Part II of my blog entry about Aktobe, Kazakhstan reviews the different attractions around the city. I was only in town for just under a week, so it would be a fallacy for me to say that I saw everything there is to see in the city. I can only write about my experiences and what I've seen, but I like to think that I visited some pretty neat places and would like to pass the experience along to any interested reader, so here we go!
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| A monument inside Nazarbayev Park, Aktobe, KZ |
Parks and Sites:
I would like to comment about how the people of Aktobe enjoy being outside and walking around much more than most people of their neighboring country to the north (perhaps due to a warmer climate). Citizens can be seen at several parks throughout the town at almost any hour of the day. This makes for a very fun and social environment.
The first park which I stopped at in my tour of the city is called Pushkin Park (paying tribute to the famous Russian poet), which is about the size of one city block. The area is more catered towards younger kids, as it has several small carnival rides boarding the perimeter of the park. Visitors can buy several types of sweets and ice cream, or just enjoy a leisure stroll through the park. As I said, it isn't so big, but it is a nice little stop in town.
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| Me near a statue in Pushkin Park |
Another area which is a lot of fun is near to what they call Nurdaulet, which is very near to the city's football stadium. This is where I met a Kazakh boy wearing a Minnesota Wild hockey t-shirt (random!). Anyways, this area directly in front of a Mosque/Mall (two buildings combined into one) and is small in terms of area. There is a small zoo on display in front with less than a dozen animal species. However, this small zoo does hold a giraffe and most impressively, a lion. The atmosphere is very fun and the area is very nice as most of the buildings are new with some interesting architecture.
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| The park near Nurdaulet |
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| The lion at the park near Nurdaulet |
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| The giraffe at the park near Nurdaulet |
The last park which I would like to talk about is the Nazarbayev Park, which is named after the current president of Kazakhstan. This park is by far the largest of the three mentioned in my blog, and the total size must be close to one square kilometer. This area is very interesting because within these grounds, there is a impressive mosque and a church! Past the church is a new city mall which contains an indoor ice rink! Very near to the mall, there is also a nice fountain which plays music and lights up at night, and a modern style monument constructed in commemoration of Nazarbayev. The park extends through a row of trees towards a man-made river, which has several picturesque bridges which can be traversed by foot. Towards one end, there is also a tall pillar/flagpole which is another monument to the current president (and only president in Kazakh history). This area is one of the nicest places in the city and is almost everything is brand new. People gathered here starting from midday into late night. The music fountain plays everything from US pop music to traditional Kazakh songs. This is definitely an enjoyable stop.
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| In front of the music fountain in Nazarbayev Park |
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| Nur-Gasyr mosque near Nazarbayev Park |
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| Inside Nazarbayev Park |
About 15 minutes away from the middle of the city, is a very large man-made lake called Aktyubinskoe More. I was taken here to enjoy a sunny afternoon and to take a nice dip in the water. The area is interesting because there are no houses or buildings next to the lake, so it feels a little empty. Much of the shore is either cliff or rocky, but there are several nice sandy areas for people wanting to get a tan or who just want to swim. This was also a nice area to visit.
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| Aktyubinskoe More |
Next up: Aktobe, Kazakhstan (Part III)
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