The many metro systems of cities of the former Soviet Union don’t just serve as a way to move passengers from place to place, they serve as examples of art and architecture. A tourist attraction in and of themselves, from Tashkent’s metro being the top rated attraction in the city on TripAdvisor to the Moscow metro’s palace-like station perhaps being the most beautiful metro stations in the world, Almaty’s is no different. An 8.3 mile long track consisting of 11 stations commemorating Soviet era war heroes, ancient Kazakh warriors, a poet, apples and the Silk Road itself. Each station paints a part of the story of the unique history and culture of Kazakhstan. One of the newest stations I have visited is named Sary Arqa, or “Yellow Ridge” in Kazakh. This station was not part of the original 7 stations which opened in 2011. Instead this one was part of an extension to the line, opening just a few years ago in 2022. The station consists of 6 mosaic-like murals commemorating various natural areas of the Sary Arqa region of Central Kazakhstan, a place otherwise known as the Kazakh Uplands. Each mosaic depicts a famous natural area of the Uplands as well as many of its unique flora and fauna. One of these mosaics shows Qorgalzhyn, which is home to the world's northernmost flock of pink flamingos. At the end of the station there is a mosaic commemorating the city of Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Mukhtar Auezov Theater Station contains the most intricate and colorful mosaic of any station in Almaty. The mosaic depicts a Kazakh wedding with each of the attendees donned in traditional Kazakh clothing, they play instruments and throw candy at the newly married couple standing prominently in the center of the scene. Significantly however, this mosaic is at the opposite end of the entrance and exit, down an extension of the hall removed from any of the entrances to the boarding platform, requiring one, should they want to see it upclose, to walk down the hall and remove themselves away from the platforms to board any oncoming trains.
Zhibek Zholy is perhaps my favorite station however. Perhaps because Zhibek Zholy means Silk Road and perhaps because it was one of the first stations I visited on my first trip to Kazakhstan more than four years ago. At the exit of the station one comes face to face with a large mosaic with various buildings, animals and lines strewn about. Upon closer inspection it reveals a map showing the Silk Road from Italy to China and each of the buildings represents one of the landmark cities on the historical trade route. Inside the station on the escalator down there is another mosaic in the same style showing an artistic rendering of a walled city. Inside the station itself the floors are tiled in traditional Kazakh textile patterns and the tiles on the walls show a striking rendition of the lattice pattern of the Kerege that make up the frame of the Yurt, the traditional home of the Kazakh people.