# @natgeo on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Cld8FxSMe7U
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/1218223-natgeo-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/1cb1af4be8.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-11-27T14:30:23.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** National Geographic (@NatGeo) — https://gondola.cc/NatGeo

## Caption

Photo by gerdludwig | Visible from the 75th floor of Abu Dhabi Plaza—the tallest tower in Astana, Kazakhstan—an expanse of grasslands surrounds the glistening city. With its unique location on the world’s largest steppe, Astana is susceptible to extreme weather, sometimes resulting in striking views.

Since 1997, this once small town has risen from a forsaken landscape and post-Soviet rubble, transforming into a futuristic city. After replacing Almaty as the country's capital, Astana grew from having 320,000 inhabitants to over 1.2 million.

Before restoring the capital's name to Astana earlier this year, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had renamed it Nursultan to honor outgoing Nursultan Nazarbayev, who announced his resignation in 2019 after serving as the first and only president of modern Kazakhstan for almost 30 years. Since its founding as a Russian military outpost in 1824, Astana has undergone several naming iterations—in fact, the city holds the Guinness World Record for most name changes.
#NurSultan #Astana #Kazakhstan

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 78,092
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- **Comments:** 459

## Tags

astana, kazakhstan, nursultan

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