Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and most interesting, with a particularly
colourful array of rugs and textiles, as well
as food and millions of items of clothing.
Parks¨&¨Squares
Central Shymkent's several parks are
popular hangouts, especially on summer
evenings. Most popular are Ken Baba orta-
lygy, with its many cafes, restaurants and
children's rides, and the amusement park
Kiyal¨alemi
(Respublika dangyly;
h
10am-mid-
night, shorter hr in winter)
. Southeast of Kiyal
alemi, across the small Koshkar-Ata canal,
you'll find the few remaining streets of
pre-¨
Russian¨Shymkent
- a quiet, villagelike
area of wooden houses.
Tauelsizdik¨Sayabagy¨¨
PARK
(Independence Park)
Tauelsizdik sayabagy, ac-
cessed by footbridge from the tall, Mother
Earth-topped
Independence¨Monument
(Ordabasy alany)
, was inaugurated in 2011 for
the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan's in-
dependence. It focuses on Ramizder alany
(Symbols Sq) which contains assorted na-
tional and ethnic-Kazakh symbols designed
to inspire feelings of national unity, domi-
nated by the tall
Altyn¨Shanyrak
(golden
Shanyrak)
monument, representing the cen-
tral roof opening of a yurt.
z
¨Festivals¨&¨Events
Shymkent's
Nauryz
celebrations, on 22
March, are among the biggest in the coun-
try.
Kokpar,
horse races,
audaryspak
(horseback wrestling) and
kyz kuu
(a boy-
girl horseback chase) all happen at the Ippo-
drom (Hippodrome) on the northern edge
of the city.
4
¨Sleeping
Hotel¨Nurotau¨
HOTEL $
(
%
53 61 34; Tauke-Khan 67; s 4000T, d 5000-
7000T, tr 9000T;
aW
)
Much better than it
looks from outside, the Nurotau has friendly
staff and clean, comfy, carpeted rooms with
glassed-in showers. No breakfast, but they'll
fill the teapot in your room with free tea or
coffee.
Hotel¨Ordabasy¨
HOTEL $
(
%
53 64 21; Kazybek Bi 1; r incl breakfast 6000-
10,500T;
a
)
The Ordabasy has survived from
Soviet times with renovated rooms sporting
varnished-parquet floors, where everything
works OK even if there are already a few
cracks in the plasterwork.
Motel¨Bayterek-Sapar¨
HOTEL $
(
%
33 75 55; www.saparhotels.com; Respublika dan-
gyly 4; s 3900-4900T, d 4900-5900T, incl breakfast;
na
)
Clean, air-conditioned rooms of varied
sizes, inside the Sapar shopping mall. Bath-
rooms are shared (with squat toilets and hot
showers) but are spotless. Reception staff
speak a little English and rates include an
hour in the sauna.
Hotel¨Dostyk¨
HOTEL $$
(
%
54 84 98; www.hoteldostyk.kz; Adyrbekov 17;
s 9000-11,900T, d 17,000-18,500T;
paiW
)
The rooms aren't as spiffy as the lobby but
they're modern and comfortable, with apri-
cot paint and touches like tea, coffee, kettle
and dressing gowns. Receptionists are ami-
able and English-speaking and breakfast is a
decent buffet affair.
o
Orbita¨Boutique¨Hotel¨
BOUTIQUE HOTEL $$$
(
%
40 72 71; http://orbitahotel.kz; Abay dangyly 27;
s 15,000-25,000T, d 22,000-27,000T, all incl break-
fast;
pnaW
)
This little gem 2km west of
the centre has just a handful of rooms, all
individually and pleasingly designed with
features like half-timbering and exposed
brick - one even has an African theme - and
equipped with tea/coffee makers and well-
stocked minibars. Attentive, English-fluent
receptionists inhabit the conservatory-like
upstairs lobby.
There's a restaurant downstairs and sev-
eral others along the leafy street. It offers
free airport pickups too.
5
¨Eating
Eldoro¨
INTERNATIONAL $
(Tauke-Khan 80; dishes 220-1600T;
h
7am-5am;
E
)
Large, bright and informal, with efficient
service, Eldoro is good for anything from piz-
za or salads to steaks, shashlyk or breakfast
pancakes. It does good fresh-squeezed juices
(440T) and reasonably priced beer too - and
there's no obligatory service charge.
Bar¨Karavan¨
CENTRAL ASIAN $
(
%
54 52 83; Ken Baba ortalygy; mains 600-1000T;
h
11am-1am)
Karavan offers Uzbek
plov,
Ka-
zakh
beshbarmak,
and Russian
bifstroga-
nof,
but those in the know come for the very
tasty Uyghur
burro-laghman
(fried
lagh-
man
). In warm weather you can sit outside
in small platform pavilions.
Madlen¨
CAFE $
(
%
21 06 91; Ilyaev 17; dishes 400-900T;
h
10am-
midnight)
Good cafe with tasty cakes, crois-
sants and desserts, and a leafy pavement
