Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE¨GOLDEN¨MAN¨-¨OR¨WOMAN?
The Golden Man (Altyn Adam in Kazakh) is a warrior's cotume from about the 5th
century BC that was found in 1969 in a Saka tomb near Yesik (Issik), about 60km eat of
Almaty. It is made of more than 4000 separate gold pieces, many of them inely worked
with animal motifs, and has a 70cm-high headdress bearing skyward-pointing arrows,
a pair of snarling snow leopards and a two-headed winged mythical beat. The Golden
Man has become modern Kazakhtan's favourite national symbol.
The conventional wisdom is that the skeleton found inside the cotume was that of a
young Saka prince killed in battle. But there is a trong countercurrent of thought that
the Golden Man was in fact a Golden Woman, and that Kazakhtan's nation-makers
have deliberately misrepresented the gender to suit Kazakh tereotypes. Archaeologit
Jeannine Davis-Kimball argues in Warrior Women (2002) that the body was too badly
damaged for its gender to be determined, and that other goods in the tomb sugget
it was a woman. One intriguing school of thought identiies the Golden Woman with
Tomiris, a queen of the Massagetes tribe who defeated the invading forces of Persian
emperor Cyrus the Great.
The original Golden Man is apparently kept safe in the National Bank building in
Almaty, but replicas adorn museums all over the country.
International¨¨
Jazz¨Festival¨ mUSIC FESTIVAL
(www.jazz.kz) International artists jam it up
in various venues over several days in April.
FourEFestival¨ ALTERNATIVE FESTIVAL
(www.ecofest.kz) This 'eco-ethno-emotional-
evolution festival' brings together three
days of yoga, art, workshops and ethnic
and spiritual music in a different natural
location outside Almaty each August. No
alcohol or tobacco!
Eurasia¨International¨¨
Film¨Festival¨¨ FILm FESTIVAL
Free screenings of dozens of films, mostly
from CIS countries but some from Western
Europe, over several days, plus occasional
fly-ins by Hollywood celebs. Held in Sep-
tember.
Almaty¨Day¨ CITY FESTIVAL
The annual city festival on 16 Spetember sees
numerous indoor and outdoor musical events
and exhibitions (usually with one dedicated
to locally grown apples), and fireworks.
4 ¨Sleeping
Except for a handful of travellers' hostels,
accommodation in Almaty is expensive
for what you get. There's very little at nor-
mal midrange prices, though international
apartment-rental site airbnb (www.airbnb.
com) has a good range of apartments from
around 8000T. There's no shortage of classy
35,000T-plus hotels for those who are prob-
ably not paying their own bills.
Apple¨Hostel¨ HOSTEL $
( % 701-220 2275; www.apple-hostel.kz; Kvartira
95, 2nd fl, Blok B, Zhiloy Kompleks Zhastar-1, Kur-
mangazy 145; dm 2800T; nW ) The Apple has
a friendly atmosphere and welcoming Eng-
lish-speaking owner, and is reasonably well
located one block north of Auezov metro
station. It offers male and female dorms,
one twin room (same price), a decent
kitchen, a pleasant carpeted sitting/eating
room, two bathrooms, and a free washing
machine.
The entrance is from the yard behind the
building: dial 95 on the keypad if you find
the right door - or phone them to come out
and meet you. Airport transfers available for
2500T.
Almaty¨Backpackers¨ HOSTEL $
(Silk Road Backpackers; % 778-951 1711; almaty
backpackers@gmail.com; markov 46A; dm 1900-
2900T, s/d 3400/6600T; nW ) Though still
being built at research time, this hostel was
already open and shaping up to be one of
the best in town. It's certainly the most spa-
cious, with large rooms and a good outdoor
area where a sociable atmosphere can de-
velop. All rooms, including the dorms (three
to six bunks), have their own bathrooms,
there's a good kitchen and the washing ma-
chine is free.
You can get there by bus 79 from the air-
port. Get off at the corner of Timiryazev and
Markov and walk 200m south: the hostel is
a two-storey building behind Markov 46.
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