He's not really from Kazakhstan

A fan of the site from Kazakhstan has written a short introduction to the real Kazakhstan. I have left the photos in full colour, not the fictional Borat Black and White Kazakhstan...

A few facts about Kazakhstan for you.

We had a great past before the Mongol's invasion - flourishing culture, city-states along the famous Silk Road trade route, it was the craddle of several Asian civilizations, including Turkey, Japan and others. Then the Mongols in the 11th century almost totally destroyed my country until it started to rise again to be conquered by the Russians during the 17th-18th century when it became a part of the Russian Empire. But Kazakhs managed to retain their national identity. We regained our independance in 1992. So, we are a new country and that's why very few people know about us in the West. But in time it will change, I am sure.

Kazakhstan is very multi-national society, we have many nationalities living here. The Kazakhs have been known throughout history for their hospitality and tolerance. We accepted many peoples at the time when they needed a safe refuge, or when they were forcefully moved from Russia by Stalin. The Turks, Kurds, Germans, Jews, Koreans, Cossacks, Chechens, Uighurs, and many others call Kazakhstan their home.

Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world with only 15 million people living there. It's a beautiful country. We have everything: very high mountains of the Gimalayan range, lakes, rivers, forests, plainlands, deserts, canions. Kazakhstan is one of the world's large exporters of oil and gas. Our economy is booming - Kazakhstan is one of the leaders in the economic and human developmnent among the former USSR countries and is definitely far ahead of all Central Asian countires. Kazakhs are not uniformly mongoloid as claimed by someone in your board. Because our nation was formed from several origins (Turkic, Arabic, Mongol, Chinese, Slavic, others), the features of Kazakhs vary greatly from region to region. There is no such thing as a typical or a distinct Kazakh as we have so many types of Kazakhs. Some may look to you as a Chinese or a Japanese, others may look more like Europeans.

You will be surprised by the people in Kazakhstan - they are very educated and friendly. If you ever meet a Kazakhstani, you will see for yourself. :)

Okay, I will stop here - I know can talk about my home country for very long. :)

Cheers,

Abu Janibek from Almaty, Kazakhstan.

And some links for further information on Kazakhstan:

• World 66 Guide
• Silk Road Hotels Guide
• CIA Guide
• The Kazakhstan Post
• Some Kazakhstan Pictures

And Ms Kazakhstan is a fox too!