A while ago, we traveled on a group trip to the Turkestan region, located in south-central Kazakhstan. It was my first trip with the group so I was very excited to go. We traveled from Almaty to Turkestan by train, which I was a little apprehensive about because the 16-hour route sounded very daunting - this would be the longest time I’d been on a train in my life. We met at the train station, gathered our things, quickly boarded the train, and set off on our journey.
After the attendant checked our passports and verified our tickets, we were free to roam around the wagon, to explore the train and visit our classmates in other rooms. The train was a little stuffy because there was no air conditioning, so a few other students and I piled into the one room where the window could open and hung out there. We all dumped the food that we had brought for the ride out onto the table and had a big picnic. There was no cell service for the entire ride, so no one was able to hide behind their phone screens. Until we had to call it a night for quiet hours, we all sat together and chatted about school and life. We played word games and cards, showing each other different games we liked to play as kids like Slap Jack, War, Go Fish, and Durak. You name it, we probably played it. This was one of my most favorite memories from the trip because I feel that I had the chance to get a lot closer with everyone.
At night, falling asleep was a little difficult in the beginning because of how hot it was, but soon the rocking back-and-forth of the train car helped to lull me to sleep. The morning was absolutely magical. I exited my room, looked out the window, and got to experience the site of the Kazakh steppe for the first time in person. It honestly took my breath away - just being able to see for as far as my eyes were able, looking beyond the horizon over the vast steppe. While looking out the window, we would also come across packs of camels wandering around. It was the first time I had ever seen a camel outside of the zoo and the first time I had ever seen a baby camel. It was incredible.
When we arrived in Turkestan, we were promptly met by our guide and bus driver. They were both very nice, and our guide even came to play games with us while on the bus. We first visited a museum about the region where we got to try traditional food and drink camel’s milk in a yurt. There was also this big swing out in the yard. This swing has traditionally been used for dating in Kazakhstan, with a boy standing on one side and a girl on the other, with them getting to know each other while they swing. When I tried, unfortunately, it was not a match made in heaven. I think I accidentally swung the swing a little too enthusiastically and scared the girl I was matched up with off, because she quite literally ran away as soon as the swing stopped. C’est la vie.
Turkestan felt a lot like visiting Disney World to me. The weather was a lot warmer than it is in Almaty and they have built up a lot of the downtown for tourists complete with a canal and speakers disguised as rocks on the main strip. On our first night we walked to the center and watched a big water fountain show celebrating Nauryz (a holiday celebrating Central Asian New Year with the coming of Spring). Afterwards, I walked with some friends around the mausoleum at night, which was incredible. The sheer size of it had me in awe and the fact that they built it so long ago blew my mind. The next day, we got to tour the city and ride camels, and I ate the most delicious plov I have ever eaten. I am still having dreams about it.
We then traveled to Shymkent by bus, while stopping along the way at this huge cave that is also used for religious purposes. In Shymkent, we traveled around the city, learned more about the city’s importance during the time of the Silk Road, and got to visit a fort that was once used to defend the city.
I loved getting to visit these two historic cities, getting to see in-person the places and buildings we learned about in history class. All in all, it was an amazing weekend and getting to go on this trip with everyone has been one of the best highlights of my stay here in Kazakhstan.
Joshua Margrey
Dan E. Davidson Fellowship Recipient
Title VIII Fellowship for Overseas Language Study and Research Recipient
Advanced Russian Language and Area Studies Program (RLASP)
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU)
Almaty, Kazakhstan, Spring 2024