The Samruk
A golden bird with spread wings.
Bernard Gagnon — CC0 · Мазур Владимир — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ken and Nyetta — CC BY 2.0 · Мазур Владимир — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jirka Dl — CC BY-SA 3.0
Kazakh Eli, whose name means the land of the Kazakhs, is the independence monument at the centre of Independence Square in Astana. It stands 91 m tall, a height chosen to recall 1991, the year Kazakhstan became independent, and on top of its white marble column a golden Samruk, the mythical bird of Kazakh legend, spreads its wings. The monument was unveiled on 6 July 2008. Bronze reliefs were then added to its pedestal, and the completed complex, with the square laid out around it, opened on 20 October 2009. The whole memorial complex covers 5.2 hectares. The column stands on a four-sided granite pedestal about 20 m high, at the centre of a 120 m arc of 28 white columns. Each face of the pedestal carries a bronze relief, together portraying the people's past, present and future; the main one shows the first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, taking his oath with a hand on the Constitution. Sculpture groups and fountains are set around the monument. The square lies on the right bank of the Yesil, and the monument is free to visit; allow about half an hour. In a straight line, the National Museum of Kazakhstan is about 430 m south, the pyramid of the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation about 450 m west and the Hazrat Sultan Mosque about 460 m north-north-east, so one walk takes in all three, while Bayterek Tower lies about 2.8 km west, across the river.
A golden bird with spread wings.
Four scenes around the pedestal.
28 columns in a 120 m arc.
Independence Square, Tauelsizdik Avenue, Astana
National Museum of KazakhstanThe National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan opened in 2014 and was, when b6 minutes walk4.7
Palace of Peace and ReconciliationA 62 m glass pyramid in Astana's Presidential Park, also known as the Pyramid of6 minutes walk4.6
Hazrat Sultan MosqueA grand white Friday mosque on the right bank of the Yesil river in Astana, open6 minutes walk4.8Besides the first president's oath, the Courage relief shows defenders of the land from an epic bard and a mounted warrior to a soldier with a rifle; Creation traces the country's path from nomadic times to space flight, and Future shows young achievers in science, culture and sport around a young couple.
Astana's main square hosts festivals, concerts, parades and fairs: Nauryz celebrations and military parades for Defender of the Fatherland Day and Constitution Day have been held here, and in September 2015 it became a historic village for the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate.