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Eastern and Balkan Europe (PECOB),
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All pictures have been taken by Giorgio Comai, in January 2006 in Kazakhstan. The pictures focus on new elements of independent Kazakhstan, as well as its landscapes.
Kazakhstan has an oil and gas driven rampant economy that is very well visible in the business neighbourhoods of Almaty and Astana.
See the picture "Almaty business neighbourhood"
Almaty lies very close to a chain of mountains. In the bas-relief on the left there is a representation of President Nazarbaev swearing on the constitution.
See the picture "Nazarbaev and the mountains"
Almaty lies close to the border with Kyrgyzstan, China and comparively close to Uzbekistan. As a consequence out of town there are a few large markets where goods are sold in large quantities directly from lorries and containers.
See the picture "A central Asian market"
On these mountains lies the border between Kazakhstan and China.
It takes more than twenty hour to go by train from the old capital Almaty to the new capital Astana. More than twenty hours of never-ending steppes.
See the picture "Kazakhstan's snowy steppes"
Since 1994, when the decision to move the capital was taken, construction of governmental buildings flourished in this comparatively small city in the middle of the steppe. Beside the brand-new buildings of the ministries there is nothing but steppe.
See the picture "Astana's new government district"
Memorial in Astana's tower Bayterek to testify peace between religions in Kazakhstan.
See the picture "Peace between religions"
This is an imprint of the palm of President Nazarbaev placed in Astana's tower Bayterek. As the first and only president of the country, he is often regarded as the father of independent Kazakhstan.
See the picture "Nazarbaev's hand"
An official schoolbook of 'History of Kazakhstan' of the early nineties stressing the genetic differences among the Kazakh and other Eurasian peoples .
See the picture "Genetic differences"