Kazakhstan’s famous landmarks

Kazakhstan is a country located right in the heart of Eurasia. It's kind of sandwiched between the two world powers as Russia and China. It also borders three countries of Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It's size by area makes Kazakhstan the ninth largest country in the world.

Khan Tengri The first one is the highest of all the Kazakhstan’s Landmarks that you can't miss when arrive in Kazakhstan is Khan Tengri. Like many other Kazakhstan’s landmarks, Khan Tengri is located near Almaty, the major city and former capital of Kazakhstan. It is the most northerly "seven-thousander" as they call in the mountaineering circles. It's a marble rock, shaped like a pyramid. Its correct geometrical shape beautifully reflects the sun in different colours depending on the time of the day. Thus for its sunset red colour it was named the "Kan Tau" ("kan" - blood, and "tau" - mountain) among the Kazakh nomad tribes.

Charyn CanyonAnother one of many Kazakhstan landmarks is the Charyn Canyon. Some call it as the "Grand Canyon" of Kazakhstan or the "little Kazakh brother of the Grand Canyon". Although it reminds a smaller version of the famous Colorado landmark, it still has its own beauty and features quite different from its American brother.

The Charyn Canyon is situated about 200 km east of Almaty. It stretches 154 km alongside the Charyn River. The most popular part is called the Valley of Castles for the unusually shaped formations resembling the ancient fortresses. Although the Canyon stretches around 154 km alongside the River, the most popular part of it is only 2 km long and it's called the Valley of Castles. Why? The rocks and slopes round the area resemble the old ruines left from the ancient fortresses. It makes you wonder once again, how the Mother Nature managed to get these architectural masterpieces. And only about 20 km (12.5 mi) away, there is a Grove of a very rare species of the Ash Tree.

Have you ever been to Singing Sand Dunes?Well, if you are in Almaty then you are only 182 km away from this beauty. They are also called Singing Barkhan, Singing Sand, Singing Dunes. Why singing? When there is a slightest impact on the sand from the outside, the sand produces weird whistling, booming, roaring squeaking, humming and vibrating sounds. Some say it sounds like siren of riverboats, some say like jet planes. Marco Polo wrote on his Gobi Desert travel notes that it sounds like "all kinds of musical instruments, and also of drums and the clash of arms”.

Markakol Lake Surrounded by mountains and close to the China border in East Kazakhstan Province’s far northeast corner, the “Pearl of the Altai ”is an astonishingly beautiful but remote mountain lake fed by more than 100 streams, but with only one river, the Kalzhyr, flowing south out of it to the Irtysh. Situated 1,485 metres above sea level, Markakol is 38km long, up to 19km wide and reaches 30 metres deep in some places, and is full of fish, including the uskutsh, a type of lenok trout prized by fishermen. The lake, along with the pristine mountain taiga forests of larch and birch that surround it, is part of the 75,000-hectare Markakol Nature Reserveboasting 700 species of plant life, 254 bird species and many rare mammals.

It's the country in the crossroads of two different cultures of Europe and Asia. It represents both the old and the modern lifestyles. It's within Central Asia, the region that is less travelled.

How to get to these places? Depends on your budget. Can you afford a helicopter, a car hire, a bus trip or a bike ride? You have a choice. You could also hire an ordinary local car with a driver for a day or some days. It takes 3-3,5 hours to get to the Canyon from Almaty, about 2-3 hours to Singing Sand Dunes, Markakol Lake is long distance to drive, and that is why it would be better to get to this place by plane from Almaty or Astana to Uskemen than you should take a bus to Markakol Lake. There are lots of bus tours organized by many travel companies. And if you are an adventure traveler you can also get there by the scheduled bus services. It is extremely hot in summer and extremely cold in winter.

1 What’s the favorite landmark in your country?

2 Who described the Singing Sand Dunes?

3 What places of Kazakhstan would you prefer for the holiday?

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
Exercise 3. Retell the text.	\|	Exercise 5. Translate the text “Khan Tengri” without dictionary.

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