Almaty is not a Morning Person

If Almaty were a person, it would be a teenager who wants to sleep in on the weekend, or everyday for that matter. I use this to my advantage during the week, when I walk to work every morning, its quiet, cool and beautiful. However, this morning, it hit me quite suddenly how quiet the city really is in the morning. 

I left the apartment early because our landlord was stopping by to pick up the money for the utilities. He still does not know I live here because we're worried that if he found out he would raise the rent because there are two people living here. I left the apartment just after 7 and began the walk to the Green Bazaar, I was on a mission to get a new pair of shoes to replace the ones that finally gave out from Russia. I chose to walk through Panfilov park again, which this time was silent and still. Using my camera, which is currently being held together with a hair tie, I walked around the park and took pictures. I apologize for the repetitiveness of the subjects, but the Cathedral is too beautiful not to photograph. After taking some photos, I sat down with my nook and read Apples are from Kazakhstan for an hour. Once my battery gave out, I walked through the still quiet park to the Bazaar, where I bought a pair of black ballet flats. It was only after I left the Bazaar did Almaty truly seem awake, drivers laying on their horns and people rushing across the street.  After the Bazaar, I wandered around. In my wanderings I passed the Mosque again, but I was in shorts so I didn't go in. I did, however, buy a cooked corn on the cob from a vendor just outside of the Mosque. I was actually pleasantly surprised, I haven't seen corn being sold anywhere but in the canned food aisle of stores and those are expensive. After eating my corn and buying a Samsa, I began heading back to the apartment, along a different road. I read the map wrong, I thought that Gogol street came to a dead-end and would turn at the street where I needed to go. Instead the road kept going and I ended up several streets down from the road that I meant to turn on. I only noticed it because I ran into the concrete canal that I photographed last week, though much further north. I followed the canal back up to Abai street and went to the "mall." There, in cool air conditioning (a commodity), I did my homework for my Russian class before heading home. Yes, I now have homework.  

A statue on Dostyk street, on the way to the Bazaar.

The Eternal Flame in Panfilov Park.

This Cathedral is made all the more impressive because it was apparently built without nails.

A Market on my way home from the Bazaar. I bought a bag of apples, 1/2 Kilo for 200 tenge, just over a dollar. 

I stopped to rest at a park on Gogol Sr., where this little kid was trying his hand at the kid sized exercise equipment.

A Kazakh grandmother and her four granddaughters

The mosaic above the entrance to the wedding registry building in Almaty. 

I take my Russian classes here.
Even though they are one-on-one I did it through the university so I can still get funding.

BORAT and Kazakhstan

For the record, I have never seen the Borat movie. Though almost every time I mentioned I was going to Kazakhstan, it was quoted.

A few months ago, the parody of Kazakh national anthem, created for  the Borat movie, was played in place of the official Kazakh national anthem for the winner of a shooting competition held in Kuwait. Kazakhstan is very proud of their national symbols, they even have an official holiday to honor them (June 4). Given this, it is not surprising that the Kazakhs were justly embarrassed and upset about the mix-up. On June 14,in response to the Borat incident and others, a bill attaching a jail term of up to a year and a hefty fine for anyone caught desecrating national symbols, including the national anthem, was passed by the upper-house of the Kazakh parliament. If President Nazarbayev signs the bill, it will become law. 

Two Sheep and a Chicken

A year ago, I had just arrived in Kazan' and my host sister, Lena, and her family took me to Sabantui, my first taste of Tatar culture and Tatar food. I have very fond memories to the festivities. When I saw that Sabantui would be here, in Almaty, I was very excited. Unfortunately, but probably not surprisingly, it paled in comparison. I arrived an hour before I was suppose to meet with Jessica and took the time to walk around Gorky Park. Then it started to rain. It had rained all yesterday, putting a damper on any spontaneous exploration. I waited in under the roof the entrance gate until the rain stopped, which it did just in time for Jessica's arrival. We walked around the park,  waiting for the festivities to start. While walking, my camera broke, or more precisely, the door that keeps the batteries in wont stay closed, making photography difficult. We sat through nearly an hour of "thank yous," present giving and speeches. There were a few songs in Tatar and then more speeches. They were not even selling Tatar food and I had my heart set on gubadia. Ed, the English guy from the Dushanbe office of EFCA, joined us and instead of sticking around for the competitions we went for Lagman.

I noticed this when I entered Gorky Park. The sign on the left, "Y," means the driver is a student.
The sign on the right is a high heel, I assume this is suppose to warn other drivers that the driver is a woman. Supposedly, women drivers are worse than men.

Gorky Park and the mountains, Madeu.

It's raining, it's pouring....

Gorky park is also a Theme Park, these poor souls were off to entertain small children.

The prizes: Two sheep 

and a chicken

***

Here are some random pictures from the week.

Medeu

The Circus

"Brave"

A Walk Around Town

Panfilov Park: The park is named after the 28th Panfilov Battalion, who fought valiantly during the Great Patriotic War.

 

A monument to those who fought during the 1917-1920 revolution.

A monument in memory of World War II, the Great Patriotic War.

Flowers laid before the eternal flame.

Zenkov Cathedral in Panfilov Park: It is Sunday today, so a service was going on when Aisulu and I arrived at the cathedral. The cathedral was full of church goers and Aisulu and I skirted the edge of the congregation. The icons were not as old as some that I have seen, though they were of good quality, many with silver or semi-precious stones creating the halo. One of the icons caught my attention, underneath the frame a chain hung across the center of the icon, two rings and a diamond pendent were hung from the chain, obviously offering from a devout parishioner. Outside of the cathedral and in the surrounding park there were many things for children to do, including riding a little train, playing in a playground and chasing pigeons. There were also several ice cream stands. Right next to an ice cream stand, in the shadow of the cathedral, was a mojito stand, obviously meant for your after service happy hour. 

A Kazakh Driver in training. Clear the roads!!!

Chasing pigeons in front Zenkov Cathedral.

 The Central Mosque: The mosque is located near the Green Bazaar, where we went in search of horse heads yesterday. It was built in 1999 but seems to be undergoing some reconstruction work. I was not able to go inside because I did not have a headscarf and there were not any available in the mosque.