Places pierschristensen Wants to Go

An entertainment center in a huge transparent tent.

A theater with world-class acoustics, neo-Classical architecture and Kazakh ornaments.

A modern tower, symbolizing the legend of a golden egg on top of the tree of life.

Iconic pyramid from famed British architect Norman Foster designed to represent all of the world's religious faiths.

The only building in Kazakhstan where symbols of sovereignty are collected under one roof.

An underground unique sacred place in the Kazakh steppe in which Sufism and nomadic tradition merge.

A remote, centuries-old underground mosque with a lunar aesthetic.

Mysterious spherical rocks in the semi-desert of western Kazakhstan.

Jurassic clays where the dinosaurs once roamed.

This small canyon is home to a treasure trove of geological oddities.

World's oldest and largest space launch facility, once a secret missile testing site.

This sprawling market is a one-stop shop for traditional Kazakh foods, from mare’s milk to sheep’s head.

In Kazakhstan, a colorful cathedral with many lives once survived the most powerful earthquake in the region.

Beatlemania is still going strong... at least in Kazakhstan.

A brilliant turquoise lake in the mountains.

Nicknamed Kazakhstan's Grand Canyon, this natural wonder lies east of Almaty near the Chinese border.

These rugged, color-stained mountains hold the secrets of the Kazakh desert.

A pair of towering monuments commemorate two of Kazakhstan's greatest poets and philosophers.

Stelae-eyed stones greet visitors to a corner of Kirov Park.

A statue of traditional Kazakh dancers adds some beauty to this Soviet-era mining city.

This 100-foot tall tombstone memorializes victims of 40 years of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan.

A collection of Lenin busts and other Soviet Era statues sit idly behind the Semipalatinsk Hotel.

One of the most horrible legacies of the Cold War is a site where the Soviet Union tested nuclear bombs on civilians.