Almaty

Almaty is the biggest city and former capital of Kazakhstan.
The city of Almaty is one of the most modern cities in the region with a history of less than 160 years. It was fonded as a Russian fort in 1854 and is developing ever since. Nowadays it is a big valley city of almost 2 million inhabitants, which has almost reached its extension potential. This is one of the main reasons for the change of the capital of Kazakhstan to the northern plains' city of Astana.
Due to major earthquakes in the end of the 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th, Almaty is full of rather contemporary architectural landmarks with the most noticeable of those: the Panfilov Park, having one of the world's tallest wooden buildings, built without using a single nail, the Zenkov Cathedral, the bath-house Arasan, the Otrar Hotel and the State Art Museum.