9th General Assembly of ENQA on October 18-19, 2018 in Astana
Sights of Astana
Dear participants! We present you a list of the most beautiful and significant places to visit the main symbols and popular sights of Astana! President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev is justifiably considered to be a main architect of Astana. The architecture of Astana is an alloy of Kazakh culture and modern construction technologies. Astana is located in the north of the country. This year, on 6th July, Astana celebrated its 20th anniversary.
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Akorda, the residence of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
The Akorda entered the top 10 of the most beautiful presidential palaces in the world. In Kazakh language, "Ak orda " means "White capital". The building is located on the left-bank part of Astana. The building is made from solid concrete and a facade cladding is made of Italian marble with a thickness of 20 to 40 cm. The building consists of five aboveground floors, the height of the first floor is 12 m, all others and two underground ones is 5 m. The height of the building, including the spire, is 86 meters. The residence is depicted on 10000 Kazakh Tenge banknote.
Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan
The Parliament consists of two Chambers: Senate (upper chamber) and Majilis (lower chamber). The Parliament building is located on the left bank part of the capital, near the Akorda and the Government House. It is an architectural complex of two high-rise buildings, a hall for joint sessions and a transition gallery.
Government House
The Government House is located on the left bank part of Astana, near the Akorda and the House of Ministers. The building has 21 floors. Its style ressembles one of the Parliament.
Akimat of Astana
Akimat is the city administration and the local executive body, which is headed by the akim.
Astana is the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan since 10th June, 1998. The population of Astana as of 1st February, 2018 was 1,035,537 people. The city is divided into 4 administrative districts.
‘Kazak Eli’ Monument
In Kazakh language «Kazak eli» means "the land of Kazakhs". Total area of the complex makes 5 hectares. Height of the monument is 91 meters, which symbolizes the year when Kazakhstan gained independence (1991). The monument is the embodiment of the basic values of the Kazakhstan’s statehood and represents one of the new symbols of the country.
Triumphal arch ‘Mangilik el’
The Arch was opened in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Independence of Kazakhstan in 2011. It symbolizes a long history of struggle for independence and sovereignty. The building is made of granite and marble and decorated with Kazakh ornaments and bronze sculptures. It has a 120 square meters viewing platform and equipped with a modern art exhibition gallery and multimedia facilities.
‘Astana-Baiterek’ National Monument
Baiterek is known as a symbol of Astana. The monument embodies Kazakh national idea of the structure of the universe. According to the legend, Baiterek is the tree of life, the destination of the sacred bird, Samruk. which finds refuge in the tree’s high crown and lays a golden egg (symbolizes the sun) giving life and hope. On the other hand, there is a hungry dragon Aydahar, hiding at the roots of the tree and willing to grab the egg.
The tower’s total height is 97 meters, excluding a basement floor. It is supported by 500 piles and its weight exceeds 1,000 tons. A large glass sphere on the top of Bayterek is 22 meters in diameter and weights almost 300 tons. Inside the tower there is an elevator for lifting visitors to the height of 86 meters, to the panorama hall. The hall is occupied by a wooden globe with 17 petals, symbolizing world’s religious movements
Independence Palace
The Palace of Independence hosts many official state events, forums, meetings and conferences. The main Congress Hall on the ground floor seats 3082 people with a smaller Ceremonial Hall and Press Centre. On the second floor, there are galleries of decorative and modern art, ethnography, archeology and anthropology. The third floor houses a museum of the history of Astana.
Palace of Peace and Reconciliation
The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, often referred to as ‘The Pyramid’, was conceived by President Nazarbayev as a symbol of modern Kazakhstan’s values of friendship, unity and peace. The building was designed by British Architect Sir Norman Foster and opened in 2006. The palace incorporates an opera hall, conference and exhibition center and contemporary arts center. It is also used to host international events and major national events.
State Theatre of Opera and Ballet ‘Astana Opera’
The opera house includes two halls: the Main Hall (1250 seats), which hosts opera and ballet shows, and has an orchestra pit with room for up to 120 musicians; the Chamber Hall (250 seats), for chamber music concerts Leading experts from Italy and Germany worked on acoustics; as a result, unique sound characteristics were achieved in all audience halls of the opera house. Voices sound voluminous and colorful here, easily reaching any point of the auditorium. Quadriga, installed on the top of the theatre exterior, is the image of the Saki queen Tomiris driving a chariot.
