National parks

There are a lot of spots in Kazakhstan which are considered as a real beauty of nature. Some of the picturesque places were declared national parks.

The national park "Kurgaldzhino" was established in 1968 near Akmola specially for the purpose of saving a rare and the most beautiful kind of birds -the pink flamingo. The birds have chosen Lake Tengiz. The territory of the park covers 243,700 hectares. There are about 42 species of animals and 298 species of birds there. Among them one can find such rare species as pelican, flamingo, swan and many others. Lake Tengiz attracts immense number of waterfowl during periods of spring migration. This unforgettable phenomenon has brought world fame to this park. Now UNESCO has included it in the list of especially protected wetlands.

Another unique place is the national park "Aksu-Dzhabagly". It was founded in 1926. Its territory is more than 740 square kilometers. The most interesting part of it is a spectacular view of a unique canyon of the river Aksu, which stretches for 18 kilometers. The canyon is 400- 500 meters wide in its top part. Wildlife here is very rich and various. About 47 species of wild animals and 239 species of birds live in this park. Bears, snow leopards, deer, mountain and Siberian goats, golden eagles, falcons, carrion eagles and others comfortably live in this place. The majority of animals and birds living there are put down in the Red Book. Hunting is forbidden. A very interesting paleontological find can be seen there. Some rare imprints of ancient fish, mollusks and turtles of Jurassic Age were found near Mount Karatau.

The national park "Barsakelmes" is well known too. The translation of its name means "once you go - you will not return". It is located on the island in the Aral Sea. Its territory is 30,000 hectares. About 250 species of plants and animals and 203 kinds of birds inhabit this place. The theme park Bayan Aul is also situated near. It is a real oasis of magnificent mountains and woods surrounded with steppes and deserts. The granite slopes of Bayan Aul are covered with pine and birch woods.

Another place of great interest is Tamgaly Tas. It is known because of its ancient pictures or petroglyphs. All the rocks and cliffs in the radius of 10 kilometers are covered with them. For many centuries it was a spot where various rituals and sacrifices took place.

Mukhtar auezov

Mukhtar Auezov was born on September 28, 1897. He was a great writer, public figure, a man of encyclopedic knowledge and erudition. Auezov is a significant person both in his life and creative activity. He wrote more than twenty plays and many magnificent stories. The top of his activity was the epopee about Abai.

He was brought up by his grandfather Auez and grandmother Dinasyl. His grandpa taught him how to read. Mukhtar finished first five grades of primary school and a teaching training seminary in Semipalatinsk. There he published his first literary work. In 1928 the young writer graduated from Leningrad University and then a post graduate course from the university in Tashkent.

With his works Mukhtar Auezov raised the Kazakh literature up to the highest level. Many works of different genres belong to him. He wrote many essays, short stories and plays. His brilliant translations of world literary classics confirm his great talent. He published many interesting articles, made reports, composed textbooks and read lectures in colleges and universities. His professional researches became basic for some new branches in studying folklore, epos, history and linguistics of the Turks. He was elected as a professor of the Moscow State University.

His main work is closely connected with Abai. This book to which he devoted more than 15 years of his life was the most significant for him. This book was called the original encyclopedia of many-sided features of the Kazakh people's mode of life.

Mukhtar Auezov died at the age of the prophet Muhammad, when he was 63 years old. His name remained eternally in the memory of many people. The works written by Mukhtar Auezov are still popular even now and are considered to be the original classics of the Kazakh literature.