Get app
Photo: Dauren Nabijan, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.Explore the wonders of Kazakhstan's dazzling capital! From record-breaking architecture to ancient legends and extreme weather, test your knowledge of Astana.
Steppe Visitor 0–4 · Left Bank Navigator 5–8 · True Astanian 9–10
Pick one
The team, founded in 2007 and today called XDS Astana Team, is named after Kazakhstan's capital. Alberto Contador won the Tour de France for it in 2009, and Vincenzo Nibali did the same in 2014.
Photo: Marianne Casamance, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Pick one
Completed in 2006, this striking 62-metre-tall pyramid was designed by British architect Norman Foster as a symbol of religious harmony and cultural unity. At its top, stained-glass windows show 130 doves, standing for the many peoples who live in Kazakhstan.
Pick one
The Nur Alem pavilion is one of the largest spherical buildings in the world, measuring 80 meters in diameter. Built for the international exposition in 2017, the structure is also known as the "Museum of Future Energy." Each floor of the massive globe is dedicated to a different type of renewable energy, including wind, solar, and water, and the building itself generates power using integrated wind turbines.
Pick one
The 105-meter-tall Baiterek Tower is a monument representing a Kazakh folk tale about the tree of life and a magic bird of happiness named Samruk. Every year, the bird lays a golden egg (representing the sun) in the crevice of the tree. Visitors can take an elevator to the sphere and place their hand in a gilded print of the first president's hand.
Pick one
The Astana Arena, opened in 2009, is a 30,000-seat stadium with a huge retractable roof. Closing the roof lets it host football matches and concerts year-round, from freezing Kazakh winters to hot summers, and it is the home ground of Kazakhstan's national football team.
Pick one
In 1961, the city was renamed Tselinograd to mark its status as the headquarters of Nikita Khrushchev's Virgin Lands Campaign, an initiative aimed at turning the Kazakh steppes into a major grain producer. The city went through several name changes, including Akmola, Astana, and Nur-Sultan, before returning to Astana in 2022.
Pick one
The Baiterek Tower is 105 metres tall, but its viewing deck sits at exactly 97 metres, a nod to 1997, when the capital moved to Astana. Visitors ride a lift up into the big golden ball at the top for panoramic views across the city.
Pick one
Hazrat Sultan is named after Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, a revered 12th-century Sufi philosopher, poet and mystic whose title was "Hazrat Sultan" (Holy Sultan). The mosque holds about 5,000 worshippers and up to 10,000 on holidays. Its main dome is 51 metres high, the largest in Kazakhstan, and four 77-metre minarets stand at its corners.
Pick one
The Astana Opera opened its doors in 2013 with a spectacular production of Giuseppe Verdi's "Attila." The state-of-the-art theater is renowned for its world-class acoustics and neoclassical design, which incorporates traditional Kazakh motifs. The main hall is designed in the shape of a horseshoe to optimize sound projection, rivaling classic European opera houses.
Pick one
Khan Shatyr is a giant transparent tent designed by architect Norman Foster. Its top floor houses the Sky Beach Club, featuring a heated pool, water slides, and actual sand imported from the Maldives to maintain a tropical vibe year-round. This allows residents to enjoy a beach day even when outdoor temperatures drop to minus 40 degrees.
Paste the code into your page. The player fits itself in, and every vote counts in Votur.
On WordPress, Ghost or Squarespace? Just paste the link of this page into your post.
This is how it looks
Also fun
