Kazakhstan otherwise known as the republic of Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked country surrounded by Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and China.
It declared independence on 16 December 1991 from the Soviet Union.
The capital of Kazakhstan is Astana. Oil, uranium, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat and coal are all major exports of this diverse country.
Due to the large scale of the country it has a diverse terrain there are many attractions for tourists.
These include nature reserves, museums and cathedrals, architectural monuments, Tamgaly Petroglyphs Mountains and rock carvings, Charyn canyon also known as the little brother of the Grand Canyon and not to forget the only preserve in Central Asia Aksu-Dzhabagly.
Kazakhstan
About Kazakhstan
National Olympic Committee
Sports
Kazakhs have historically been very affectionate about horse-riding and has developed itself as a formidable sports-force on the world.
The sports that the country is renowned for include: boxing, chess, kickboxing, skiing, gymnastics, water-polo, cycling, martial arts, triathlon, track-hurdles, sambo, greco-roman wrestling and billiards.
Climate
Kazakhstan's terrain extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oases and desert in Central Asia and its climate is sharply continental.
It experiences hot summers with equally extreme winters, especially in the plains and valleys.
Temperatures fluctuate widely, with great variations between the sub regions.
Light precipitation falls, ranging from 8 to 12 inches (200 to 300 millimeters) annually in the northern and central regions to 16 or 20 inches in the southern mountain valleys.
Religion
Two predominant religions being Muslim and Russian Orthodox
Culture
Kazakhstan has a number of modern theatres and offers Uighur, Korean, and Russian musicals, opera, ballet, and puppet performances.
Cinemas and art schools, dance ensembles, music groups, radio and television broadcasting are important in communications with distant farms and villages.
All of these encompass Kazakhstanis culture. Urban Kazaks tend to wear modern clothing, but the women of remote villages continue to wear traditional dresses and head scarves.
Before the Russian colonization, the Kazakhs had a well-articulated culture based on their nomadic pastoral economy.
Although Islam was introduced to most of the Kazakhs in the fifteenth century, the religion was not fully assimilated until much later. As a result, it coexisted with earlier elements of Tengriism.
Traditional moral values of Kazakhs are respect of the elders and hospitality to strangers. In the national cuisine, livestock meat can be cooked in a variety of ways and is usually served with a wide assortment of traditional bread products.
Also there has been a revival of the Kazakh language, which is returning into mainstream.
This is widely approved as a way of preserving the national identity and culture.