A Capital Experience

The President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbaev, was in town yesterday and today. We waved to him when he drove by on the street. We're sure he waved back. At 80 km/hr. In a 14-car motorcade. In a car with blackened windows. As a matter of fact, his motorcade went past a few times today, accompanied by lots of security, including many men in suits with bulges in their jackets. Many uniformed city police also were in evidence blowing whistles as efficiently as they could. Not whistle-blowing squealers, but actually blowing whistles to control traffic.

Speaking of the President, tomorrow, Friday, we're going on a sightseeing trip to Astana (Астана, in Kazakh and Russian), the new capital of Kazakhstan. Astana means "capital" in Kazakh. Montreal, Toronto, and Kingston lost the opportunity to be the capital of Canada way back in the mid-1800's. Almaty, the largest city, lost the capital to the town of Akmola in 1997, which was then renamed to Astana in 1998. Astana is now experiencing a major boom in construction. Many of the buildings are quite futuristic. Some look like they come from The Jetsons cartoon show. The trip should be camera-worthy.