Out of Steppe

摘要

Built on the arid Kazakh Steppe and surrounded by thousands of miles of vast grasslands and semi-desert wilderness, President Nursultan Nazarbayev declared it the country's new capital in 1997, and its name was changed from Akmola, meaning "white shrine", to Astana, derived from a Persian word that roughly translates as "threshold" - a place designed to command respect and awe. [...] Nazarbayev is doing his utmost to make sure it lives up to its name, hiring in many of the world's top architects to shape the skyline, funded by Kazakhstan's plentiful oil, gas and mineral reserves.