For all you chess players, have you ever seen a Chess Park before? We hadn't until we ventured into this small one full of grass-looking chess pieces in Astana!
For the first time in months, we used the local bus system to visit the new part of Kazakhstan's new capital as we were surprised to discover there was no metro system. We had been spoiled by the fast and frequent metro systems in Almaty, Kazakhstan's former capital, and also in other countries this trip, so having to wait for the bus in chilly and wet weather was a new experience!
Our goal was to see the city's Palace of Peace & Reconciliation but we had a long walk ahead of us first even after taking the bus to the new part of the city. We didn't mind as it meant passing some very exciting architecture.
The building with the huge arch in the middle was a government office tower.
It looked like a little bit of China had been transported to Astana!
The striking turquoise building was the Kazakhstan Central Concert Hall.
The Presidential Palace:
In the distance we could see the dramatic pyramid which was the peace building but we had to walk back across the river first.
Steven and I smiled when we saw the ad for Barcelona because that was where we'd be heading in a few days from Astana!
After over an hour's walk, we finally reached the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation but had a helluva time finding the entrance as there were no signs we saw.
The Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan:
We also caught sight of Hazrat Sultan Mosque as we continued to search for the entrance!
The 91-meter-high Kazak Yeli Monument, topped by a golden eagle, was intended to symbolize the historic destiny of the country's people. The figures at the base were from the country's past and present: heroic Batyrs or clan leaders from the Golden Horde, a dombra-playing musician, a contemporary couple with a child, and a five-meter bronze relief of President Nazarbayev at the base.
At long last, the entrance to the beautiful glass and steel pyramid which was opened in 2006 as the home for the Triennial Congress of World and Traditional Religions. Designed by British architect Norman Foster, the palace was conceived as Astana's symbolic center and also anticipated to be near its geographic center by 2030 when the city will have spread far beyond its current area.
Once inside, we joined a mandatory tour where the guide indicated the building's pyramid design was central to many religions. There were three levels: the first was all black and represented the underworld; the second was white and symbolized peace and the upper level was green and symbolized the sky. The height of the pyramid was 75 meters.
Building sketches were done by Foster with Nazarbayev, the country's president.
The building included a 1,326 seat multi-functional Opera Hall that was also used for political events and could be rented out. The acoustics were so good, the guide explained, no microphones were needed.
The top of the opera hall was made in the form of the sun.
I had never been in an all black building before so the first floor totally threw off my equilibrium the entire time we were there. I would hate to be there for any extended time and hope the staff get hazard pay!
I loved the way the elevators went from one side of the pyramid to another at a 60-degree angle although we could barely feel they were different. They were only one of just three 60-degree elevators in the world.
At the apex were windows filled with 130 stained-glass doves who were only visible from the inside.
Once we reached the almost blindingly white White Hall, the guide went to the center and announced she was standing on the top of the opera hall! She said that if we stand there and open our hands out wide, our wish would come through!
At the top of the white level were city offices and the winter garden, all of which were closed to visitors that day.
When we looked up, we could see some of the doves she'd talked about earlier. The number of doves represented the number of nationalities living in the city.
The guide showed us exhibits on the national dresses from Central Asian and European nations.
There were also a few exhibits on world religions as part of a future museum at the site.
That meant of course photos of Nazarbayev meeting with foreign religious leaders!
Statue of Ganesh, the Indian god of well being and wisdom with the head of an elephant:
It was when the guide pointed out the elevator rails, we could see for ourselves the 60-degree angle. It was quite a treat riding the unusual elevator.
Once back on the very black main floor again, we were able to wander around for a few minutes by ourselves.
In the lobby we saw an exhibit that depicted a very dark time in the nation's history when the wives of dissidents were sent by train from all over the USSR to Alzhir, a concentration camp, outside of Astana during the Soviet era. This was something neither Steven or I were aware of. There, female prisoners were forced to dig ponds and ditches for the gardens, build farms, herd cattle and build roads.
As women were sent to the camp only wearing whatever they had on when they were arrested, a clothing factory was built to make clothes for the prisoners and later for the soldiers.
Memorial stones for the women prisoners were installed at the museum commemorating the horrors that took place so close to Astana.
A sign indicated an 18 meter high by 9 meter wide Arch of Sorrow at the museum's entrance consisted of a dome covered in a veil, with the arch symbolizing the entrance to a a holy land and the meeting where two worlds, the living and the dead, takes place.
Of the more than 18,000 women who went through the camp, 7,270 perished. Their names are carved on the Memorial Hall. If we had more time, we would have found a way to go to Alzhir and learn more than we did from the exhibits here. I was impressed that the museum devoted a good amount of space to the topic to bring it to the attention of foreign visitors rather than trying to sweep it under the rug altogether.
I am glad we went to the museum but far more for its architectural uniqueness than for its being a place of peace and reconciliation as that we didn't really get much sense of that during our tour.
Across a massive boulevard from the pyramid was a large square and a monument that looked like it may have been promoting peace.
Nearby was another very unusual building. More on it later ...
Just beyond was a massive structure that looked like an upraised aspen leaf on which there was a continuous video loop in English and Kazakh stating Kazakhstan's desire for a nuclear-free world, ending nuclear testing and Obama's praising the new country for adopting a no nuclear policy.
Steven and I were both very impressed by what we'd seen of the new capital city's exciting architecture and looked forward to discovering more later that afternoon and the following day. It was amazing to think of how many exciting buildings had been erected since the president ordered the capital to be moved just twenty years earlier.
Next post: Astana's National Museum & Palace of Independence.
Posted on November 20th, 2018, from Cordoba, Spain.
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