After Expo Milan 2015, the capital of Kazakhstan will host Expo Astana 2017, yet few people know its history and what it has to offer. Let's discover what to see in Astana, a modern capital with both an eastern and a western culture and futuristic architecture.

Astana, a brief history

Astana is a young city built at the behest of Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who in 1997 decided to move the capital from Almaty to this location. This decision was driven by the city's geo-political position, lying at the heart of Kazakhstan and the Eurasian continent, as well as by the availability of transport and communications infrastructure. The new capital was also chosen for the abundance of space and land that would allow it to develop. In 1998 the new capital was given the name Astana, meaning "capital" in Kazakh.

Architecture in the capital of Kazakhstan

The architectural concept around which the city has developed is a Eurasian vision — that is, a place that brings together East and West to represent them in harmonious balance. An ambitious goal, achieved through outstanding contributions. The author of Astana's "masterplan" was the renowned Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, who also designed the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka.

Among the other prominent contributions is that of British architect Norman Foster, who designed and built the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation as well as the new Khan Shatyr entertainment centre.

Astana is today a city in a state of constant change, attracting the interest and curiosity of an ever-growing number of tourists.

What to see in Astana

The Bayterek

The Bayterek, the tree of life at the centre of Eurasia, is the symbol and calling card of the capital, and takes the form of a tower at the heart of the administrative city. Everything about this monument is symbolic: the golden sun at the top of the tree — at a height of 97 metres — and the interior architecture divided into three zones representing the three fundamental universal principles. Bayterek means "poplar" in Kazakh, and the structure of metal, glass and concrete is architecturally unique and grand: 105 metres tall, it weighs a thousand tonnes resting on five hundred piles. The glass sphere at the summit is chameleon-like, changing colour with the sunlight, and is suspended at a record height.

The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation

The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation is a pyramid built by Foster in 2006. It owes its name to the fact that every three years the religious leaders of the world gather inside it for the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. The pyramid stands 62 metres tall and was built on a 15-metre raised platform, for a total surface area of over 25,000 square metres. Visiting it is a unique experience: the concert hall is spectacular, as is the summit, reached by a lift that travels not vertically but diagonally. There is also a winter garden inside, making it a truly remarkable structure.

The Hazret Sultan and Nur-Astana mosques

Also worth visiting are the two mosques in the city: the Hazret Sultan mosque and that of Nur-Astana. The former is more imposing and majestic, in keeping with the impression it aims to convey; the latter is smaller but has a golden dome that, lit by the sun, becomes truly evocative. To enter, women must wear a hooded blue robe, and everyone is required to remove their shoes.

Astana also has a synagogue which, like all its monuments, reflects the reality of a modern, multinational and multi-faith Kazakhstan: here representatives of all ethnicities and the main religions live and work together, and the city has become the venue for a series of public forums dedicated to inter-ethnic and inter-religious cooperation.