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Казахстан
Atyrau

City at the edge of two continents: Europe and Asia

Atyrau is the city, regional center of Atyrau region, Republic of Kazakhstan. The city is located in two parts of the world – Europe and Asia. Atyrau is the large center in oil and gas production and processing. History of Atyrau is unusual. The city was founded on the settlement land Ust-Yaitskiy Ostrog. The merchant from the town Yaroslavl Guriy Nazarov built this settlement at his expense in 1640 in the river mouth of Yaik when flowing into the Caspian Sea. Thus this settlement received its name.

In 1992, the city was renamed to Atyrau. From Kazakh, it means a “mouth”. Initially, the city was built on the shore, and at present, it steps back 25-30 km away from it. Oil refinery and oil equipment manufacturing plants were first built in this city. In addition, the largest fish canning plant appeared here. During its construction in 30s of the ХХ century, the city was built thick and fast. Cultural life of Atyrau region is rich and significant. There is the Drama Theatre named after M. Utemissov, Regional Philharmonic Hall named after N, Zhanturin, famous Orchestra of Folk Kazakh instruments names after D. Nurpeissova, Local History Museum, Museum of Applied and Decorative Arts.

Atyrau highlights
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Foot Bridge

The longest foot bridge in the world is located in Atyrau, it was included in the Guinness Book of Records. From this bridge, one can watch the magnificent view to the river, city and the Victory park, with the eternal Fire and Memorial to Victims of Political Repressions. Swing bridge over the river Ural has acquired the name “10 Years of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan”. Its length is 551 m. Bridge construction is unique, there is no other bridge like that in the CIS. Engineers had developed such a structure that the bridge supports do not interfere with boat traffic during navigation, and do not obstacle sturgeons moving for spawning in spring.

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Saraichik Ancient Settlement

Saraichik is one of the most ancient monuments in Kazakhstan. Saraichik is the cradle of Kazakh Orda. It is the unique heritage of our independent Republic. Great legacy of Kazakh people. Saraichik is admiration of ancient roots and link with future. Saraichik is a tribute to the memory of wise man who wrote the chronicles of our state, gratitude for rebirth of those forgotten. Origin history of this settlement goes back to the ХІІІ century, thus it is connected with the period of invasion by Genghis Khan and Khan Bayi. According to the extant facts, source book about this settlement appeared in the first half of the ХІV century. They mention Saraichik as the town with developed trade, arts and crafts. First data about Saraichik was written by the Arab scientist, traveler Ibn Batuta. One of his trips to Asia in 1334 passed through Ulken Sarai. At this time, he visited Saraichik. That’s what he is writing: “After ten days of my trip on the animal transport from Saraichik, we reached the town Saraidzhuk. This nice blooming town was on the shore of the deep water river with strong current called Ulysu (translated as the Great Water). And the second after Bagdad floating bridge was built here. Saraidzhuk in Mongolian means a palace. At that time, the main palace was Altyn Orda, and Saraichik was the Small Palace. Thus, it received its name Saraichik (from Kazakh - small). During the reign of Kazakh khan Kassym, Saraichik became the first capital of Kazakh Orda. The town was destroyed in 1580 by Cossacks, as ordered by Ivan the Terrible.

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Ural River

The river Ural crosses West Kazakhstan from north to south. The river is very long, wide and has a strong current. Ural is rich with valuable types of fish and is the ideal place of fishing and active rest. Ural breeds plenty of fish, and every fisherman coming for a rest, can boast with a rich yield – beluga, sturgeon, starry sturgeon and other valuable fish. On the bank of the river, if you are lucky, you can watch the life of a common otter listed in the Red Book of the region, in its natural habitat. In addition, bank of the river has wild beaches and forests with lots of berries and mushrooms. The river Ural in Kazakhstan is the ideal place for rest for nature lovers and for those who is dreaming about the rest from fussy and crowdy cities.

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Assumption Cathedral

The Assumption Cathedral was built and opened in 1885 at the expense of the merchant F. Tudakov and his wife. After the revolution, the cathedral was closed by the Soviet government, but after the war, it was opened. In 2000, under the order of Akim of the region, Imangali N. Tasmagambetov, the cathedral was reconstructed completely. It was built from fired stone. The cathedral is 45 m long and 14 m wide, its highest point is 34 m high. Main dome height of the Assumption Cathedral makes up 40 m, and the thin domes – 10 m.