Henry Kuvin's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Toguz Toro, Kyrgyzstan

Saimaluu Tash

These oldest of these "embroidered stones" were carved 4,000 years ago in a high mountain valley.
Kyrgyzstan

Aalam Ordo

This mysterious complex of abandoned yurts and fading murals was meant to be a center of science and spirituality in Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan

Ala Kul Lake

A stunning blue-green lake located in the Terskey Alatau mountain range.
Semey, Kazakhstan

Semipalatinsk Polygon

One of the most horrible legacies of the Cold War is a site where the Soviet Union tested nuclear bombs on civilians.
Mongolia

Khustain Nuruu National Park

The grassy landscape is home to the world's last truly wild horses.
Ulaankhus, Mongolia

Petroglyphs of Tsagaan Salaa-Baga Oigor

These ancient pecked images are among the oldest and best-preserved in Mongolia.
Semey, Kazakhstan

Stronger Than Death Monument

This 100-foot tall tombstone memorializes victims of 40 years of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan.
Karaul, Kazakhstan

Abai and Shakarim Mausoleum Complex

A pair of towering monuments commemorate two of Kazakhstan's greatest poets and philosophers.
Malinovka, Kazakhstan

ALZHIR

A Stalinist prison camp for the wives and children of men accused of betraying the Soviet state is now a memorial museum.
Denisov District, Kazakhstan

Lisakovsk Pentagram

An abandoned Soviet-era park that, when viewed from the air, looks like a pentagram.
Baikonur, Kazakhstan

Cosmonaut Grove

Avenue of trees planted by cosmonauts before their space departures.
Kantubek, Uzbekistan

Vozrozhdeniye Island

Former island in the Aral Sea used to be a top-secret Russian bio-weapons facility.
Aralsk, Kazakhstan

Aral Sea

Rusting ships sit in a desert where a sea used to be.
Baikonur, Kazakhstan

Baikonur Cosmodrome

World's oldest and largest space launch facility, once a secret missile testing site.
Sauran, Kazakhstan

Ruins of Sauran

This was once the largest city in Kazakhstan, and a major stop on the Silk Road.
Almaty, Kazakhstan

Zelionyj Bazaar

This sprawling market is a one-stop shop for traditional Kazakh foods, from mare’s milk to sheep’s head.
Almaty, Kazakhstan

Medeu

This Soviet-era athletic and recreation facility is the highest ice skating rink in the world.
Almaty, Kazakhstan

Big Almaty Lake

A brilliant turquoise lake in the mountains.
Enbekshikazakh District, Kazakhstan

Issyk Lake

The lovely lake that was naturally dammed, then naturally destroyed, then unnaturally saved.
Almaty, Kazakhstan

The Last Wild Apple Forests

Granny Smiths and Fujis can both be traced back to Kazakhstan, where apples still grow wild.
Saty, Kazakhstan

Kaindy Lake

Submerged trees jut ghost-like out of an idyllic turquoise mountain lake.
Almaly, Kazakhstan

Bayzhansay Ghost Town

An abandoned Soviet-era mining town in the mountains of South Kazakhstan.