Meat in various forms has always been the primary ingredient of Kazakh cuisine. Among the most popular meat dishes are kazy and chuzhuk (horsemeat sausages), kuyrdak (dish made from roasted sheep offal and fat), besbarmak (boiled meat and small pieces of dough) and various other horse delicacies (zhal, zhaya). The traditional drinks are sheep milk and its products (kaimak (sour cream), katyk, kurt, irimshik (cottage cheese or cheese)); fermented mare‘s milk (kumys); and camel’s milk (shubat). The introduction of flour to Kazakh cuisine brought about dishes such as bauyrsaq, kuimak, kattama and oima – flat puff cakes fried in oil then covered in cream.

Kazakhstan has a bicameral Parliament, made up of the lower house (the Majilis) and upper house (the Senate). Single mandate districts popularly elect 67 seats in the Majilis; there also are ten members elected by party-list vote rather than by single mandate districts. The Senate has 39 members. Two senators are selected by each of the elected assemblies (Maslikhats) of Kazakhstan’s 16 principal administrative divisions (14 provinces, plus the cities of Astana and Almaty). The president appoints the remaining seven senators. Majilis deputies and the government both have the right of legislative initiative, though the government proposes most legislation considered by the Parliament.

These three pretty green lakes lie amid the steep forested foothills of the Küngey Alatau. The lakes are strung along the Köl-Say river at an altitude of around 2000m (6560ft). The camping and trout fishing are great. June and August are the best months to visit, but keep a close eye on the weather.

Travellers can arrange helicopter excursions to the lakes from Almaty or reach them overland from Saty; the lower lake is accessible by vehicle but you’re better off hiring horses in Saty. It’s possible to trek from the pastures of the middle lake over the 3200m (10500ft) Sary-Bulak pass to the Kyrgyzstan village of Balbay on the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul but you will need to arrange a border pass. By horse this can be done in a day; on foot it takes two days. From the pass there are fantastic views north towards the Kazakh steppe and south into the Issyk-Kul basin.

The current mayor of Astana is Imangali Tasmagambetov, formerly mayor of Almaty. He was appointed mayor on 4th April 2008.

Vast in size, the land in Kazakhstan is very diverse in types of terrain: flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas, mountains, snow-capped mountains, and deserts. Kazakhstan has the 62nd largest population in the world, with a population density of less than 6 people per square kilometre (15 per sq. mi.).