PRESIDENT'S MUSEUM OF CULTURE

The museum is housed in a large white building topped by a blue dome, which also accommodates a library and concert hall. The entrance hall features gifts presented to President Nazarbayev by foreign heads of state. A fine example of diplomatic kitsch. On the first floor is a room devoted to ethnography, detailing the nomadic traditions and way of life of the Kazakhs, with an interesting scenography based around a yurt, whose structure and interior fittings can be seen in detail. The second floor retraces the country's history, from the Stone Age to the ^15th century. It also houses the impressive Jewel Room, featuring a copy of the "Golden Man". Discovered during excavations in 1969, it is thought to date from the^5th or ^4th century BC. The armor presented in its entirety is a reconstruction, but all the pieces displayed around it in the showcases are original. The second floor is devoted to the history of Kazakhstan from the ^15th century to the present day. Here, you can take a closer look at Astana's urban planning projects, presented in computer-generated images, proving that dollars are still flowing to the best-positioned architectural firms....

The museum is well designed, with explanatory panels in English. The ethnological room is particularly well presented. A must-see if you missed the Almaty National Museum.