Astana

Astana (formerly known as Aqmola, Tselinograd and Nur-Sultan), in the north of Kazakhstan on the banks of the Esil river (better known by its Russian name Ishim), is the capital and the second largest city of the country. Modern Astana is a planned city, designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. It is home to a range of futuristic buildings, including many skyscrapers.

Understand


The settlement was founded as a Russian military outpost in 1830 as Akmola ("white grave" in Kazakh) and was given town status 1832, when its name was Russianized to Akmolinsk. The town was a mining town, and during the time of Stalin it was a destination where people were deported. During World War II, peasants from the western Soviet Union fleeing the advancing Germans were moved here. From then on, the region started developing into an agricultural center also.

In the 1960s, the town found itself as the nerve centre of the Soviet "Virgin Lands Campaign", which involved ploughing natural steppe landscapes into cereal fields, with an eye towards boosting the agricultural production of the union to the self-sufficiency levels. It was accordingly renamed to Tselinograd; tselina in Russian denotes a fertile but uncultivated land. After the independence of Kazakhstan in 1992, the city's original name Akmola was restored.

The city took over the role as capital from Almaty (the largest city) in December 1998, and at that was renamed Astana, meaning "capital city". This was changed to Nur-Sultan in 2019 after Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first president of Kazakhstan, who had just stepped down from office. The name Astana was restored in September 2022.

Over the last decades the city has been growing and is undergoing a transformation costing billions of dollars, with top international architects assisting in trying to make it a worthy capital — not only of Kazakhstan but of Central Asia. Astana presents an interesting and intriguing blend of old Soviet architecture with the modern designs of Norman Foster and the like. It still does not offer the comforts and thrills of its Western counterparts, or of Almaty, but has its own charms and pleasures.

Climate
The climate is continental with extreme temperature differences: strong winds, long, cold winters and scorchingly hot summers. It is one of the coldest capital cities in the world and temperatures may drop below -35°-40°C already in autumn.

Orientation
The new town is along the southern bank of Esil, and has a city plan similar to an immense hippodrome. At a river bend, on a small hill is the presidential palace. Across the river from it is the Khan Shatyr recreational center, formed like a sail. The backbone of the hippodrome is the wide Nurzhol Bulvar, that connects the presidential palace with Bayterek Tower and is lined by different government buildings.

The general plan for the new town was drawn by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, after winning an architecture competition arranged by the city government. Also other international architects have been designing modern buildings in Astana, most famously British architect Norman Foster who designed the pyramid-shaped Palace of Peace and Reconciliation.

On the northern river bank is the older town; what it lacks in architecture it makes up for in city life. The older downtown is delimited in the north by the railway. Along Abey Avenue you can find many of the city's major hotels.

Visitor information

 * Visit Astana website

Talk
English, German, Turkish are quite often understood by hotels such as Ritz Carlton, Radisson, Rixos and some restaurants in Astana, but the go-to language is Russian. No-one will expect you to know any Kazakh so a few civilities go a long way. If you are familiar with any Turkish, things like numbers and days of the week are similar.

Get in
See Kazakhstan for visa information, but most western passport holders don't need a visa for visits of up to 30 days.

By plane


As of early 2023 there are flights from many places in the former Soviet Union, and a couple each from Western Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. World airports with connections to Astana include Beijing, Dubai, Moscow Sheremetyevo (and other Moscow airports), Frankfurt, and Istanbul

Bus 10 and Bus 12 connect the airport and the city centre at least twice hourly, the price is 90 tenge. You can find the timetable at the bus stop directly in front of the main entrance to T2 (domestic) terminal. It's a one-minute walk from T1 (international) terminal. A taxi from the airport to the city centre is about US$20.

By train




So which railway station? As of autumn 2019, trains from Russia are still using Astana-1, while trains to Urumqi in China are using Nurly Zhol. The fastest trains to Almaty also use Nurly Zhol, but it's a mixture for this and other Kazakh destinations. Check locally near the day of travel.

By taxi
There are plenty of taxis starting from local taxis, ending with the most used services like Yandex Taxi, InDriver, you can expect to pay 1000-3500 tenge for a trip within the city.

Yandex and Uber were ubiquitous and even in tough weather conditions you shouldn't expect to wait more than 5 minutes for a car. As of January 2023, Uber is reportedly no longer present in the city, only Yandex.

Street taxis: Stand at the side of any road and thumb down a passing car, within 3 minutes you should have a string of them. Tell them your destination and they will either drive off or gesture you in. It is useful to know numbers so you can set a price for the journey before starting. They are about half the price of official taxis, reckon 1000-1500 tenge for a cross river trip. Some drivers may start practicing not only their English with you, but may start a discussion connected with the area of Psychology, others will race along the streets like a maniac, slowing down for the obvious speed cameras. Use this method with caution and try to travel in groups.

