A photo thread on our first day in Almaty, Kazakhstan #Almaty2026

It was a miserable grey morning so we lingered over breakfast. Kazaks like porridge apparently.

Almaty has some lovely well-maintained parks.

The Ascension Cathedral is one of Almaty's biggest draws. Admission free.

The impressive Gaurdsman Park and the eternal flame.

It's certainly got its fair share of coffee and cake shops. Tun tried the traditional Kazak tea too.

To the Abay State Ballet and Opera House, where we got two tickets for Friday's 7pm performance.

Almaty means 'The City of Apples'

Impressive murals at the Hotel Almaty and some nice-looking restaurants that might be worth trying one night.

Day one done. In truth Almaty hasn't set us on fire like Istanbul or Tbilisi. It's pleasant enough but we haven't found the gritty suburbs yet. We'll probably have to get out and about on the metro to find those.

@Ajarncom Main market is really interesting - they have excellent bread and the horsemeat sausage is good too