Kyzylorda

Southwestern Kazakh city on the Syr-Darya, set in windy semidesert near the Aral Sea

Kyzylorda sits in southwestern Kazakhstan, only 400 kilometers from the infamous Aral Sea. The name, according to locals, translates as "Red Center." The city is located in a vast semidesert that might remind you of places in Utah or Nevada. In spring, the lands near Kyzylorda are covered with a beautiful carpet of flowers, among which wild tulips are the most striking. The landscape is flat, which is typical of southern Kazakhstan, and one of the city's most constant features is the wind. As one local put it, it only blows twice a year: six months in winter and six months in summer. It carries salt from the Aral Sea, and if you drive north you can easily see salty crust on the sand.

The first thing that catches your attention arriving from the airport is the Syr-Darya, the river from Kazakh folk tales. It is remarkable that a river can flow so far through the sands without drying up. It once supplied fresh water to the people living on its banks, but today nobody uses it -- fields upstream consume vast quantities of water and flush pesticides into it. People now drill wells for their fresh water.

The region is rich in oil, with wells to the north of the city. Kyzylorda is also an amazingly diverse place -- Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Russians, Koreans, Germans all live here, and they all have stories to tell. The legacy of Stalin is visible not only in the artwork on abandoned factories, but in the German and Korean populations who were deported here. Most of the Germans left after the fall of the Soviet Union, but not all.

It is never very cold in the city itself if you ignore the wind-chill, but just 200 kilometers north temperatures can drop to -30 degrees Celsius in winter. The bazaar is one of the best places to experience local culture, and the city has a beautiful new plaza near city hall and a river walk along the Syr-Darya. Near the airport, the Soviet murals on abandoned factory walls are an unplanned open-air museum of a vanished era. For transport enthusiasts, the train station has been called the finest in Central Asia. And for the adventurous, the Baikonur Cosmodrome — where Yuri Gagarin launched into space in 1961 — is within reach of a day trip.

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Day Trips

Turkestan is within day-trip range of Kyzylorda. The city is home to the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Central Asia -- three visits to the mosque there are said to count for one visit to Mecca.

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Eating Out

Bish parmak, or "five fingers," is the one meal you cannot leave Kazakhstan without experiencing. This traditional Kazakh feast has it all: fermented camel milk, horse meat, and the main event -- noodles, mutton, and for the honored guest, a lamb's head. The guest distributes the head with a blessing: the ear goes to the youngest in the house, then the tongue, the eyes, and other pieces as the guest sees fit. Dancing, singing, and toast after toast where guests are encouraged to "drink to the bottom" are all part of the occasion, typically eaten on the floor or at a very low Kazakh-style table. Guests are usually invited to recline between courses. Pace yourself -- if you eat at a Western tempo, you will not make it to the end, and you do not want to offend.

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Getting Around

Taxis are cheap and plentiful. In fact, nearly every car is a taxi -- just put your hand out pointing to the ground at about a 45-degree angle and a ride is moments away. The city bus system consists of numbered vans; finding a schedule means finding someone at the stop who speaks your language. Kyzylorda also has the train station that Lonely Planet calls the best in Central Asia, though train journeys in this part of the world can be long.

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Getting There

There are daily flights between Kyzylorda and Almaty. The airport is small and straightforward. You can also reach the city by train -- the station is one of the finest in Central Asia -- though rail journeys in this region tend to be long.

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Things to Do

The city has a beautiful new plaza near city hall and a river walk along the Syr-Darya. The train station is noted by Lonely Planet as the best in Central Asia and worth a look in its own right. One city park has gathered all the old Lenin statues in a single spot -- a peculiar open-air museum of Soviet nostalgia. On the road to the airport, between the river and the Petro-Kazakhstan oil worker residences, look for the old Soviet murals on abandoned factory walls.

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When to Go

Kyzylorda sits in the semidesert of southern Kazakhstan and experiences extreme continental temperatures. Summers are hot and dry, with temperatures regularly exceeding 40°C in July and August — not comfortable for walking around. Winters can bring bitter wind chill, though the city itself rarely drops below -10°C; the steppe to the north is far colder.

The best time to visit is spring (April and May), when the surrounding semidesert briefly blooms. Wild tulips cover the steppe in extraordinary numbers — Central Asia is the native homeland of the tulip, and these spring carpets of red, yellow, and white are one of the genuine natural wonders of the region. Temperatures are mild, the Syr Darya is running full from snowmelt, and the dust and wind are manageable.

September and October are also pleasant, with cooling temperatures and clear skies.