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Kazakhstan

aorazgali29 — 2025-09-06 03:17:26 UTC

As a Kazakh man, this country is my inevitable choice. I feel extremely proud and honored to talk and present my homeland, especially when I am abroad. Besides it being my motherland, my intention of selecting goes far beyond the simple love for my country. With its endless nomadic steppes, mesmerizing mountain ranges, lakes and seas, canyons and deserts, forests and hills, Kazakhstan is a true gem of natural beauties of this planet. The unbelievably rich history of my country leaves me in deep thought and admiration. Starting from Sakhs, Turkic Khaganate, Golden Horde, and Kazakh Khanate and its khans ( I was named after one of them : Abylaikhan), to discoveries of Abu-Nasir Al Farabi, path of enlightenment of Abai and Ybyrai, "Allash" intelligentsia, and finally our independence. For Kazakhstan, I chose my hometown - Burabay, small touristic town with nearly 80 lakes, and beautiful nature. Moving cities from North to South to West to Central Kazakhstan, my homeland where I was raised always stays with me , no matter how far I travel.

Turkey

aorazgali29 — 2025-09-06 03:31:07 UTC

Turkey is a country that is also close to me. We, as a family, have travelled several times to Turkey (Belek, Antalya, and etc) in our summer breaks. It was a wonderful experience that will never leave my mind. Besides the angelic seas and beaches where you relax to your maximum, the landmarks, people, and culture left immense positive impression on me. Kazakhs are really close to Turkish culture: we eat their food (almost on everyday basis), watch their series, gathering the whole family together, listen to their music, and ,of course, travel to their beautiful cities. I selected the picture of Antalya's city scape, which reminds me of how we , my parents and little brother, went to the local market and walked through the city.

Uzbekistan

aorazgali29 — 2025-09-06 03:47:26 UTC

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are neighboring countries with intertwined history that goes beyond centuries. There is a decent population of Uzbek people in Kazakhstan. Their food - plov, lagman, manti, and samsa - are made in every Kazakh household AT LEAST once a week. In the U.S. I miss my mother's lagman and grandma's manti so much. Besides the incredible Uzbek cuisine, their advancements in sports are the object for cherishing among Kazakhstani youth. Boxing and free style wrestling champions are well-supported by our people. I truly respect our Uzbek brothers, being literally connected as Turkic people of Central Asia. I selected the image of Tashkent, capital city, to highlight the architectural advancements of this country, which will be great example to battle the misconception of "underdevelopness" of "-Stan" countries.

Algiers, Algeria

aorazgali29 — 2025-09-06 04:42:07 UTC

Unlike the countries I selected, this place will not be filled with positive emotions and memories of joy. Quite the opposite, the horror and suffering. The reason is that this city in the list of Terms, reminded me only of one thing - Algerian civil war. Particularly, it reminded me of my 10th grade when we were learning about Islamic Fundamentalism in our world history class. Among the themes was the Algerian Black Decade. This picture conveys the horror of this events with an ambiguous tone: we can see the mother walking with her son, we can see a woman in a colorful clothing, and men calmly smoking cigarettes. However, the focus of our eyes detects an APC (we call it :БТР) with armed military people gathered together, ready to react to an attack. More than hundred thousands of deaths and special violence and horror to civilians clearly demonstrate why it is a Dark, Black decade.

Isfahan, Isfahan Province, Iran

aorazgali29 — 2025-09-06 05:07:35 UTC

Isfahan charmed my gaze with numerous mosques and its architecture. Diving little bit deep, I found that there are around 26 major mosques in Isfahan. Particularly, I was amazed by the Shah and Jameh mosques. The former, is a masterpiece of Persian architecture and UNESCO's world heritage site, with a history spanning from 1600s. The latter is UNESCO's world heritage site, with even more impressive history that began in 771 CE. It is hard to choose which mosque I want to upload here. I decided to add the image of the interior of the Shah mosque, which is absolutely stunning and makes me admire the centuries-long constructions even more.

Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province, Iran

aorazgali29 — 2025-09-06 05:44:26 UTC

At the moment of seeing this place's unique sites, I knew I would add it to my list. Tagh E Bostan - architectural reliefs in a mountain resembling an arc. It's estimated to be built nearly 1700 years ago. It is a site conveying ancient Persian culture of Sasanids, with more artifacts from Kermanshah and Bisotun. It is truly hard to imagine what it took to build those structures without any sophisticated technology, with much precision and accuracy. That fact captivates me and spurs my interest a lot. Besides that, that site is absolutely astonishing, blending nature, history and culture into one. Now, I would love to visit Kermanshah one day.

