Being the children of the steppes, the Kazakhs traveled long distances looking for places that promised a better life. Many Kazakh well-known public figures of culture and politics were known far beyond their Homeland. It's no wonder that Kazakh prominent people have monuments, streets and educational institutions named after them all over the world. Here are the most remarkable and interesting places connected with Kazakhstan and its inhabitants.
Russia
A famous kuishi — musical instruments player — Kurmangazy lived for 16 years in a small village near Astrakhan and was buried there. In Altynzhar village you can find a mausoleum and a museum dedicated to his life and music. The museum visitors can get acquainted with Kazakh daily life. By the way, Astrakhan Kazakhs are mostly the descendants of Bukeyev horde. Moreover, the most numerous Kazakh Diaspora in Russia lives there.
The city of Moscow also did not ignore the Kazakh enlighteners. You can find a monument to Abay on Chistoprudny Boulevard not far from the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Moscow. Monuments to Abay are established not only in Moscow, but also in Budapest, Beijing, Tehran, Vitebsk and Tashkent.
A monument to Aliya Moldagulova is set on Alia Moldagulova Street. Future Soviet Union hero and a sniper Moldagulova was trained in a school that was not far from there.
Moving a little further south, you can come across the most ancient Crimean mosque — the Baybars mosque. By the way, Baybars is believed to be either Kazakh or Turkmen. He was a slave who became a sultan; a philanthropist who bought Turk slaves in order to make them warriors. Baybars, being far from the Crimea, allocated funds for a mosque construction in the Crimea and spread Islam. The mosque was built in 1287 — 1288. Now there are only ruins.
One more Russian region, the Chechen Republic, has a street and a lyceum named after Nursultan Nazarbayev. It was decided to give them the President’s name remembering the hard times and thanking the Kazakhs for the help they gave the Chechens, while the latter were repressed to Kazakhstan.
Egypt
Baybars was a sultan on the territory of modern Egypt. One more mosque was built by him in a modern Az-Zahir residential area, Cairo. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to visit it today, since the mosque built in 1269 needs restoration. The Egyptians treat Baybars as reverently as the Kazakhs, as it was during his reign that the borders of the country were protected in the best way.
Poland
On the Astana day in Warsaw in 2006 a street was named “Kazakh”. That was the way the city authorities expressed their gratitude for the sympathy and support that the Kazakh people rendered during the violent deportation of the Poles to Kazakhstan.
Turkey
Turkey was the first state to recognize Kazakhstan's independence. You can find a school named after Abai Kunanbayev in Istanbul; a monument to Nursultan Nazarbayev erected in Ankara in 2010. That was the way, as Abdullah Gul said, to express gratitude to Nazarbayev for his contribution to the Turkic world prosperity.
Jordan
In 2010 a central Amman streets was named after Nursultan Nazarbayev. Astana and Amman are sister cities.
France
At first glance, the histories of France and Kazakhstan do not share common ground, yet it was in France that the humanist, public figure and fighter for the independence of Turkestan Mustafa Shokai was forced to emigrate. Mustafa Shokai and his wife Maria were forced to leave after the defeat of the Turkestan autonomy. They had to live in a Paris suburb called Nogent-sur-Marne. A monument in honor of an outstanding countryman was erected there. Mustafa Shokai was buried in Berlin in the Turkish cemetery.
Kazakhstanis resting on the Cote d'Azur can feel closer to their homeland coming across a sculpture depicting a rider with a golden eagle in his hand. The sculpture is in Menton, in French Riviera. Made by Yevgeny Lansere, it’s called "A Kirghiz with the Golden Eagle" and was donated to France by Alexander III long before the differentiation of "Kirghiz" and "Kazakhs" concepts.
India
One can easily find a street named after the great poet, composer and philosopher Abai (Ibrahim) Kunanbayev in India, in the area called Lachensovsky Delhi. The street is called "Abai Marge". The word "marge" means a road or street in Sanskrit. In accordance with the language rules applied in New Delhi, "Abai Marge" is written in Hindi, English, Punjabi and Urdu. As the Kazakh Embassy in India says, Abai Street in New Delhi symbolizes a close relationship between India and Kazakhstan.
Abai Street is located near the presidential residence in New Delhi, and was opened by Nursultan Nazarbayev over 14 years ago. A solemn opening event implied a new close and trusting stage of diplomatic relations between the states of Kazakhstan and India.
