Happy Kazakh Independence Day!

The Independence Monument: The Golden Man rides a winged snow leopard.

Black smokers

Out of context, a bewildering question from an English test.

(Gold star to the first person who can tell me what "black smokers" refers to here!)

Black Hat White Hat

Conflict was inevitable.

No sugar bowls were smashed in the making of this movie.

Kurban Ait Mubarak Bolsyn!

(Happy Eid al-Adha)!

Beware the icicles my son...

Warning to foreigners: As temperatures fluctuate, icicles start to melt and may fall. Be sure to be walking somewhere else at the time.

Five fingers

Besh barmak (five fingers) is the Kazakh national dish. The name doesn't come from its content (!), but from the way its eaten - with your fingers from a common round plate, symbolising the equality of those eating it. A friend spent four hours cooking it for us, boling the horse meat and sausage, and preparing the sauce and pasta - delicious!

First snow in Almaty...

...time to crack out the fur coat and miniskirt combo?!