Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, May 24, 2026

Get to know Kazakhstan

In this brief video you can find seven little known facts about Kazakhstan. If you ask yourself where is Kazakhstan, it is a Eurasian country, with much of its land on the Asian continent. It used to be part of the USSR, but today it’s becoming a booming oil based economy.The capital of Kazakhstan is Astana, but Almaty used to hold that title before 1997.

More information about the video content bellow:


1. Astana is one of the world’s newest and most futuristic capital cities. Astana literally means ‘capital city’ in Kazakh. And the capital is the second coldest capital city on earth, with temperatures dipping to -40 Celsius in the winter.

2. Kazakhstani people celebrate three New Year’s Eves. Two official ones, which are the 1 January by the Gregorian Calendar and the 22 March, "Nauryz" – the spring equinox or renewal of nature and 14th of January by the Julian Calendar is the legacy of the Soviet times. This day is called "the Old New Year". Old or new, they celebrate three times a year.

3. It is the largest landlocked country in the world, stretching from Siberia to the desserts of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and from China to the Caspian Sea. It is so large that distance from one end to another is about the same as London Istanbul route. Here one can find practically all climatic zones: from the torrid deserts through steppe and forest to eternal snows of the mountain heights reaching beyond the clouds.

4. The metro in Almaty (former capital until 1997) took 23 years to build and opened in December 2011. This is not because construction was slow, but because funding problems happened after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. But it is finally open and expansion is constantly taking place.

5. Fifty years ago the Aral Sea was the world's fourth inland sea, after the Caspian Sea, Lake Superior and Lake Victoria. It started shrinking due to Soviet irrigation projects, its surface area declining by more than 50 percent, to 30,000 square km from 67,000 square km, between 1960 and 1996.

6. Kazakhstan is unique in that its people, the Kazakhs, did not form the majority of the population upon independence in 1991. Currently the northern part of the country is populated mostly with Ukrainian and Russian majorities while Kazakhs are more prevalent in the south.

7. Located in Kazakhstan, Lake Balkhash is the 12th largest lake in the world, but that characteristic is hardly what makes it interesting. This lake is bizarre because the western part of the lake consists of freshwater and the eastern half is saltwater. Balkhash maintains this unlikely balance in part because the two halves are joined by a narrow straight that is 3.5 kilometers wide and six meters deep.

More Info:
https://www.teachaway.com/2014/06/18/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-kazakhstan
http://www.travelandtalk.info/kazakhstan.htm
http://www.meganstarr.com/2014/03/random-facts-almaty-kazakhstan.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/06/24/idUSL23248577
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/kazakhstan.html
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/photos/13-of-the-most-bizarre-lakes-in-the-world/lake-balkhash


Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
The Great Western Exit: Why Best Citizens Are Fleeing the Rich World [PODCAST]
The New Robber Barons of Intelligence: Are AI Bosses More Powerful Than Rockefeller?
The AI Gold Rush Is Coming for America’s Last Open Spaces [Podcast]
The Pentagon’s AI Squeeze: Eight Tech Giants Get In, Anthropic Gets Shut Out [Podcast]
The War Map: Professor Jiang’s Dark Theory of Iran, Trump, China, Russia, Israel, and the Coming Global Shock [Podcast]
AI Isn’t Stealing Your Job. It’s Dismantling It Piece by Piece.
Kennedy’s Quiet War on Antidepressants Sparks Alarm Across America’s Medical Establishment
Russian Oligarch’s Superyacht Crosses Hormuz via Iran-Controlled Route
Crypto Scammers Capitalize on Maritime Chaos Near the Strait of Hormuz: A Rising Threat to Shipping Companies
Changi Airport: How Singapore Engineered the World’s Most Efficient Travel Experience
News Roundup
Microsoft lost 2.5 millions users (French government) to Linux
Strategic Saudi-Bahrain Causeway Closed Amid Security Concerns as Trump Deadline Approaches
Saudi Arabia Keeps Red Sea Oil Exports Flowing Despite Regional Tensions
Pipeline Attack Cuts Significant Share of Saudi Arabia’s Oil Export Capacity
Saudi Business Leader Abudawood Appointed Chairman of Merit Incentives Group
TotalEnergies Confirms Damage at Saudi Refinery Following Security Incident
Saudi Arabia Launches Early Construction Phase for King Salman Stadium Project
Saudi Shift Away from Longstanding Dollar Oil Framework Gains Attention Amid Iran Conflict
Türkiye and Saudi Arabia Resolve Long-Running Transit Visa Dispute
Saudi Oil Capacity and Pipeline Flows Reduced as Supply Risks Intensify
TotalEnergies Reports Damage to Saudi SATORP Refinery Following Security Incidents
Gulf States Assess Prospects of U.S.-Iran Truce as Regional Stability Efforts Intensify
South Korea Resumes Honey Exports to Saudi Arabia Following Sanitary Approval
Saudi Arabia Carries Out Sentences in Eastern Province Following Security Convictions
Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund Backs King Street’s Regional Credit Strategy
Saudi Arabia Secures World Cup Return as Egypt Celebrates Landmark Qualification
Iran and Saudi Arabia Intensify Diplomatic Engagement Amid Regional Tensions
Russia and Saudi Arabia Open Visa-Free Travel Corridor for Citizens
Saudi Oil Output Capacity Reduced by 600,000 Barrels Per Day Amid Regional Conflict
Saudi Arabia Suspends Operations at Select Energy Sites as Precautionary Measure
Saudi Arabia Halts Operations at Multiple Energy Facilities Amid Heightened Tensions
Global Markets Jolt as Iran Signals Ceasefire Breakdown and Rising Regional Tensions
King Street Aligns with Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund to Expand Alternative Investments in Middle East
Attack on Saudi Arabia’s Jubail Petrochemical Hub Raises Global Supply Concerns
Debate Emerges Over Saudi Strategic Decisions as Gulf Cooperation Council Dynamics Come Into Focus
Saudi Arabia Expands Full Workforce Localisation to 69 Professions in Major Labour Reform
Emerging Alliance of Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia Signals New Regional Power Dynamic Amid Iran Conflict
Iran Linked to Strikes Across Gulf States Following Refinery Attack Escalation
Saudi Arabia Voices Concern Over Fragile US–Iran Ceasefire Stability
Starmer Warns Sustained Effort Needed to Ensure US–Iran Ceasefire Holds
Saudi Arabia’s Key East-West Oil Pipeline Targeted Following Ceasefire Announcement
Iran Targets Saudi Arabia’s East-West Oil Pipeline in Escalating Regional Tensions
Trump Warns of Civilizational Stakes as Iran Halts Negotiations
Saudi Companies Expand Remote Work Measures Ahead of Iran-Related Security Concerns
Iran Warns of Strikes on Saudi Energy Infrastructure if US Targets Its Facilities
Iran Urges Civilians to Form Human Shields Around Nuclear Sites as Diplomatic Deadline Approaches
Saudi Arabia Raises Oil Prices to Record Premiums Amid Supply Pressures Linked to Iran Conflict
Key Saudi-Bahrain Causeway Closed Amid Heightened Security Concerns Linked to Iran
Formula One Calendar Gap Explained as Fans Await Next Grand Prix
×