Меню
The city of Shymkent, with a population of over one million people, one of the three largest cities in Kazakhstan with the status of republican significance, is a separate administrative-territorial unit, not part of the surrounding region. It consists of five administrative districts: Abay, Enbeksha, Al-Farabi, Karatau, and Turan.
Representatives of more than 95 nationalities (Kazakhs and Russians, Uzbeks and Tatars, Koreans and others) live together in modern Shymkent. The way of life of the population, togetherness and originality of ethnic groups, their synthesis - all these have formed the cultural policy of the city.
Shymkent is a City of Special Energy
The nature of Shymkent disposes to rest and recovery. The city is situated in a peculiar landscape zone and has had a reputation as a "garden city", a green city since ancient times. Vegetation is characterized by extreme diversity. Shymkent is characterized by a high level of groundwater, which leads to the presence of several springs right in the center of the city (the source of the Koshkaraty River).
There are mineral water springs and thermal springs near the city. The healing climate of these places is useful for people suffering from cardiac diseases. For lovers of mountain recreation - in the eastern part of the horizon is a mountain landscape, which is part of the mountain system of the Western Tien Shan. In a southern part of a mountain chain there is a mountain Kazygurt (height of peak 1768 meters, length 20 km), being in 40 km to the South-East from Shymkent. The mountain range Karzhantau (the highest point is 2823 m, the chain is 90 km long) is situated to the north of the Kazygurt mountain. Behind this mountain there is the Ugamsky ridge (the highest point is 4299 m, length 115 km). Shymkent is of great interest for tourists art historians and archaeologists. After all, here begins the tourist routes to resorts, exotic and historical sites, which are not enough in the south of Kazakhstan.
The largest industrial, commercial and cultural center of the southern region is located relatively close to the borders with Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as their capitals - Tashkent and Bishkek.Researchers of southern Kazakhstan believe that the first settlements in Shymkent appeared at the turn of the XI-XII centuries. However, recent findings of archaeologists suggest that people lived here as early as the VI-VII centuries. The first mention of the city of Shymkent appeared in 1425 in the book of the Persian historian Sharaf ad-din Ali "Zafar Name".
The city is situated on the crossroads of the Great Silk Road. It is surrounded by the most ancient towns of the Middle Ages - Otyrar, Isfidzhab (now Sayram), Yassy (Turkestan), Syutkent, Syganak, Sauran and others...
Surrounded by such legendary cities, modern Shymkent continues to be a historical and cultural attraction of southern Kazakhstan, with its own industrial infrastructure and attractive tourist area.
In the very center of Shymkent there is a preserved ancient settlement, which is of interest not only to scientists and students - historians, but also to tourists. In old pictures the city is preserved in a way that no one can remember it today.
Museums
The largest museum is the regional history and regional history museum. It has an art gallery, which presents the works of local artists.
Nowadays the city is growing wide and high. Today the population of Shymkent is about 1 121 809 people, whereas 10 years ago the population did not exceed 400 thousand people. The region represents the most multinational part of the country, where people of more than 100 different nationalities live together and enrich each other with their culture and traditions.
There is a museum of victims of political repressions, a museum of the political figure of the country A. Kunayev. Of private creative projects work art and theater salon, gallery "Art Space" (KIIZSPACE), a museum Hakim Abay.
Creative works in different styles and directions are presented by the city artists.
Souvenirs can be purchased in the art and theater salon or in the ethnic sections of supermarkets.
Entertainment
Night clubs, bowling alleys, city parks, modern trade and entertainment centers are indispensable attributes of entertainment life in Shymkent.
Golf courses are a modern hobby of Shymkent citizens.
The recreation area is represented by an arboretum with its unique collection of valuable tree species, a zoo - the second most important in the country, a racetrack and the adjacent environmentally friendly and landscaped area, an entertainment center with Lake Zhailaukol, an ethnic park "Ken - Baba".
Equestrian games are the national pride of Kazakhstan. The most exciting of them are held at the Shymkent Hippodrome.
In Shymkent one square meter will give you an opportunity to taste both traditional Kazakh cuisine and extravagances of Uigur, Tatar, Uzbek, Russian, Armenian, Georgian and Greek cuisine.
The most delicious beshbarmak is cooked in Shymkent. And on top of national dishes the European cuisine is developed in the city. So, for every taste you can easily find something that your heart and stomach desire.
Bazaar
And of course, tourists will be surprised by the bazaar - a real fairy tale of the East. There you will find a thousand things you need, try soy fruits, smell the aroma of spices and be surprised how you can see and buy so many items of oriental attributes at one place that your trip to the south of Kazakhstan will forever remain as a souvenir in your memory.
Oriental bazaar is an adventure, communication, shopping, meetings and impressions! You cannot get the full idea of the picturesque and colorful Orient without visiting it.
Culture
Cultural life of the city is connected with the development of activity of two drama theaters, puppet theater, opera-music theater and philharmonic.
It has become a tradition to hold the regional stage of the International Romance Competition, headed by Galina Preobrazhenskaya, the director of Russian Romance House, in Shymkent. Shymkent has become recognized as a center of romance in Kazakhstan. Usually stars of romance come here in September.
Creative clubs with performances of live music offer all styles - jazz, retro, hard rock, bardic evenings.
The international jazz festival directed by the world famous jazzman Igor Butman has also become a tradition. It takes place in June. To the services of tourists are provided hotels, including ethnic, travel agencies and tour companies. There is a modern airport, railway station, bus stations and cab service. There is a developed network of cafes and restaurants with European and international cuisine.