KZ-61515

I've already received a few officials cards this year but this was the 1st that I received and registered in 2023. What a surprise, it isn't from Germany, not from USA and not even from Russia, the top 3 countries when it comes to my received and also sent cards in 2022. This one is from Kazakhstan and it is my first official from this country. 

Last year I've received a total of 123 cards and sent 120. Besides Germany, Russia and USA, I've received cards from 25 other countries and sent to 24 others.

KZ-61515, sent by Anton.

An exquisite blue-domed mosque plated with white marble, Imangali Mosque has been a landmark of downtown Atyrau since its construction in 2001. The central mosque of the city, this elegant white structure with elaborate blue-tile ornaments can accommodate several hundred worshippers. Flanked by two slim 26 m (85 ft) tall minarets, its main 23 m (75 ft) tall dome covers the main hall and features a huge balcony with 600 seats. The central entrance arch is designed with typical Kazakh blue tile decorations, with calligraphy decorating both the exterior and interior.- in: https://trips.klarna.com

Silk Road - Kazakhstan

Unesco #1000 is getting closer and closer, only 4 to go. These last days I've received a couple of cards from new sites, which is pure joy in my mailbox. This one came all the way from Kazakhstan, it was the 3rd card sent by Adil. 

For centuries the Great Kazakh steppe accepted caravans of the Silk Road in oases of its cities and settlements.

On the territory of Kazakhstan the Silk Road started from the borders of China. Merchants of Celestial Empire carried silk, weapons, medicines, rice, exotic goods such as tusks across Kazakh steppes to the West, to Europe. Steppe governors offered their services of safety provision for trade caravans; in exchange they demanded a share of the goods or cash. That was how quitrents or taxes and customs duties emerged.

The main line of the Silk Road on the territory of Kazakhstan lay across the country’s south; from the border with China trade caravans moved through the cities of Sayram, Yassy, Otrar, Taraz and further to Central Asia, Persia, to the Caucasus and from there to Europe.

The reason that all those cities emerged is that the merchants traveling across the enormous Kazakh steppes made stops which turned into caravanserais and those in turn grew into settlements which further became cities.

The Silk Road across Semirechye and South Kazakhstan functioned until the 14th century when the civil strife and wars destroyed the city. - in: https://www.advantour.com

 Photos: 2021 «Qazaqstan 30»

The ruins of Aktobe are a testimony to one of the largest medieval cities that existed in this branch of the Silk Road. 

Aktobe dates back to the 6th century, established at the time of the Turkic Khaganate. In later centuries, during the Karakhanid Khaganate it reached its peak, as demonstrated by a collection of 3000 Karakhanid coins found on site. In terms of structure, it represents a classic medieval city in Kazakhstan - high mud walls, shakharistan with citadel in the center and rabad, an agricultural suburban area. 

The citadel has not stayed the same since its construction in the 6th century. In the 8th century the castle was built on a new platform and expanded, especially the defensive constructions. Later on, the fortress walls were rebuilt and strengthened. Eventually, during the 11-12th centuries, more premises were built, including a yard. In the early 13th century, the structures of the citadel collapsed and life in Aktobe came to an end.
 Today, the site is well conserved, with some parts of the citadel and the dwellings reconstructed. Despite that, the development of roads and infrastructure threatens the settlement’s condition. Its inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2014 supports the efforts to keep protecting and exploring this unique monument and promoting its universal value. - in: https://visitworldheritage.com

UNESCO WHS from Kazakhstan

May was a good month when it comes to cards from new UNESCO sites. I've got great cards, some of them from not so common countries. These two are from Kazakhstan, from where I only had one site. Both cards were sent by Adil. On the Western Tien-Shen card he used a postcrossing stamp :)

Western Tien-Shen was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2016 and the Petroglyphs of the Archaeological Landscape of Tanbaly in 2004.

