Almaty - the heart of the Trans-Ili Alatau

Shielded from prying eyes with snow-capped peaks of the mountains, Almaty is in no hurry to reveal its secrets to strangers. To do this, you need to set foot on its land at least once, smile at a casual passerby, eat the first legendary "Aport" apple in your life. And then, run away from the metropolis and discover another Almaty. The one that looks at you with sparkling blue eyes of mountain lakes, lets the weary traveler lean on the shoulder of the age-old Tien Shan spruce, spreading a carpet of wild tulips under his feet.

Amazing nature

If you dare to go further, then very soon the mountains will give way to the great steppe. It's completely white in winter; it's wrapped in the wild poppies glow in April; in the summer, it's light brown like dark golden curls of a young Kipchak girl, and in the autumn it's majestic brown and gold. Sometime later, the steppe will become a desert, and the Charyn Canyon's orange cliffs or the sapphire necklace of Kolsai Lakes emerge from it like a sudden mirage. The name of this land is Semirechye.

The origin of the ancient city

The history of the area where modern Almaty is located is more than 3000 years old. Presumably, Saka tribes appeared here in the X century BC The first evidence of their stay is the burial mounds of the 6th-3rd centuries BC. Today, most of them are hidden under the residential areas of the city. Gradually, various tribes of nomads, farmers and traders began to settle in this area. With the development of the Great Silk Road, a large settlement emerged. Records of Genoese merchants of the 8th-10th centuries testify to active trade in this region.

Outpost "Verniy"

Tsar Russia expanded and strengthened its regions. The government gave an order to the bailiff of the Kazakhs of the Big Horde, Major MD Peremyshlsky, to find a convenient place to build a fortification across the Ili river. On February 4, 1854, the Russian government decided to build a military fortification on the bank of the Small Almatinka river. In the autumn of the same year, the outpost "Verniy" already stood there. After a few years, the number of immigrants reached 5,000. In 1867, the settlement around the fort grew to the status of a city. It was also called the "Verniy" outpost.

Legendary Alma-Ata

On February 5, 1921, a meeting of the regional and city councils of people's commissioners was held in the city theater, where it was decided to rename the Verniy to Almaty. And on April 3, 1927, the VI All-Kazakhstan Congress of Soviets approved the Resolution of the CEC and the Council of People's Commissars of the Kazakh ASSRO on the transfer of the capital from Kyzyl-Orda to Almaty. In 1993, the city came back to its historical name - Almaty. And although in 1997 the capital was moved to the city of Astana, Almaty remains a city of republican significance and the southern capital of the country

Important numbers:

• 1.7 million people
• More than 120 nationalities
• The largest city in the country