2018 Tian Shan travel: Part 52

Commentary from 2021

This post are just a few first pictures from my return to Astana – the city itself, in the night. Some photos are really crap, since they were either taken by phone or by the compact camera, which at this point of the trip was already dying (and stopped working soon after). Nevertheless, here they are, for my storage and your enjoyment.

What you see here is the Hazrat Sultan Mosque – I featured it on one of the first posts of the series in daylight. During my return trip, in the train, other than being called a NATO spy by one of the conductors, I met two Dungans, a brother and sister. A very interesting nationality, they are Muslim Chinese living in central Asia, including Russia. The guy showed me the Mosque from inside. While earlier I was hesitant to go there, as some Kazakhs told me a Christian shouldn’t go there, this guy was annoyed by this and told me it is the obligation to show the religion to someone who displays interest in it. Very beautiful building. It left a lasting impression.

Original blog post link:
– https://2018tianshan.tumblr.com/post/178144282866
Original post from 16.09.2018 is copied below.