Photos: 2021 «Qazaqstan 30»

From the fields of wildflowers at lower altitudes to dramatic craggy peaks of winter snow, Kazakhstan's heavenly Western Tien-Shan mountains are some of the most biologically diverse and prosperous regions of the world. Three protected areas make up the World Heritage Site - Karatau Nature Reserve, Aksu-Zhabagly Nature Reserve, and Sairam-Ugam National Park. Together they offer a haven for endemic rare and endangered species. It was also here that some of the first fruits were domesticated centuries ago before spreading out across the world on the trading routes of the Great Silk Road. - in: https://visitworldheritage.com

 

 Photos: 2021 «Qazaqstan 30»

Set around the lush Tanbaly Gorge, amidst the vast, arid Chu-Ili mountains, is a remarkable concentration of some 5,000 petroglyphs (rock carvings) dating from the second half of the second millennium BC to the beginning of the 20th century. Distributed among 48 complexes with associated settlements and burial grounds, they are testimonies to the husbandry, social organization and rituals of pastoral peoples. Human settlements in the site are often multilayered and show occupation through the ages. A huge number of ancient tombs are also to be found including stone enclosures with boxes and cists (middle and late Bronze Age), and mounds (kurgans) of stone and earth (early Iron Age to the present). The central canyon contains the densest concentration of engravings and what are believed to be altars, suggesting that these places were used for sacrificial offerings. - in: https://whc.unesco.org

 

Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi - Kazakhstan

There's no doubts about this card, this one is really from an UNESCO site, the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Kazakhstan, my 1st from there. It was sent by Emilia and she used a nice postcrossing stamp. 

The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, in the town of Yasi, now Turkestan, was built at the time of Timur (Tamerlane), from 1389 to 1405. In this partly unfinished building, Persian master builders experimented with architectural and structural solutions later used in the construction of Samarkand, the capital of the Timurid Empire. Today, it is one of the largest and best-preserved constructions of the Timurid period. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1103

Cultural landscape of Ulytau - Kazakhstan

Manu sent me my 2nd Kazakhstan card. The Cultural landscape of Ulytau is situated in the semi-desertic zone of Central Kazakhstan and this area is on Unesco's Tentative List. The card shows the roof of the Alasha Khan mausoleum.

Alasha-Khan is a character, perhaps more legendary than historical. No one knows exactly if this person ever existed. His name means “variegated or colorful” and he is considered to be an ancestor of the Kazakh people. Alasha-Khan is mentioned not only in Kazakh legends, but also in other Turkic people’s legends and traditions. Scientists are of the opinion that he was most probably a worship symbol of the time when nomads of the Eurasian steppe united. The mausoleum was most likely erected in the honor of one of the steppe governments during the period of the XI - XII centuries. This mausoleum, made of different colored bricks and erected on the right bank of the Karakengir river, presents a complicated architectural construction with a dome cover and a powerful pylon (tower) in front. Its external walls are decorated with bricks laying in the shape of squares, rhombus and triangles, and the main facade is decorated with terracotta. - in: http://visitkazakhstan.kz/en/guide/places/view/571/

Almaty - Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is another new country in my collection. This card from Almaty, sent by Emerich, was my 1st from this country, but a few days ago i've received a 2nd card from there.

Kazakhstan is a country in Central Asia, with its smaller part west of the Ural River in Eastern Europe. Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country by land area and the ninth largest country in the world. It is neighbored clockwise from the north by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, and also borders on a large part of the Caspian Sea.

Almaty is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city.

Almaty was the capital of the Kazakh SSR from 1929 to 1991 and of independent Kazakhstan from 1991 to 1997. Despite losing its status as the capital to Astana in 1997, Almaty remains the major commercial and cultural centre of Kazakhstan. - in: wikipedia
 The former Parliament Building stands at the Old Square, Almaty's second largest square. 

Until the capital was moved to Astana, it was here where fateful decisions were made; the first Parliment in Kazakhstan's history adopted the first Constitution as a sovereign state here.

The building now houses the Kazakh-British Technical University.
The former parliament is surrounded on all sides by pretty public gardens with flower beds and fountains.