one day trip you can visit the snow-capped mountains, wander through the pine forests and after a couple of hours journey walk among the dunes and sands of the endless steppes, feel the power and strength of ancient canyons and get lost in a maze of limestone mountains. Photos by Constantin Kikvidze from voxpopuli.kz.

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Tags: Almaty oblast · horses · landscapes · mountains · steppes

Mountains occupy less than 10% of Kazakhstan territory located mainly in the east and south-east of the country. There are, however, the mountain elevations in the central regions, in the far west and even in the northern regions, but all of them are low mountains, not even reaching 1000 meters above the sea level.

The really high mountains are Tian Shan mountains located in the south and south-east and Altai mountains located in the east of Kazakhstan. Tian Shan mountains are known for the variety of landscapes and their ecosystems contain more than half of the biological diversity of Kazakhstan.

Tags: Tian Shan mountains · time-lapse

Semey (former Semipalatinsk, renamed in 2007) is a city of East Kazakhstan oblast standing on Irtysh river banks. Semey is one the most ancient cities of Kazakhstan.

There are a lot of objects in the city which refer to architectural and historical monuments as well as a lot of statues to outstanding personalities linked with the city. Photos by lord_fame.

Tank T-34 monument

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Tags: Semey city

Zailiyskiy Alatau is a mountain range in north-western Tian Shan extending for 360 km (on the border of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan). The prevailing heights are 4000-4600 meters; the highest point is the peak Talgar (4973-5017 m).

Kazakhstan’s southern capital Almaty is located in the northern foothills of the mountains. Also the mountains are known for famous sports complex Medeo and high-altitude ski resort Chimbulak. Photos by prostoi_pacan.

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Tags: Almaty oblast · mountains · Zailiyskiy Alatau

Almaty, former capital city of Kazakhstan, is one of the most beautiful cities in Central Asia. With its European style architecture, modern buildings and glorious breathtaking mountains just minutes away from the city center it is a great option for business and leisure travellers alike.

Tags: Almaty city

Fascinating video in addition to our previous post about Kazakhs being the first horsemen in the world. Almost the same could be seen hundreds and thousands years before on the vast steppes of Kazakhstan.

Tags: horses