National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan
The Museum is the largest in Kazakhstan. The building is made up of blue glass and white marble. National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan has the following halls: Hall of Astana, Hall of Independent Kazakhstan, Hall of Gold, Hall of Ancient and Medieval History, Hall of History, Hall of Ethnography, Hall of Modern Arts.
National Academic Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan
The library is located on the left bank of Ishim river, near the Baiterek Monument and Water-Green Bulevard. It has five floors and seventeen halls (500 seats), making 15000 square meters of area in total. Library’s depository has 2.5 million books. Due to ‘Telelift’ system, books and documents delivery from storage to reading rooms takes 5 minutes on an average.
Nazarbayev University
The higher educational institution in Astana, opened on the initiative of the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in September, 2010. The university includes 5 schools and 3 higher schools. Academic programs include 19 undergraduate programs, 25 master's programs, 3 PhD programs and ‘Doctor of Medicine’ program.
L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University
ENU includes 28 scientific institutions (research institutes, laboratories, centers), 13 schools, the Military Department, and cultural and educational centers of different countries The university offers 65 Bachelor's programs, 68 Master's programs and 38 PhD programs.
Botanical Garden
The Garden was opened as a gift to citizens for the 20th anniversary of Astana. The total area of the botanical garden is 88 hectares, of which 43 hectares makes a botanical garden and 45 hectares used for a park zone. The park is equipped with 11 kilometers of cycle lanes and 10.5 kilometers of race tracks and 85 thousand kilometers cobblestone paved roads. The feature of the Garden is an artificial pond with luminous fountains in the summer and an ice skating rink in the winter. Nearly 90,000 trees and shrubs and approximately 600 of rare plants were planted. According to experts, the Botanical Garden will serve as a unique scientific base.
Bicycle-pedestrian Bridge across the Esil river
The bridge was donated to the capital in honor of its 20th anniversary by the Atyrau region. The bridge includes a six-meter pedestrian strip and a three-meter bicycle path. It was designed and built taking into account weather conditions of Astana. Its weight is 1920 tons. The upper part of the bridge consists of 2450 unique petals.
‘Khan Shatyr’ Complex
In Kazakh «Khan Shatyr» means ‘Khan’s marquee’. It is the world’s largest marquee: its height along the spire is 150 meters, and total area is 127,000 sq.m. One of its outstanding features was a combination of technological innovations and a unique design that carries a breath-taking ancient Oriental flavor. Another advantage is polymer coating that made it possible to create an artificial climate of the building under a giant tent. There is a multi-stage temperature control system. According to Forbes Style magazine Khan Shatyr hit the world's top ten eco-buildings. The author of this project is Norman Foster.
IQAA Office
Office of Kazakh Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (IQAA) is on the 8th floor of a modern business center, located in the on the left-bank part of Astana, near main administrative buildings as Akorda, Parliament, Government House, Supreme Court and House of Ministries.
Restaurant "Mangilik Aspan"
Mangilik Aspan is a panoramic restaurant bringing together the cuisines of 9 Turk nations populating the Central Asia since the ancient times. Here they serve the best Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Uyghur, Turkmen, Azerbaijani, Balkar, Tartar, and Turk meals. The mission statement of the Mangilik Aspan incorporates the best of the Turk nations i.e. their rich culture, extraordinary hospitality and distinctive cuisine.
The Mangilik Aspan is situated on the 25th floor of the Moscow Business Center offering a breath-taking view of the young capital. With panoramic windows all around the hall, it provides a favourable point of view, be it Baiterek, Akorda or Bejing Palace, with the view being great regardless of whichever way you look.
Kazakh National University of Arts
The Kazakh National Academy of Music (KazNAM) was established on March 31, 1998 with the support of the President of Kazakhstan, NA Nazarbayev. According to the resolution of the Government of Kazakhstan dated October 12, 2009, the Kazakh National Academy of Music received a new status and was renamed the Kazakh National University of Arts.
Representatives of KazNUA were winners in musical competitions in Austria, Italy, Russia. Since 2000 the Akimat of Astana and the Kazakh National Academy of Music held the international contest "Shabyt-Inspiration"
