Baiterek (monument)

Baiterek (Kazakh: Бәйтерек, romanized: Báıterek; "tall poplar [tree]") is a monument and observation tower in Nur-Sultan, the capital city of Kazakhstan. A tourist attraction popular with foreign visitors and native Kazakhs, it is emblematic of the city, which became capital of the country in 1997. The tower is located within on the Nurzhol Boulevard, and is considered a symbol of post-independence Kazakhstan.[1]

Bayterek Tower
Kazakh: Бәйтерек, Báıterek
Russian: Байтерек
Bayterek Tower
Alternative namesBayterek
General information
StatusComplete
TypeMonument,
Observation tower
LocationNur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Construction startedOctober 25, 1996
CompletedAugust 30, 2002
Renovated2017
Height
Antenna spire105 m (344 ft)
Top floor97 m (318 ft)

Design

The monument is meant to embody a folktale about a mythical tree of life and a magic bird of happiness: the bird, named Samruk, had laid its egg in the crevice between two branches of a poplar tree.

The 105m (344.5 ft) tall structure rises from a wide flat base within a raised plaza. It consists of a narrow cylindrical shaft, surrounded by white branch-like girders that flare out near the top, supporting a gold-mirrored 22 m diameter sphere. The base contains a ticket booth and exhibition space, with two lifts rising within the shaft to the observation deck within the 'egg'. Entrances to the monument are sunk below eye level, reached by stairs from the surrounding plaza. (It's somewhat similar to the 1982 World's Fair Sunsphere (266 ft) in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States.

The observation deck is 97 m above ground level, corresponding to 1997, the year that Nur-Sultan became the nation's capital. It consists of two levels, one with 360 degree views of Nur-Sultan and beyond, with a second, higher level, reached by a flight of stairs. The top level features a gilded hand print of the right hand of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first President of independent Kazakhstan, mounted in an ornate pedestal. A plaque invites visitors to place a hand in the imprint and make a wish. Alongside the handprint, and also oriented in the direction of the presidential palace, is a wooden sculpture of a globe and 16 radiating segments, commemorating the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held several times in Nur-Sultan.

  • The 10,000 Kazakhstani tenge note showing the image of the Bayterek tower

See also

References
  1. Paul Brummell (7 September 2018). Kazakhstan. Bradt Travel Guides; Third edition. p. 92. ISBN 978-1784770921.




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