Almaty attractions

Historical experience of the nation can be seen on the material body of the city. Since the city itself was founded in 1854 as a small military castle to protect the interests of Russian Empire in this area and later in 1910 (1911) the city was destroyed during a strong earthquake, one cannot find very old architecture samples. After the October revolution in 1917, the Communist party made a decision to move the capital of Kazakh SSR to the then Alma-Ata in 1927. As a result, the city became bigger and modern. When USSR finished WW II and when later Nikita Khrushchev became a new leader, he started construction boom to house the people because housing was deficit. As a result, the city changed significantly. New districts were added to the urban area. More people moved from province to expanding urban areas.

As of now, during a city tour one can expect to see traces of three historical epochs – Tsarist Russia, Soviet Union and independent Kazakhstan. Lion’s share of places of interest belong to the Soviet period because that period was the longest and the most active when it comes to city building. If one has traveled extensively across former Soviet republics, then present day Almaty is viewed as a typical Soviet or Eastern European urban area - the same grey color living apartment blocks in every city. Despite that, Almaty has its own unique warm aura. Local residents love the city very much. Fresh mountain breeze, southern warm climate, high mountains combined add interesting features to the picture.

As one may notice, the city is experiencing active construction boom. Growing internal migration from province to cities and natural growth of demographics demands more housing spaces. As a result, it all shapes city sights. As of now, along one street one may see a mix of new and old. Old church and museum site are located next to modern living blocks and business centers where contemporary business entities have their office. As a rule, 8 hours long tour is more than enough to visit all the must-see places of interest in Almaty. Knowledge of historical experience of the city is useful for better understanding the world history. All events are connected and Almaty was and is a part of the big world. Below is the list of items to be explored: