Atyrau

Atyrau is at the northern end of the Caspian sea in Kazakhstan.

Understand
The wooden fort at the mouth of the Yaik River was founded in 1645 as Nizhny Yaitzky Gorodok (literally, Lower Yaik Fort) by the Russian trader Gury Nazarov. The fort was plundered by Cossacks, leading the Guriev family to rebuild it in stone (1647–62). The fort gradually lost its strategic significance and was demolished in 1810. Between 1708 and 1992 the city was known as Guriev. The city began growing in 1930s when a fish cannery was constructed and the Balykshi housing area. Later, a lot of industrial plants were transplanted here during World War II. An oil- and gas-processing plant was constructed and a housing district, Zhilgorodok. In October 1991, the Guriev city administration decided to rename it Atyrau. In Kazakh language the word “atyrau” means the place where river flows into sea. Atyrau city was founded on the bank of the river, but today it is 25–30 km from the river.

By train
Atyrau is an important railway station, and has daily, or bi-daily, connections with many Kazakh cities, except for the northwest (including Astana). International rail connections include Tashkent/Saratov, Moscow/Dushanbe and Astrakhan (20-hr train).

By bus
There are also daily international buses to Astrakhan.

By plane




See

 * Atyrau Regional Museum, Bauyrzhan Momyshuly St, from ukuleles to little yurt-like things, discover what made Atyrau Atyrau, and just to the west is the Atyrau Art Museum.
 * Museum of Military Vehicle, Vladimir Street 28, find this mostly outdoor exhibit next to the Fantasy World with its big ferris wheel, come see all the artillery here in Victory Park.
 * Aktau Paleontology Museum, Mukhtar Auezov Ave, a natural history museum that borders the Retro Park with some cool statuary and rotunda along an oxbow of the Ural River. But perhaps even more compelling is the somewhat Golden Gate-looking bridge to the west that has some acclaim for being one of the longest pedestrian bridges around.
 * Aktau Paleontology Museum, Mukhtar Auezov Ave, a natural history museum that borders the Retro Park with some cool statuary and rotunda along an oxbow of the Ural River. But perhaps even more compelling is the somewhat Golden Gate-looking bridge to the west that has some acclaim for being one of the longest pedestrian bridges around.

Go next

 * Saraidzhuk, remnants of a medieval city dating all the way back to the 1200s reportedly, 50km north of Atyrau.