KAZAKHSTAN

Population: 15.4 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Astana
Area: 2.7 million sq km (1 million sq miles)
Major languages: Kazakh, Russian
Major religions: Islam, Christianity
Life expectancy: 58 years (men), 69 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Kazakh tenge = 100 tiyn

The Republic of Kazakhstan – a massive Central Asian nation that has been inhabited since the Stone Age, way before time was recorded. The biggest landlocked nation on the planet, Kazakhstan holds unbelievable potential in the tourism industry, with great unknown travel destinations. The world’s orientation to Kazakhstan mainly takes place in History classes, but otherwise, the gigantic country by itself is unheard of to most of us, until Borat Sagdiyev, who, despite his light-hearted perspective of the nation, in essence, did little to promote grandeur of the place. His humorous take on the mystery of Kazakhstan nation was spot on, strangely enough, specifically with his grasp on the restrictions and repression of media, freedom of speech and assembly, the nation being under a dictatorship. Nevertheless, this majestic nation ought to be a centre of world tourism especially for its mystique and mystery just for those who love unchartered territory with a taste of the surprising and the new.

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