Quiz: How much do you know about Kazakhstan?

Astana replaced Almaty as the capital of the nation in 1997. Almaty remains the largest city though Astana is the most economically developed. In 2019, when President Nursultan Nazarbayev left the power, the city of Astana was renamed after him, hence the new name Nur-Sultan.

Shakpak Ata is a cave mosque that represents one of the most ancient monuments of Islamic architecture.

The remains at the top of the mountain belong to what was once a fortified city, that served as watchtower and caravanserai along the legendary silk road.

The only existing metro system of Kazakhstan is located in Almaty, where there is a small (8.56 km) metro system. The metro system of Nur-Sultan is under construction, but there is no date for its inauguration. Pavlodar has got a small tram network of 86 kilometres.

Islam is the most commonly practiced religion in Kazakhstan; it was introduced to the region during the 8th century by the Arabs. Traditionally ethnic Kazakhs are Sunni Muslims. Less than 25% of the population of Kazakhstan is Russian Orthodox.

Some of the cliffs of the Charyn canyon resemble fantastical figures as the names of the different valleys suggest: Valley of Castles, Ghosts and Devil's gorges. These were sculpted by erosion during more than 12 million years.

Bektau-Ata is an unusual natural monument located about 70 kilometers north of the town of Balkhash. This is the place where the granite mountain meets the flat steppe, creating a unique landscape. The mountain rises above the steppe more than a thousand metres. Its pink granite rocks consist of granite lava solidified on the surface and in the cracks of the earth.

The Gulag was a governmental agency in charge of the Soviet network of forced labour camps. The labour camps were also called 'gulags'. They were set up by order of Vladimir Lenin, but reached their peak during Joseph Stalin's rule from the 1930s to the early 1950s. They were often located in Siberia.

This building was created for the occasion of the international Expo that took place in Astana in 2017. The Kazakh chose the thematic of the expo to be ‘Future Energies’. Nowadays, this globe – called the ‘Nur Alem’ pavilion – holds the Museum for Future Energies in its eight floors.

Baikonur is a spaceport in southern Kazakhstan which is leased to Russia. It is the world's first space port for orbital and human launches. It was from here that Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, and Vostok 1, the first human spaceflight (featuring Yuri Gagarin), were launched.

The Mashkhur Jusup Mosque is located in the centre of Pavlodar and is one of the largest mosques in Kazakhstan. It was finished in 2001 and can accommodate 1,500 worshipers. The base for the building is constructed in the form of an octagonal star with eight points. The height of the mosque minarets is 63 metres, a symbolic height that corresponds to the age of Muhammad. The main blue-sky dome is based on the top of a yurt.

For 40 years (1949-89) the Soviet Union exploded more than 400 nuclear bombs at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, in the heart of the steppe of Kazakhstan. More than 200,000 people living within 45 kms of the site were never informed of the danger they were being exposed to. There is still radioactivity at the site today and, what is more devastating – three generations later – there are still people dying because of this!

Spaask is nowadays a memorial of what was once one of the deadliest labour camps (gulags) of Siberia. Stalin created more than 400 gulags in Siberia and sent there more than 18 million people. Were they criminals? Why did he bring these people to Siberia? You can find more info in our article about the Gulags of Siberia.

Malus sieversii is a wild apple native to the mountains of Central Asia in southern Kazakhstan. It has recently been shown to be the primary ancestor of most cultivars of the domesticated apple.

Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country, and the ninth-largest country in the world, with an area of 2,724,900 square kilometres.