GQ South Africa — May 2017

82 GQ.CO.ZA MAY 2017

‘g ypsy cabs’ –

unlicensed taxis

that take passengers

for an agreed fare.

here are also

shared mini buses,

marshrutkas, which

transport locals

within the city.

‘he people are

very friendly and

hospitable. It’s

common to see

families taking

their kids out on

the weekend, and

I’ve noticed a lot of

children running

around or being

walked by their

parents,’ says

Koopmans.

‘here’s deinitely

a large business

presence, but it’s

not like the streets

are illed with

businessmen.

hey’re presumably

holed up in the big

modern towers that

hover above. he

people seem to use

this new landscape

as sort of an

amusement park.’

Koopmans

has returned to

photograph the city

several times in the

past ive years, and

says that while it was

initially rare to see

foreign tourists,

locals are now

becoming used to

visitors. ‘It’s pretty

isolated. It’s located

in the [Kazakh]

Steppe, and when it

and just built it all.

It’s very considered

in its layout, but it’s

hard to place –

some buildings are

reminiscent of

certain styles, but

then the structure

next to it totally

throws you of. A bit

like one would

presume a

futuristic city to

look like, minus the

lying cars.’

Planned cities are

nothing new. Like

Washington DC or

Canberra, Astana is

a capital built to

order. And while

Canberra delivers

roundabouts,

Astana ofers

a spectacular

cityscape of

ultramodern

buildings – with

a total construction

bill estimated at

$15bn-40bn. Sit t ing

in the otherwise lat

Kazakh landscape,

these gleaming

structures stand out

like a collection of

pricey, futuristic

trophies.

here’s the

Palace of Peace and

Reconciliation,

a 77m glass

pyramid, completed

in 2006 to the tune of

$75m. here’s the

Kazakhstan Central

Concert Hall (cost:

$175m), a jumble of

glass shards that

resemble a lower’s

petals. he

Khan Shatyr

Entertainment

Centre ($520m),

designed by British

archtect Norman

Foster, is shaped

like a traditional

Kazakh yurt. he

top loor has a big

indoor beach – very

Dubai – with sand

and palm trees.

his is in addition

to stadiums,

wasirstbuilttherewasabsolutelynothing

around,’hesays.‘It’sstillaveryremotelittle

metropolis in the middle of nowhere. It’s very

kitsch and over the top, with gold sculptures

everywhere.Everything’ssortofbedazzled.’

He’s not wrong.he city serves as

Kazakhstan’s political and business hub,

andishometothecountry’sParliament

House, Senate, Supreme Court, Presidential

Palace and a number of large, state-owned

corporations.

‘It feels like someone’s charted out a big

symmetricalplanforthisamusementpark

Kazakhstan exported

$35bn worth of oil

last year – hence the

taste for flashy

architecture

The Khan Shatyr Entertainment Centre by UK architect Norman Foster is shaped like a yurt

The landmark Bayterek Tower was designed

by president-for-life Nursultan Nazarbayev

Astana Arena looms over humble dwellings