Several cities around the globe have reinvented themselves in recent years, but none more successfully than Almaty.<\/p>\n
Since the collapse of the USSR, Kazakhstan\u2019s largest city (population 2.2 million and growing) has evolved from a drab, run-of-the-mill Soviet metropolis into the urban star of Central Asia.<\/p>\n
Along the way, the city has developed one of the world\u2019s most beautiful metro systems, grown into a thriving banking and finance center, complemented its vintage bazaars with luxury boutiques and modern shopping malls and reshaped its traditional gastronomy into a nouvelle cuisine that\u2019s drawing raves from foodies around the world.<\/p>\n
Almaty is also evolving into the cultural and artistic hub of Central Asia. It\u2019s already got several world-class museums (including a \u201csecret\u201d underground collection that doesn\u2019t even have a name) and a dazzling new cultural center slated to open early next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an incredibly livable city,\u201d says long-time American resident Dennis Keen, a historic preservation advocate and founder of Walking Almaty<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cGreen and clean. You don\u2019t need a car. The public transit here is fantastic. And it\u2019s very much the center of contemporary art and dining in Central Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n Keen adds that whenever he tells someone back home that he lives in Kazakhstan, \u201cBorat\u201d inevitably comes up. The movie\u2019s title character doesn\u2019t paint a very flattering portrait of the Central Asian nation. But nowadays one is tempted to think that if Borat visited Almaty now, he would say, \u201cVery nice!\u201d<\/p>\nA checkered history<\/h3>\n