Kazakhstan Hotels

Kazakhstan crosses between Central Asia and Eastern Europe and is the largest landlocked country in the world. Its vast size (it is bigger than the whole of Western Europe) means that it is a country of diverse geography, culture and climate. There are large areas of flatlands as well as snow-capped mountains and deserts! Its difficult terrain means that Kazakhstan is not very densely populated and indeed its population is only a little over sixteen million. For a lot of its history, the country was mainly the territory of nomadic tribes but became incorporated into the Russian Empire during the 19th century until it regained its independence in 1991. Since 1997, Kazakhstan’s capital has been Astana.

Kazakhstan has emerged as having a growing economy in recent years, due mainly to its large gas and oil fields although farming still provides a livelihood for many in the more rural areas. The Kazakh language has some similarities with Turkish, but a lot of the population speak Russian and many of the younger people speak some English. Kazakh food is generally rather hearty, favouring stews and thick soups with bread and dumplings.

Vegetarians may struggle to find suitable dishes other than in the main cities.