City: Almaty
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Things to do in Almaty, Kazakhstan: The Best Museums
Almaty /ˈælməti/ (Kazakh: Алматы, Almaty [ɑlmɑˈtə]; Russian: Алматы), formerly known as Alma-Ata /ˌælmə.əˈtɑː/ (Russian: Алма-Ата) and Verny (Russian: Верный Vernyy), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of 1,797,431 people, about 8% of the country's total population. It served as capital of the Kazakh state in its various forms from 1929 to 1997, under the influence of the then Soviet Union and its appointees. Alma-Ata was the host city for a 1978 international conference on Primary Health Care where the Alma Ata Declaration was adopted, marking a paradigm shift in global public health. In 1997, the government relocated the capital to Astana in the north of the country, which is about 12 hours away by train.
Restaurants in Almaty
1. M. Auezov's House Museum
2. Art Gallery Grace Art
3. Astrophysical Observatory
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1 reviews
4. Archeology Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 46 reviews
Reviewed By RobertP3508
I visited this place with my wife on a trip to Almaty in September 2018. The museum is located inside a larger scientific institute, and so difficult to see from the road. It consists of four rooms looking at: natural history/dinosaurs; the archaeology and pre-modern history of Kazakhstan; modern history of the institute; and rare texts from medieval times up to the 20th century. I found the museum fascinating for the light it threw on the history of Kazakhstan, its connection to the Huns and Kurgan people, and its place in the history of Islam and the Silk Road. Our visit to the rare book section was particularly fascinating. Here, you can see all types of text from medieval diplomatic correspondence between the Kazakh khans and Chinese emperors, a truly ancient extract from the Quran, up to political and scientific texts from the 1930s. Our visit was enlivened when Nurlan, a member of staff at the institute, took the time to explain the history and significance of many of these texts to us. An interesting window into Kazakh history and culture. Recommended.
5. Arvest Art Gallery
6. D.A. Kunayev Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 20 reviews
7. The Museum of Arts of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 73 reviews
Reviewed By MRichardson2014 - Lake of Bays, Canada
The Museum of Arts was free the day we were there (Sunday) which was a pleasant surprise. There is an excellent textile presentation of felt and knotted carpets supported good videos. The Kazak tribal jewelery was also excellent. There is a European art section and a very large Soviet collection particularly with Kazakh artists. We appreciated that you could use your camera - not all that common!
8. Museum of Folk Music Instruments named after Yihlasa
9. Museum of Geology of the Republic of Kazakhstan
10. Museum of the History of Alma-Ata
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 24 reviews
The Museum of Almaty history was opened in 2002. It is the leading scientific research and cultural-educational institution of Almaty. The museum exposition presents the history of Almaty from the period of the first settlements on the territory of the city and its neighborhoods until today. Separate sections are devoted to the formation of the Kazakh statehood, the Verny period, the history of modern Almaty.