Nile, Egypt

aorazgali29 — 2025-09-08 04:34:34 UTC

Nile river on the list of Terms reminded me of my childhood. To be exact, reminded me of the time I was watching a movie "Sultan Beibarys" from an old box-like gray TV in our home in Shchuchinsk, back in early 2010s. It is a soviet movie about Turkic Kipchak sultan of Egypt - Baybars. Famous for defeating the army of Mongol Empire, Turkic sultan was a slave sold to Egyptian high rank, who then proceeded to led armies and ruled Egypt. He is an outstanding figure in Kazakh history, with him being from "Berish" clan of "Alshyn" tribe (one of the large tribes of Kazakh nation). Now, majority of "Berish" people live in Atyrau region. They also have a large statue and numerous busts in his name. Kazakhs and I deeply admire and cherish this sultan from Nomadic steppes. I really recommend this movie to everyone, despite it being relatively old. It's pure, philosophical, genuine and insightful. Recalling that Sultan made me choose Nile river.

Caspian Sea

aorazgali29 — 2025-09-08 04:45:02 UTC

I selected Caspian Sea, because it is a unique place, often considered the planet's largest lake. It is not as big as other seas, but extremely large for a lake. It is the only major water that Kazakhstan has access to. Being a landlocked country, this sea provides countless opportunities for diplomacy, natural resources, economy, and tourism. However, one thing I want to highlight here is the issue of Caspian Sea. To be specific, the issue of pollution that arises many years ago and still not tackled efficiently. Repercussions of oil production are sever to flora and fauna of the sea, killing entire ecosystems and contaminating hydrosphere and atmosphere. To highlight it, I chose the image above. The issue must be raised publicly not just within the countries accessing the sea, but worldwide, to preserve this unique body of water.

Aral Sea

aorazgali29 — 2025-09-08 05:00:35 UTC

The rationale for selecting this sea is similar to that of Caspian Sea. Aral Sea is located in Kazakhstan. One critical issue concerning it is the major man-made drought that led to its diminishing to around 10% of its original size. It is unbelievable. Incorrect use of Syrdariya and Amudariya rivers for agriculture needs is the most significant reason why Aral Sea shrink. Besides the size, it led to numerous ecological consequences, including destruction of marine ecosystem, extinction of large numbers of species, soil salinization, unemployment due to cessation of fishing, disruption of climate of the region. It's only one of the "mistakes" of soviet government that led to inhuman implications. I want to upload a current image/situation of Aral Sea.

Tajikistan

aorazgali29 — 2025-09-08 05:10:13 UTC

Tajikistan is a country in Central Asia, neighboring Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, and located south to Kazakhstan (not neighboring). There is a population of Tajik people in Kazakhstan ,which is nearly 30,000-50,000. Noticing this country in the list made me recall my Tajik friends from military academy apartments in Astana. Vafo and Gafo, they were twins, barely speaking Russian but always eager to play football or have fun with me and my little brother. They were athletic and good at martial arts. I want to upload an image of beautiful natural landscape of Tajikistan. Particularly, its mountains that look surreal and make your heart skip a beat.

Mecca Saudi Arabia

aorazgali29 — 2025-11-24 20:05:16 UTC

I chose Mecca, as it is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating and special places on Earth. Holiest city in Islam, the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad is a must-go destination for Muslims. I am a Muslim and want to visit Mecca for sure. It is truly a holy place. My aunts went there. One of my closest friends, who I lived with whole 12th grade. People pray for their families and close ones. So, Bakberdi, my friend, was praying for me too. For me and other friend that lived with us. He prayed for our success in application for college. Praying for me getting accepted to US , and my friend to Korea. Right now, Alhamdullillah ,I am in CMC and he is in DGIST. It meant a lot listening to his experience in Mecca, and knowing that he prayed for us.

Turkmenistan

aorazgali29 — 2025-11-25 20:42:32 UTC

Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia , with a very similar culture, history and geopolitical situation as Kazakhstan. I choose an image of the capital city of Turkmenistan - Ashgabat. The city's buildings are all white, which is incredibly unique and creates a sense of certain isolation and spurs special emotions, as you are in totally different world. Turkmenistan people are turkic like Kazakhs, and we are increasing our political connections. With incentives from Turkey and other central asian countries, Turkic countries are finally stepping more in more into cooperation and unity, and getting closer to our ancestor's dream of forming "Turan". I get a lot of emotions and pride when seeing the historical videos of our turkic ancestors on horseback, conquering lands. I really want these countries to emphasize on their similarities instead of differences.