Kazakh Desert
The Kazakh Desert is the southernmost region of in Kazakhstan, spanning across the nation's sections of the vast Qyzylqum and Aral Karakum deserts. It is comprised of the Kyzylorda, South Kazakhstan, and Zhambyl provinces. This area is home to the lion's share of Kazakhstan's historical monuments, as well as the car-wreck-fascinating ecological disaster of the Aral Sea. You will also find here the main border crossings into nearby Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Regions
Cities
- Aral — a benighted city, with a fishing economy that was dependant on a now disappearing sea
- Kentau — a medium sized mining city, formerly a destination for Soviet exiles
- Kyzylorda — a major stop on the Silk Road, with plenty to see and do
- Sayram — a 3,000-year-old city, with Kazakhstan's oldest mosque and a very strong sense of Central Asian culture—there is a lot to see here
- Shieli— a small town located between Shymkent and Kyzylorda, this town is very popular for its vegetables such as huge watermelons and melons. Also,marjan kurus (diamond rice) is the highest quality rice grown in Shieli. Also, this region is crowded by very kind, hospitable and nice people who will always welcome you!
- Shu — a relatively small town, and administrative center of Zhambyl Province
- Shymkent — Kazakhstan's third largest city, an old market town located near Tashkent and some beautiful mountains; now booming with oil exploration
- Taras — a 2,000-year-old city, rich in archaeological finds
- Turkestan — another ancient city, long a border town between the Persian culture to the south and the Turkic nomadic culture to the north, now majority Uzbek and home to several important cultural-historical monuments
Aralsk, Qazaly Shardara, Jetisu, Saryag'ash and Lenger
Other destinations
- Aral Sea
- Baikonur
- Barsa-Kelmes Nature Reserve — wildlife preserve located on an island in the Aral Sea
- Otrar — a desert oasis surrounded by the ruins of the various castles and towns that once occupied this spot