As for all that variety: Kazakhstan is home to more than 130 nationalities, including the formerly nomadic Kazkhs who gave it its name, to Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Uighurs, and even a fairly substantial German population. Its landscapes range from vast, classic Central Asian steppes to the beautiful glaciated peaks of the Tien Shan (the Mountains of Heaven) in the east, which top out at 22,900-foot Khan Tengri (Kazakhstan’s lowest point is 432 feet below sea level, in the Karagiye Depression near the Caspian Sea, making the country’s altitude range one of earth’s greatest). Its new capital, Astana, is remote and rather obscure, but its cultural capital, Almaty, is the gateway to some fine mountain sceneries and is, the New York Times recently wrote, on the upswing, as reflected in its “festive rooftop bars, busy restaurants and congested streets.”