Kazakhstan Icons of the Culture

Every country has its icons. They appear everywhere, in 2D and 3D images, on currency notes, on flags, in museums, on wall decorations and billboards, and on marketing brochures for tourists and visitors. The US has the Statue of Liberty, the Washington monument, the Golden Gate Bridge, etc. France has the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dam, and India has the Taj Mahal and the Ashoka pillar of four lions to name a few.

Kazakhstan has the following icon images that a visitor would encounter frequently in places like those mentioned above,

1. The Saka golden warrior found at Issyk near Almaty

2. The mausoleum of Khoja Yasawi in Turkistan

3. Yurt

4. The ornamental pattern

5. Aisha Bibi mausoleum in Taraz

Of course, I don’t want to get into a debate on if these are the most popular and why others are not added. I am just using the WYSIWYG approach.

Also, being somewhat a nonconformist, I worry about stereotyping a culture by promoting icon imagery. But I think that I will differ such heavy discussion for later when I am in a pretentious philosophizing mood.