The Hindu Business Line : Almaty unplugged

Almaty — the name conjures visions of a musty Soviet-era city of men in fur hats and dark suits, grey buildings and sombre conferences. But there is nothing drab or dreary about Almaty, the biggest city of the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan. If anything, it is a bright, colourful metropolis (population of two million) sprawled upon the foothills of the snow-capped Tien Shan range.

The first thing that strikes the casual visitor is the European feel about the place. The wide avenues, the ordered grid system of roads, the European-style buildings, the clean wide pavements, the attire of the common people and the shop-fronts: nothing at first glance, save the Mongoloid hint in most faces, is suggestive of anything Asiatic.

Origins

It was founded by Russians in 1854 as a military fort and, during Soviet times, eventually became the capital of what was then known as Turkestan. It remained the capital of Kazakhstan till 1998 when the capital was shifted to Astana. It was twice destroyed by earthquakes (1887 and 1911) and twice re-built. After the last earthquake, the streets were laid out in a grid system and the roadsides planted with majestic trees. The most prominent tree is the White Poplar, which lines most of the city’s wide avenues. These magnificent, conical trees are as high as five-storied buildings and dominate most promenades. A variety of Central Asian elms collectively known as Karagaches are also much in evidence. Trees are an intrinsic feature of this picturesque city; even the name Almaty comes from the Kazakh-word Alma meaning ‘apple’. The city is abound with many varieties of apple trees, producing some of the world’s juiciest apples.

Old-world charm

Most parts of Almaty have an alluring old-world charm with buildings clearly reminiscent of Soviet times. In some parts of the city, however, old buildings and shanties are being torn down to make way for modern glass and steel high-rises, anonymous shopping malls and expensive apartments.

Despite the end of Soviet rule in 1991 and the departure of many ethnic Russians during the 1990s, the local Kazakhs appear to have consciously chosen European lifestyles. Ethnic Russian settlers, who were once a majority, are now a minority (estimated 30-40 per cent of the population) and the migrated native Kazakhs are now an overwhelming majority. Unlike many newly independent people, the Kazakhs have not taken to tearing down the past with a vengeance. Rather they have chosen to build upon it. The Abai Opera and Ballet Hall, for instance, where generations of artistes have performed, has been perfectly maintained. The city hall, the old Presidential palace, vast squares and hundreds of old buildings remain, casting an indelible imprint on the city’s character. Old hotels have been renovated but the old-style architecture, façades and designs have been preserved. Many of the new buildings being constructed in the older parts of the city have consciously retained the Socialist-Realist styles, even though in many instances, the external cladding of buildings is made of imitation material. Street names too retain their old-world appeal: Furmanov, Dostyk, Panfilov and Abylay Khan Avenue!

Retaining the best

Kazakhs have retained the best from the Soviet system — emphasis on education, adoption of secularism, maintenance of a robust welfare system and of course an endearing relationship with Vodka. At the same time, they have discarded the worst of the old system, especially its ideological straitjacket and hostility towards private entrepreneurship and property.

Shortly after independence, the country’s leadership decided to adopt market economics and this, coupled with huge investments in the country’s oilfields, led to an economic boom. Almaty emerged as the country’s financial hub and with it began a period of frenetic growth. People from all over the region poured in leading to skyrocketing property prices and rents. Consequently, Almaty today is anything but cheap.

Hotel tariffs are high, shopping is expensive and so are the restaurants. The city, however, has a fairly cheap and reliable public transportation system.

Horseflesh to mare’s milk

Ethnic diversity is a hallmark of this city. The city is home to Kazakhs, Tartars, Russians, Uighurs, Germans, old Korean immigrants as well as people from all over Central Asia. Hence, Almaty is a huge gastronomic experience ranging from traditional European salads and entrées to Chinese and Georgian food.

Sadly, if you are a vegetarian, Almaty is not the place for you. The focus is clearly on meat and fish. Vegetarians could subsist on salads and boiled vegetables. But they would be missing out on the best: traditional Kazakh cuisine, which is a carnivore gourmet’s delight. Some legendary dishes are made of lamb (baranye); beef too is popular; and the most special meat is horseflesh. It may sound horrific but it is delicious. Horseflesh is kind of brownish; lamb is pinkish and beef tends to be a little darker. Horseflesh is made into sausages called Kazy, which is usually thinly sliced up. The most famous is the national dish, called Beshbarmakh, made out of sliced horseflesh and lamb, put together with layers of pasta-like stuff and stewed in a gorgeous consommé.

Then, of course, there is shashlik, which is common to all of Central Asia. It is a type of a kabab with pieces of meat skewered and cooked in a tandoor. The sheep used for shashlik are rumoured to graze in clover meadows which makes their flesh really tender. In bigger restaurants, shashlik skewers can be nearly three-feet long.

The other exotic items are the different kinds of fermented milk that are commonly drunk with a meal. The most popular is one called cumis, which is made out of mare’s milk, fermented in special casks made out of horse leather and lined with membrane taken from a mare’s stomach. The fermentation process is a complicated one and the end result is an incredibly sour, knockout drink. This drink, exalted in Kazakh tradition, apparently does great things for the system. There’s a variation of that which is made out of camel’s milk — shubat. In the old days camel’s milk was very popular and has only recently been replaced by cow’s and mare’s milk.

Apart from main course dishes, there are a variety of pastry items, including one called samsas, a little like Indian samosas with a meat filling, and sweets like Chuk-Chuks.

Rich night-life

The traffic on Almaty’s central avenues does not ease till the early hours of the morning. As the night progresses, the better cars and the affluent appear on the streets. The city has a huge range of bars, nightclubs and casinos where the monied hang out. Some places offer breathtaking floorshows, others feature singers and dancers. But none of all this is cheap. A decade of prosperity has produced a fairly large hedonistic class of people in Almaty, many of whom sport BMWs and Mercedes and live in five-star apartments. It is said that Almaty has more Mercedes Benz cars than the average European city!

Off to the mountains!

The regular touristy places, museums and shopping centres apart, there is much to do in and around the city. One good place to head out to are the mountains. The most popular spot is the Medeo, where there is a large ice-skating rink, used during one winter Olympics many years ago. There is also a place to go up to in a cable car. On another more frequented road up the mountains are rows of excellent restaurants serving hot chai and shashliks. The drive continues to a national park and a bird breeding centre. It is this part of Almaty’s outskirts where one gets the feeling of what Almaty essentially is — a settlement carved out in the foothills of a great forest-covered mountain range. The clear streams, the elms and pines, all belong to another world. Below is the city and beyond that the vast Central Asian steppes.

Almaty, not surprisingly, is not a city that readily comes to mind as a tourist destination. Tucked away in the Asian heartland, still hidden in the penumbra of its Soviet past, Almaty is but a blip on the global tourism radar. A strict visa regime, comparatively high airfares, expensive hotels and lack of promotion have combined to keep the tourists away. But, on the other hand, everything about the city suggests it is a place waiting to be discovered, explored and celebrated.