Kazakhstan > The cathedrals of Almaty

The hotel offers an extensive—truly extensive—breakfast buffet. A wonderful way to start the day, with even good coffee included. The motorcyclists have a maintenance day at a KTM dealer today. We have a day to explore Almaty. From the hotel, we walk to St. Nicholas Cathedral. A light turquoise-colored cathedral with golden onion-shaped domes. Built in 1909, the cathedral features a beautifully decorated iconostasis inside. A heavy chandelier filled with candles hangs above the pulpit. Impressive! The church is one of the few buildings in Almaty to have survived the devastating earthquake of 1911.

Kazakhstan - The St Nicolas Cathedral in Almaty

After the earthquake, Almaty was rebuilt with relatively many new constructions. Wide streets form a grid of horizontal and vertical roads. At Respublika Alangy stands the Golden Man monument. The golden warrior suit was found near Almaty in the fifth century. Also on this square is the city government building, which has a distinctly Russian appearance. In Panfilov Park, established in 1975 in honor of the 28 heroes of the Panfilov Division, stands the Zenkov Cathedral. With its colorful roof, it is a Russian Orthodox cathedral. The interior is even more impressive than St. Nicholas Cathedral. Although it doesn’t appear so around the pillars, the cathedral is supposedly built entirely of wood.

Kazakhstan - The colorful Zenkov Cathedral in Panfilov Park in Almaty

When we tap on the pillars, we cannot confirm this with certainty. On the way back to the hotel, we are caught in a rainstorm. It had been threatening all day, but now it pours down in torrents. We take shelter under a small canopy. The hotel is only about three hundred meters away, but the rain is too heavy. Water flows over the road. As soon as the rain eases slightly, we quickly cover the last stretch to the hotel. Almaty is a pleasant, actually quite ordinary city. The shopping streets are good. Unfortunately, the city lost much of its historical character due to the earthquake in the early twentieth century. In the evening, we go to a local restaurant just outside the city center—a tip we received from a Kazakh in the Netherlands. The taxi driver—everyone seems to drive a taxi when convenient—cannot find the Paradise restaurant. He calls several times. It turns out there are multiple restaurants with that name. After ten minutes, we finally arrive at the intended restaurant. The parking lot is busy, and inside it is crowded too. All tables are occupied. “No place, no place,” they say. Even when we ask how long we must wait, there is still no table. What now? Back to the city? But what address should we give? We decide to walk back to the main road and flag down a car. By chance, there is also a restaurant at the intersection. It looks cozy, but the menu is only in Russian. A man at another table comes to help; he speaks German. With his assistance, we manage to put together a nice meal with shashlik, fries, and salad. Meanwhile, on a large screen, the football match Italy vs. Spain for Euro 2016 begins—a fun game.