Kazachstan.

July in Kazakhstan

Warm welcomes everywhere

From our first night at Semey

To the cacophony of car horns

And shouted greetings

As  we rode into Nur Sultan

Meeting Tsutomu again

Was a joy, a reminder of 

connections along the road.

It is hot here in July

Sunny,too.

We find shelter in bus stops or under the rare trees.

We pass by elaborate cemeteries

With ornate mausoleums 

above ground alongside the road.

Kazachstan is home to the Russian Space programme

Russia leases the Baikonur cosmodrome from Kazachstan

Which is in the west near the Aral Sea.

NASA astronauts are launched into space to the International Space Station

Onboard Soyuz space craft from Kazachstan

They land out on the vast steppes.

Pavlodar is our first stop

We take an administration day here

Dick get to have a turn as nurse.

Then to Nur Sultan

The capital since 1997

Known as Astana until March this year. 

Ultramodern glass clad buildings

Designed by architects including 

Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid

Of to Karaganda which was 70% ethnic German

From WW 11. Sent by Stalin to labour camps

To manufacture steel, mine coal and copper

We see towering chimneys, smog and 

Huge steel mills at Temirtau

Owned by ArcelorMittal

To Balkash where copper is mined

And smelted 

In a vast mill visible for many kms.

And a long hot day

Riding to Almaty

Vast open spaces

And a warm welcome

In a lovely hotel 

Where we can see the mountains

And have a rest.

Tatiana and Natasha who made us welcome and cooked our first meal in Kazachstan.

Tsutomu became our friend when we first met at the ferry port in Sakaiminato. It was a true joy to see him again.

Catch the shade where you can. Any bus stop will do.

Vast distances which seem to stretch to infinity. There are more road scenes on the video so I am not repeating them here.

A cemetery alongside a road.

Modern buildings in Nur Sultan. 

Leaving Nur Sultan after wonderful attention at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. We needed some TLC and we received it in abundance.

Horses

1941-45 war memorial.

Massive arrays of power pylons along our route.

Copper smelter at Balkash in the early morning light.

At the south of Lake Balkash.  It looks like a small copper plant

Camel milk for sale at the roadside in the desert.

A truck stop dressed in pink with frilly lace. Outside there is the ubiquitous long drop to one side and a horse being butchered on the other side.

Horse meat is served everywhere in Kazachstan. It is like beef to eat.

It is a vast lonely land out on the steppes.

 We arrive in Almaty  hot and tired after a long day on the road.

Happy to be here for a few days rest.

Norman Foster Norman FosterNormanNorman Foster ArcelorMittal