Did You Know

Interesting Facts about Kazakhstan

Trivia, oddities, and curious tidbits about Kazakhstan.

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Did You Know?

19 curious facts about Kazakhstan.

When a child loses a tooth they drop their tooth under the bathtub and say “Mouse, mouse, bring me a new tooth, please.”
For many years, the capital of Kazakhstan was Almaty, the largest city in the country. In 1998, the capital was moved to Astana. Almaty remains an important business centre.
Lake Balkash in eastern Kazakhstan contains two kinds of water: salt water in the east and fresh water in the west.
Almaty was once a stop on the Silk Road - an overland trade route between China and Europe from the 1st century to the 16th century. Caravans regularly travelled the route across Asia until the Dutch, Portuguese and English established sea routes to the East.

One of the Mongol leaders who succeeded Genghis Khan was Tamerlane. Although he is remembered as a cruel ruler, he built a huge religious complex in Turkestan in south Kazakhstan in the 14th century. The complex includes a mausoleum dedicated to the Sufi poet and teacher Khodja Ahmed Yasavi.
The cosy hearth is an honoured place in a herder's yurta. Sitting near the fire is a privilege for guests. A cauldron called a kazan simmers over the fire.
Kazakhs have traditionally been divided into three large clans called zhuszes. They were ruled by leaders called khans. Even today people may ask when meeting someone new: “What zhusz do you belong to?” Many Kazakhs can trace their heritage back seven generations or more.
The Russian space program is based at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in central Kazakhstan. The Soviet Union was first to send into space a satellite, a lunar probe, astronauts (the first man in space in 1961 and the first woman two years later) and a space station. Russia still runs the centre, but pays rent for it to Kazakhstan.
Kures is a Kazakh form of wrestling that has some similarities to sumo wrestling. Powerful competitors try to force each other out of the ring.
Aleksandr Parygin of Kazakhstan won the modern pentathlon at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. The pentathlon tests the ability and endurance of athletes in pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, horseback riding and running.