By bus
Public buses (Astra Bus) have a flat fare of 180 tenge, pay the conductor on board (or driver if there is no conductor). The buses are efficient and comfortable, but they are often full. Some buses are from the 1990s, but there are also newer buses from the last 10 years that match any modern city in terms of the quality of the bus. For bus routes, times and real time location updates, download the very useful Astrabus smartphone app. Another useful app is 2GIS.

The municipal authorities have published a journey planner. But you must choose the bus number to see the route. This is not helpful if you know where you want to go but don't know which bus to take! Once you're on the bus, there is a route map, so it's worth taking a photo of that on your phone for later trips around the city! When you get on a bus tell the conductor your destination and they will either tell you when to get off or gesture you to get on another bus.

The number 12 bus does a nice loop around the new part of the city with the palace etc., so this is a nice one for a tour. Bus 19 runs from the railway station, down Beibilitsky Street, then through the centre eventually out past the National Museum.

Buses serving further regional destinations depart from Saparzhay (Автовокзал "Сапаржай) which is adjacent to the railway station. Times and tickets on their website.

By subway
A Metro line is under construction between the airport and Nurly Zhol railway station. As of 2022 construction has been called to an indefinite halt.

By bike
There's a bike sharing scheme, just like in other major cities around the world, operated by the French company Smoove Bike.

See
The many modern and futuristic buildings of Astana is a reason to visit the city. However, on a closer look they're less impressive as they're poorly maintained and often underused.

Palaces




Religious buildings






Museums




Bridges




Performances

 * Казахстан ЦКЗ 2011 02.jpg

Events
Astana has a range of venues, used for different international events from sports to conventions.

Buy
There are cash machines in shopping centres, on the street and in most hotels. Most accept Visa and some people have had trouble with MasterCard. Most banks convert dollars, euros and roubles. Pounds are much harder to get rid of.

General shopping
New Western-style shopping malls have sprung up with all the variety of shopping you would expect from a mall in the West.


 * Shanghai. These are big supermarkets that are more like bazaar mostly for the groceries but they also have clothes.

With China relatively close, you can find many electronic gadgets in the shops, just remember that returns policies are not as customer-friendly as in the West. Also some of the latest gadgets such as iPhones and iPods are more expensive here than in Western countries.

Local specialties

 * Beshbarmak - a horse meat and pasta dish. Most restaurants that serve it will present a portion enough for two or three people.
 * Boursaky - bread best served piping hot, resembles an unsweetened doughnut.
 * Shashliq - these kebabs are often cheap, and the one thing you're sure to recognise on the menu.

General

 * In addition to the places listed in Eat, many hotels also have restaurants (see the Sleep section below)
 * Along Turan street (formerly Sara Arka), there's a strip of restaurants that are a little more expensive but good. They also have private rooms for parties, saunas, and even hotel rooms.

Drink



 * Kumis - different varieties are available of this mare's milk, some are a little salty. Slightly fermented. Can contain alcohol.
 * Shubat - local variety of fermented camel milk. Contains some alcohol.
 * Vodka - supermarkets stock a huge variety, ranging from US$2 bottles that will strip your throat to US$115 bottles that are more for giving as a present or showing off your wealth. Shots tend to be drunk, rather than utilising mixers - don't feel obliged to down each and every one if at a celebration.
 * Cognac - what we would refer to as brandy, again a wide range in the shops and restaurants. Same rules apply regarding shots - with all the toasts made at parties and other gatherings, you may want to pace yourself.

There are more than 10 discos (night clubs) that are frequently referenced by locals: Chocolate, A8, Fusion, Ice, etc. Chocolate is in the same building as the SAS Radisson hotel, but may only be open on selected days (weekends). "Ice" (centrally located - ask locals for the address) has a nice atmosphere and is on two floors with a large dance area. Prices are towards the high end, no entrance fee on Thursday night.

Budget




Stay safe
Astana doesn't have any major safety issues, for example you can drive late at night without problems. Bus drivers may shortchange you when buying tickets.

Mobile phone providers
There are three mobile phone providers: KCell, Tele2 and Beeline. All three offer mobile web (Edge, 3G). SIM cards are cheap and can be bought without filling in documentation.

Internet
Wi-Fi is available at some public places including shopping malls.

Embassies

 * 🇨🇦 Canada
 * 🇨🇳 China
 * 🇪🇬 Egypt
 * 🇫🇮 Finland
 * 🇩🇪 Germany
 * 🇬🇷 Greece
 * 🇳🇱 Netherlands
 * 🇮🇳 India
 * 🇮🇱 Israel
 * 🇮🇹 Italy
 * 🇷🇴 Romania
 * 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
 * 🇺🇸 United States

Religion
Catholic church of Maria Santissima. |Zhumabek Tashenov St - Services: Sunday 11:00 (Russian), 18:00 (English)

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of Saint Joseph. 1/2a Tauelsizdik Ave

Go next





 * Almaty, depending on the train type 13-21 hours south by train