Astana: the Tomorrowland of Central Asia
During a media trip to Kazakhstan, Travelmoles’s Ray Montgomery ventured to Astana, one of the world’s youngest capital cities.
Astana rises abruptly seemingly out of nowhere, almost mirage-like. A modern gilt-edged, shiny metropolis, it suddenly appears amid hundreds of square miles of flat, nondescript grassland of the Central Asian steppe. In 1997, Astana was born virtually from nothing, in a harsh landscape where winter temperatures drop to -30C.
From a very unpromising beginning, Astana has grown to almost one million inhabitants. Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev moved the capital 18 years ago, forcing all government agencies to relocate from Almaty, 1,000km to the south. Despite having a blank canvas to start with, it is a city of full of contrasts. In fact is some ways it is not a city at all in the conventional sense. There is no defined ‘downtown’ inner city area nor what I would describe as suburbs.
What you get is the President’s vision for a 21st century ‘smart’ city – wide boulevards, abundant landscaping and urban planning that sometimes defies logic. Taken as a whole, Astana’s eclectic architecture has been described as bizarre, ground-breaking, a pretentious vanity project and pretty much everything in between. There has certainly been no expense spared, funded by the country’s huge oil and gas revenues.
Take the Khan Shatyr as an example; few shopping centres can boast the likes of Sir Norman Foster as architect, but this is no ordinary mall. This is a huge shopping/entertainment centre built within a transparent canvas soaring 150 metres high. Billed as the world’s largest tent, it even features a sub-tropical climate with an indoor beach filled with sand sourced from the Maldives
In a similar vein, Astana’s ‘Palace of Peace,’ is in fact a futuristic glass built pyramid. The Presidential Palace is only slightly more conventional – an Islamic style version of the White House topped with a huge blue dome and golden spire. Even the State Circus is housed in a huge arena that resembles a flying saucer. 
At first glance it all looks very disparate but subtle Islamic themes can be seen throughout the city, even in the growing number of city centre apartment blocks. In general there is an East-meets-West fusion in all but the most outlandish designs, but the President went old school with the main city Mosque. This is a monumental nod to conventional Islamic design with four soaring minarets and a huge dome covered with gold.
Although tree-lined cycle paths criss-cross the city, it is not a place where one can idly stroll around looking for something to happen. There is no defined central hub of activity, nor much of a developed community atmosphere yet, although that is gradually improving as each year goes by, according to some of the locals I spoke to. Astana is still to come of age, and still finding its feet as a global city, but on an aesthetic level it is right up there with the likes of Singapore, Dubai or Tokyo.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025