Aktau, Kazakhstan

The youngest city in Kazakhstan and its “oil capital” is Aktau. The city is located on the east shore of the Caspian city, in southwestern part of the country. The name is translated as “White mountain”. The young city is full of amazing and unusual things and blindingly white buildings. The city is the most remoted destination from both capitals: Astana and Almaty, moreover, the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea used to be considered inaccessible. The climate there is extremely harsh; in the summer it’s +40 C and in the winter it’s -40 C. There’s no water, no vegetation, and many dust storms. Why would Kazakh government invest in such unfavorable location? The region has large uranium deposits. Establishment of the city started from industrial settlement and nuclear power plant. Aktau is the only city in the world that survives through desalination of marine water. 

Aktau city is the only port in the country and the only Kazakh sea resort. Don’t think that location of the city doesn’t offer any places of interest, in fact, there’re so many amazing places to see! Magnyshlka Peninsula offers breathtaking and different views on gorges, canyons, and he Caspian Sea. Beket-Ata Mosque is carved out in a cape and dedicated to a famous representative of Sufism – Beket-Ata Murzagyl Uly. One of the Great Silk Roads used to lay at the foothill of Mount Sherkala. This famous mountain is surrounded by mystic legends and is extremely hard to be climbed. Picturesque green oasis is called Saura Lake. The lake consists of two parts that are located 500 meters apart. For everyone who loves mystery, there’s a valley full of rounded stones. Nobody knows the purpose of these stones, but they radiate unknown energy. The list of sightseeing places goes on and on. By the way, when we said that Aktau city is full of unusual things we weren’t joking. You won’t find named of the stress, because there’re none! There’re only numbered districts; all addresses consist of numbers!