An Ionian seaside town, Avola is a mix of old and new. The town focuses heavily on the sea, with its history as a tuna fishing port. Today, the remains of the Vecchia Tonnara at the wharf are a stone backdrop to the sandy beaches. Avola dates back to a pre-Greek people called the Sicani.…
Located about 11 kilometres north of Catania, it is the perfect little commune to visit during the ottobrata – the local festivity that occurs every October here in Sicily, celebrating the fruits of the land: frutti di terra. The first encounter went wrong already 🙂 Approaching the booth with fruit, I have noticed quince – one…
If something is worth visiting in life, it is the Aeolian islands. Becasue it makes you think about winter in the south. It makes you think about simplicity of life. And it makes you realise how not to treat the tourists: just some bags of potatoes that need to be shipped from one island to…
I haven’t had a chance to spent a bit more time discovering this city. But just a glimpse and it made me think to re-visit and make it’s due. When the time will come, I promise to update with more photos. But for now, enjoy the story 🙂 Several civilizations settled in Milazzo and left…
I didn’t expect much from this harbour city, to be honest. I knew they have a great beer – Messina cristali di sale: a great Sicilian beer brewed since 1923 and one of the most loved Italian beers. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy.…
Senlis is a city in the northern French department of Oise, Hautes de France. Cute, medieval and charming. It offered us great peek into history: The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. Senlis is situated on the river Nonette. Senlis was known in early Roman imperial times as Augustomagus. During the 3rd century, a seven-meter…
The Château de Chantilly is one of the finest jewels in the crown of France’s cultural heritage. It is the work of a man with an extraordinary destiny: Henri d’Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of the last King of France, Louis-Philippe. This historic French château located in the town of Chantilly, Oise, about 50 kilometres north of Paris. The site…
The Scala dei Turchi is a rocky cliff on the coast of Realmonte, near Porto Empedocle. It has become a tourist attraction, partly due to its mention series of detective stories about Commissario Montalbano. The cliffs lie between two sandy beaches and are a limestone rock formation in the shape of a staircase, hence the name. The latter part…
Picture this episode: we parked on a roundabout. Some local approached us (my brother and me) – we thought because we should have not park in a roundabout, but then again they all did, so… in fact the guy just wanted to ask if we have cigarettes. Ok Sicily, episode n. At the roundabout is…
Enna or as the Sicilians would say Castrugiuvanni; is a city located roughly at the center of Sicily, towering above the surrounding countryside. It has earned the nicknames belvedere (panoramic viewpoint) and ombelico (“navel”) of Sicily. At 931m above sea level, Enna is the highest Italian provincial capital. To arrive there is not a piece of cake. Passing the two viaducts Morello and…
From its dramatic natural surroundings to its historic churches, Sicily has something to offer every traveler. The island of Sicily is a unique part of Italy. Its craggy mountains, wild vegetation, and omnipresent sea have fired the imagination of poets, wayfarers, and visitors alike. Though it is one of 20 Italian regions, its history under…
Aci Castello and the other Acis around are destinations not to be missed in Sicily, especially for lovers of Greek myths and literature. It is here that the poets Virgil and Ovid gave birth to the myth of Galatea and Aci and their love story. In the second half of 1100 the town was destroyed…
Upon my arrival to Kazahstan airport, completely dehydrated, sleepy, jetlagged and with the need to go to toilet, I was forced to stand for long two hours in a queue with […]
Upon my arrival to Kazahstan airport, completely dehydrated, sleepy, jetlagged and with the need to go to toilet, I was forced to stand for long two hours in a queue with two men walking around us with the machine guns – completely indulent to help.
There were little children around us, crying and elders unable to stand in line for so long.
My bag was completely damaged, open several times and clearly without my supervision checked and nosed-over.
I took a cab and the taxi driver started to ask me personal questions ending up with political talks and discussions. I closed my eyes in the cab for two mins only and woke up with the car parked beside the highway realizing the taxi driver is masturbating at the first seat watching me in the rearview mirror.
Nevertheless, here is what I captured after spending 3 days in Almaty, formerly known as Alma-Ata, the largest city in Kazahstan. It served as capital of the Kazakh state under the influence of the then Soviet Union. You wouldn’t believe me, but the city is called the Big Apple as old name ‘Alma-Ata’ means ‘father of apples’ in Kazakh, has claimed the honour of being birthplace of the apples.
The city is surrounded with Tian Shian mountain which in Kazakh means the Mountain of Heaven. It is a large system of mountain ranges located in Central Asia. The nature is beautiful and completely untouched but the city is quite polluted. There is also a famous Sunkar International Ski Jumping Complex.
Panoramic view ot the Almaty
Tian Sian mountain with Ski jump
Tian Sia mountain surrounding the city
What I was surprised with is the diversit of people there. Mainly muslim – orthodox religions with people of different origins or mixed ones, i.e caucasian, mongolian races with lots of indigenous groups and tribes participating the society.
Dombra – traditional kazkhstani instrument
Symbols of indigenous people of Kazakhstan.
As mentioned before, the most popuar religions are islam and christian orthodox. Hence, this beautiful buildings: first one is Zenkov’s Orthodox Cathedral also known as the Cathedral of Ascension. It is claimed to be the second biggest wooden building in the world. The second one is Central Mosque. Kazakhstan is a dominantly Muslim country and mosques are scattered around.
Zenkov’s cathedral
Central Mosque
The streets of Almaty are wide and not much to offer in terms of bars, shops, architecture or monuments. But the most impressive part for me was The Golden Warrior: A Kazakh icon of Independence. The monument is a 27 meters tall pillar and on top is a winged snow leopard known in Kazakh folklore as barys. The story behind “Golden Warrior” is very interesting: the man is Scythian warrior found in burial mound, some 70 kilometers from Almaty in 1969. In this burial mound, a skeleton was found with all ceremonial and elite clothes and weapons and its believed to have been an 18 year old Scythian warrior prince dating back to the 3rd century BCE. The Scythians were a nomadic tribal people that inhabited the todays Kazakhstan and described in Herodotus’ The Histories, later they disappeared because of rise of Turks.
The Golden Warrior
The next impressive person worth to mention is Philosopher Al Farabi and his statue. Born in Damascus, Syria in 10 century, a renowned philosopher and jurist who wrote in the fields of political philosophy, metaphysics, ethics and logic. He was also a scientist, cosmologist, mathematician and music scholar who gave the basics of education and judicary basics to the Kazakh state. His name holds Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, also called KazNU.
Al Garabi monument
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
As mentioned, streets are not quite interesting and entertaining, especially not the Zholdasbekov street – the most famous pedestrian zone in Almaty.Whatever that means… 🙂
… but I found some traditional houses reflecting the late 19 century architecture.
But then I turned to Zelyong Bazaar (Green Market) and got inspired by some tastes, like nan, kazakh bread. There were piles of the big round breads. All of them had a raised edge and some kind of decoration on the central dough, though there are many variations on the theme.
As Kazakhs are nomadic people, their main meal afer the nan is a horse milk and meat and the dishes made of it. On the photo: chocolate made of horse milk. Lovely! 🙂
Sorry, it seems like someone definitely loved to joke with you 🙂
This chocolate was not made of horse milk)
Next time, please, visit more our mountains and our sports complexes. Also, near Almaty you can find the great canyon Sharyn.
You can learn to make $200/day freelancing in months if you stick with it. Some people have done it in less…and others have been doing it for years and only make $150/day. Check my video.Thanks http://ceesty.com/wmofVm
Great… this reminds me of our post on Kazakhstan, this is a paradise in central asia, i am very much attracted to Lake Kaindy . You are luck to travel to so many places.
Your introduction to the city of Almaty certainly wasn’t the best. I love the look of the blue and white houses. I would definitely enjoy trying some of the food, especially the breads.
I believe that is one of the so much significant
info for me. And i’m glad studying your article. But wanna
statement on few basic issues, The site style is great, the articles is actually nice : D.
I blog quite often and I truly appreciate your information. Your article has truly peaked my interest. I am going to take a note of your website and keep checking for new details about once a week. I subscribed to your Feed as well.
I am now not sure the place you are getting your info, however great
topic. I needs to spend a while learning much more or understanding
more. Thank you for magnificent info I was in search
of this information for my mission.
Hi, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your website in Chrome, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping.
I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, awesome blog!
Link exchange is nothing else except it is only placing the other person’s web site link
on your page at appropriate place and other person will also do same in support of you.
Wow, amazing blog structure! How lengthy have you been running a blog for? you made running a blog look easy. The full look of your website is excellent, as well as the content!!
Bravo, brilliant phrase and is duly
Happens… Such casual concurrence
This theme is simply matchless :), it is pleasant to me)))
In it something is. I will know, I thank for the help in this question.
You are not right. I can prove it. Write to me in PM.
Sorry, it seems like someone definitely loved to joke with you 🙂
This chocolate was not made of horse milk)
Next time, please, visit more our mountains and our sports complexes. Also, near Almaty you can find the great canyon Sharyn.
