After our visit, we did a little sight seeing. Our first stop was the the pyramid or The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation. Right across the street from the pyramid is a Freedom monument. It represents Kazakhstan's freedom from the Soviet Union. There is a statue of President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the bottom of the monument. To the left of the monument is the music academy and to the right is a concert hall.
Inside the pyramid is pretty interesting. It is the home to a 1600 seat opera house, a gallery and at the top is a winter garden. Really very pretty. The pyramid was built to host the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional religions. The four sides represent the four religions: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Muslim. At the top, in the winter garden , the glass ceiling is covered with doves. There are 130 doves representing peace and the number of different nationalities there are in Kazakhstan. During the tour, the orchestra was practicing, so we sat and listened for a little bit. After the tour, we went to the 6th floor, the gallery, and walked around. We found a great picture but have no idea how we could get it home. It was really too big. To top off the visit, we hit the gift shop. Can't go home from the pyramid without some souvenirs.
Our next stop was the the Baiterek or Tree of Life. This is a tall structure in the middle of New Astana. It is 97 meters tall, which represents the year the capital moved from Almaty to Astana, 1997. It was built to symbolize a Kazakh legend. The legend of a Mythical bird-Samruk(symbolizing happiness) laying a golden egg in a poplar tree. At the top of the Baiterek, you get a birds eye view of the new city. Keith went up with our translator and I waited at the bottom. Everyone knows how much I love heights. At the top, there is an impression of the President's hand. It is good luck to put yours on it and the closet thing you will get to shaking the President's hand.
In the park surrounding the Baiterek, you have a great view of Astana's new sky scrape. They have some interesting buildings going up and some great architecture. One of the buildings close to the Baiterek is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs(MFA). This is where all dossiers for adoptive families hit first when entering Kazakhstan after going through the consulate in the US. Also, while walking around, you have a great view of the Presidential palace. This is where the President works. He has a separate residence where he lives. It is a little farther out of the city. Keith got a good shot of the palace from the top of the Baiterek
It was a very interesting afternoon and we hope to get out again and see some more of Astana.
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