Wild and unexplored Kazakhstan is now the largest of the post-soviet states in Eurasia, representing a colossal 2,000,000 square kilometre swathe of land from the shores of the Caspian Sea in the west, to the mountainous borderlands with China in the east.
Culturally and geographically the country is amalgam of Europe and the Orient, still clinging to the traditional tribal character of its yesteryear, while all the time moving forward at a startling pace. This makes for a huge dichotomy between city and country; it’s possible to wander the wide boulevards of chic and stylish Parisian Almaty one day where quirky cafés and bubbling night time bars now exist en masse, then seek out the fabled yurt-dwelling horsemen of the Ural River the next.
Ask any Kazakhstan tour guide for more, and they’ll tell you of the country’s legendary hospitality, ferocious Altay Mountains and breath-taking Tien Shan peaks, not to mention the enticing, meat-heavy dishes that make up its national cuisine.