Tour on museum collections of Kazakhstan.

“Memory's images, once they are fixed in words, are erased," Polo said. "Perhaps I am afraid of losing Venice all at once, if I speak of it, or perhaps, speaking of other cities, I have already lost it, little by little” 

 Italo Calvino.

Free Guided Walking Tours in Kostanay.

The mining town of Kostanay (Kostanai), founded in 1897 on the bank of the Tobol River has predominantly Russian characteristics. The town mushroomed and obtained city rights only 14 years after its establishment. 
Between 1893 and 1895, it bore the name Nikolayevich in honour of the Tsar, after which it was renamed Kostanay, meaning "place for travel yurts". A handful of beautiful buildings from the time of its foundation have been preserved in the town centre, between the railway station and the river, and they now house the Russian Drama Theatre, the university and some administrative offices.
Also worth a visit are the beautiful old Maral Ichana mosque and the Russian Orthodox cathedral. Trade was the town's main activity in its early years, as its location at the ford across the Tobol made it strategically significant. Later, when the area's iron and bauxite ore reserves were opened up near Rudniy the city became the centre for the region's expansive mining development.
In the large mines of Sokolov-Sarbay iron ore is mined in open pits. Kaolin, titanium, zirconium, gold and brown coal are also exploited in the Kostanay area. During the 1950s, large areas of virgin land around Kostanay were developed for wheat and other agriculture, and in 1984 an impressive-looking monument to the virgin land pioneers was erected in the regional capital. 
With the shift to agriculture, large food- processing enterprises were added to the city's industrial economy. Even today, the region can be described as highly cultivated and prosperous - much has also been done in recent years for the development of culture, sport and tourism.
The town itself is relatively green and peaceful; there are pleasant, good-value cafes (try Kofeynya, 85 Al-Farabi St, not far from the park, which sells coffee, cakes and pizza) and restaurants (such as Astoria at 122 Altynsarin St), an effervescent bazaar and a local history museum at 118a Altynsarin St.

Authority:
The guidebook across Kazakhstan . Authors Dagmar Schreiber and Jeremy Tredinnick.   Publishing house "Odyssey".2010.