This is my second visit to Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty. Nadia and I came here to watch Oliver and Ocean participate in the Central Asian Federation of Athletics (CAFA) Soccer Tournament. International schools in the five Central Asian countries participate in the conference. This is Oliver’s last soccer tournament as he is a senior this year and will be graduating in June so we wanted to watch him. We also were excited to see Ocean play as well. This is her first time playing soccer. Oliver’s team won the varsity boys championship and Ocean’s team tied for third. Nadia and I loved coming up here and taking in watching our children play soccer. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and had a lot of fun with the kids and their classmates. Quality Schools International (QSI) Almaty International School hosted the tournament in their beautiful sports facilities.
Kazakhstan is around 4-5 five times richer than Uzbekistan and you can see it in the infrastructure. Almaty was an important federal capital for the Soviets and it shows. The Russians called it “Alma Ata” and I remember reading maps in school with that name. The trans-Siberian railroad came through here which brought more industry and business. Pre-Soviet times, the Russians built a fort here to protect the empire and they named the town Verny. Later, many dissident intellectuals were exiled here from Moscow and the city developed a sophisticated culture. It feels very European and feels much more civilized and established than Uzbekistan. The metropolitan area of 2 million people makes for a refreshing, elegant break from Tashkent. Shortly after independence, the Kazakhs changed the name to Almaty, the original Kazakh name of the area. A former president moved the capital to Astana in 1998, but Almaty still is the financial and cultural center of the country.
I enjoy the restaurants. We ate at Honey-Honey Restaurant which is located in the financial district, near the Esentai Mall. Our friend Tracey said it felt like Helsinki with the birch trees and a beautiful outdoor plaza between the restaurant and mall. It had an Asian menu, an excellent drink menu, and gourmet ingredients and taste. I highly recommend it when you come here.
We also made the mandatory stops at American franchises that have not made it to Uzbekistan yet. Starbucks (gifts), Krispy Kreme, ate a Papa John’s pizza and a quick meal at the restaurant formerly known as McDonald’s. I say “formerly known as” because McDonald’s pulled out of Kazakhstan when they had supply chain issues due to sanctions on Russia. The restaurants are still here in Almaty, but the Golden Arches are taken down, and all references to McDonald’s are wiped from menus, drive-thrus, etc. It is now known as “Food Solutions KZ” with a new branding campaign coming soon. The double cheeseburger, fries, and strawberry shake tasted similar to the McDonald’s all Americans know. We also went to a supermarket to buy nacho chips and a few things Nadia could not get in Uzbekistan. We spent the rest of the day in the hotel room. I exercised in the gym and later went for a run along the Esentai River (весновка) in Russian as there was a running/biking trail.
The first time we came, we didn’t go to the central business district. There is a lot of new construction and there is a modern skyline. I noticed signs for the BI Group and Halyk Bank, to huge businesses that have changed the landscape of the city.
Bill's Blog 