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03
Shymkent
2 days
We are staying in Shymkent before and after our stay near Aksu-Zhabagly National Park. Since here are the biggest festivities in the country, we also take advantage of the opportunity to see the last days of Nowruz when we return from the park.
As it turns out, nobody at the hotel desk seems to know where the Nowruz festivities are. It feels like we are in China again.
We go to the Museum of Victims of Political Repression where a wonderful English-speaking guide explains the atrocities the Kazakh people underwent during Soviet times. Famine and forced migration caused severe social disruption. 40% of the Kazakh population perished, making them a minority in their own country.
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