Mountains are always a special world, where everything is a bit different. Climbing up the mountain serpentine, you find yourself in somewhere unreal: majestic peaks with snow slopes and Tien Shan blue spruces are all around. Surprisingly, spruces here really dressed in heavy needles of pastel blue color, creating a fabulous atmosphere.
Location of the city
One of the most beautiful cities Almaty is located at the foot of this amazing world, in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau. The mountains of the Trans-Ili Alatau are part of the Tien Shan mountain system. It has to be said that the Tien Shan is one of the highest mountain systems in the former Soviet Union (second after the Pamir Mountains). Basically, the Tien Shan mountain range is located on the territory of Kyrgyzstan, and the northern and the most western ranges are located in Kazakhstan.
History of the city
Prior to the founding of the city, approximately in the VIII-X centuries, there were several small settlements on the territory of modern Almaty. One of them was supposedly called Almaty. The tribes of Saks and Usuns lived here. At the beginning of the XIII century this region, located on the Great Silk Road, was subjected to a devastating Mongol raid. Only a small part of Almaty remained after them, inhabited by sedentary and semi-settled Kazakh auls (villages). In 1854 a military fortification was built on the shore of Malaya Almatinka, which was named Zailiysky, and later Verny. A year later Russian immigrants began to arrive here, and Verny began to develop at a rapid pace. There were already 5 thousand inhabitants soon in the fortification. Gradually, Verny turned into a small city.
Becoming the center of the Semirechensk region, the city became the center of public life in Kazakhstan. Urban industry and crafts began to develop here: there were several factories. In the city there were opened women’s and men’s schools, parish and vocational schools, and later, men’s and women’s gymnasiums. Muslim schools operated at mosques. In 1921 Verny was named Alma-Ata, which translates from Kazakh as the “Father of Apples”. And after 6 years, the capital of the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was transferred from Kyzylorda to Almaty.
The city began to be intensively built up and landscaped. The favorable and safe location of Alma-Ata led to the fact that the city turned into a place of evacuation of industrial enterprises from other regions of the USSR with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. The railways were built here. All this caused a sharp growth of the city’s economy. For 50 years, since 1919, the population of the city has more than tripled. At the beginning of the 90s, the Soviet name “Alma-Ata” was changed to the correct, from the point of view of the Kazakh language, the variant “Almaty”, which means “Apple”.
Almaty is the first capital of our Republic. For almost 70 years, it adequately held the high status of the main city of Kazakhstan. But today, with the transfer of the capital to Astana, Almaty remains the scientific, cultural, historical, industrial and financial center of the country. The pride of Kazakhstan, Almaty, is now called the “Southern Capital” of the Republic.
Climate
Almaty has s continental climate. Average air temperature is −7 °C in winter and 20 °C in summer. April and May are the wettest months. The last month of the summer usually is the hottest one. Compared with the northern regions of the country, snow falls little in Almaty. The snow months are January and February, and the first sprig month is the time of its melting. Fog is frequent here: it regularly covers the tops of the mountains. And foggy days in the city are at least 60 days per year.
Transport
Almaty has an extensive network of bus routes, trolley buses, minibuses, and there is also a taxi.
There are two railway stations: Almaty-1 and Almaty-2. The first is a transit station on the way from the Siberian regions of Russia to Central Asia, located in the northern part of the city. Almaty-2 station is urban, close to the city center and is intended for passengers arriving in Almaty.
Almaty Airport is the largest in Kazakhstan. It ranks first in the country for domestic and international air cargo. It exists since 1935. In September 2008, the opening of the second runway took place: it is equipped with modern air navigation equipment. The road between the city center and the airport takes 15 – 30 minutes, depending on the traffic congestion.
Population: 2,000,900 people
Area codes:
for local calls: 8 + 727
for international calls: (7) + 107 + 7272
Postal code: 050000
Maximum power: 220 V
Telephone numbers:
Almaty International Airport: + 7 (727) 155, 2703333, www.alaport.com
Almaty Railways: + 7 (727) 105, www.railways.kz
Fire brigade101
Police: 102
Ambulance: 103
Gas leak: 104
General emergencies: 112, 051
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