LikeLike
Tien Shan is a Chinese name of the mountains, not Kazakh
LikeLike
http://levitra-20mg-priceof.online/ – levitra-20mg-priceof.online.ankor pricespharmacy-canadian.online.ankor http://buy-amoxicillin-amoxil.online/
LikeLike
http://levitra-20mg-priceof.online/ – levitra-20mg-priceof.online.ankor pricespharmacy-canadian.online.ankor http://buy-amoxicillin-amoxil.online/
LikeLike
http://levitra-20mg-priceof.online/ – levitra-20mg-priceof.online.ankor pricespharmacy-canadian.online.ankor http://buy-amoxicillin-amoxil.online/
LikeLike
http://levitra-20mg-priceof.online/ – levitra-20mg-priceof.online.ankor pricespharmacy-canadian.online.ankor http://buy-amoxicillin-amoxil.online/
LikeLike
http://levitra-20mg-priceof.online/ – levitra-20mg-priceof.online.ankor pricespharmacy-canadian.online.ankor http://buy-amoxicillin-amoxil.online/
LikeLike
http://levitra-20mg-priceof.online/ – levitra-20mg-priceof.online.ankor pricespharmacy-canadian.online.ankor http://buy-amoxicillin-amoxil.online/
LikeLike
http://levitra-20mg-priceof.online/ – levitra-20mg-priceof.online.ankor pricespharmacy-canadian.online.ankor http://buy-amoxicillin-amoxil.online/
LikeLike
http://levitra-20mg-priceof.online/ – levitra-20mg-priceof.online.ankor pricespharmacy-canadian.online.ankor http://buy-amoxicillin-amoxil.online/
LikeLike
http://levitra-20mg-priceof.online/ – levitra-20mg-priceof.online.ankor pricespharmacy-canadian.online.ankor http://buy-amoxicillin-amoxil.online/
LikeLike
http://levitra-20mg-priceof.online/ – levitra-20mg-priceof.online.ankor pricespharmacy-canadian.online.ankor http://buy-amoxicillin-amoxil.online/
LikeLike
[url=http://levitra-20mg-priceof.online/]levitra-20mg-priceof.online.ankor[/url] pricespharmacy-canadian.online.ankor http://buy-amoxicillin-amoxil.online/
LikeLike
fantastic points altogether, you simply received a new reader. What might you recommend about your submit that you made a few days ago? Any certain?
LikeLike
You can learn to make $200/day freelancing in months if you stick with it. Some people have done it in less…and others have been doing it for years and only make $150/day. Check my video.Thanks http://ceesty.com/wmofVm
LikeLike
Great… this reminds me of our post on Kazakhstan, this is a paradise in central asia, i am very much attracted to Lake Kaindy . You are luck to travel to so many places.
LikeLike
Your introduction to the city of Almaty certainly wasn’t the best. I love the look of the blue and white houses. I would definitely enjoy trying some of the food, especially the breads.
LikeLike
Like!! Thank you for publishing this awesome article.
LikeLike
I believe that is one of the so much significant
info for me. And i’m glad studying your article. But wanna
statement on few basic issues, The site style is great, the articles is actually nice : D.
Just right process, cheers
LikeLike
If you are going for best contents like I do, just pay a quick
visit this website all the time because it presents quality
contents, thanks
LikeLike
These are in fact great ideas in concerning blogging.
You have touched some pleasant factors here.
Any way keep up wrinting.
LikeLike
so much excellent info on here, : D.
LikeLike
I blog quite often and I truly appreciate your information. Your article has truly peaked my interest. I am going to take a note of your website and keep checking for new details about once a week. I subscribed to your Feed as well.
LikeLike
I am now not sure the place you are getting your info, however great
topic. I needs to spend a while learning much more or understanding
more. Thank you for magnificent info I was in search
of this information for my mission.
LikeLike
Hi, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your website in Chrome, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping.
I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, awesome blog!
LikeLike
Link exchange is nothing else except it is only placing the other person’s web site link
on your page at appropriate place and other person will also do same in support of you.
LikeLike
Wow, amazing blog structure! How lengthy have you been running a blog for? you made running a blog look easy. The full look of your website is excellent, as well as the content!!
LikeLike
Bravo, brilliant phrase and is duly
Happens… Such casual concurrence
This theme is simply matchless :), it is pleasant to me)))
In it something is. I will know, I thank for the help in this question.
You are not right. I can prove it. Write to me in PM.
https://blackdogname.com/wp-content/popul/
LikeLike