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Travels ontheglobe: Kazakhstan: The Real Kazakhstan

August 4, 2009

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ontheglobe.com and CinemaSpace at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts present "Travels ontheglobe"

 Kazakhstan: The Real Kazakhstan

Date:
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009, 7:30PM
Tickets:
$8/$6 students/seniors (65+). Seating is limited. Please reserve your seats in advance by calling the Segal Centre box office at 514-739-7944. Tickets also available at Admission.com
Address:
CinemaSpace at the Segal Centre, 5170 Cote St. Catherine, corner Westbury. 2 blocks West of Métro Côte-Sainte-Catherine.



Andrew Princz (left), travel journalist and cultural navigator dancing at the Abuja Carnival, Nigeria. (Image by Jura Nanuk)


ontheglobe.com
and CinemaSpace at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts present Travels ontheglobe, a series of illustrated talks hosted by cultural navigator Andrew Princz, who takes you around the globe. From the towering peaks of the mysterious Peruvian Inca settlement of Machu Picchu to dancing on the outskirts of the Angolan capital of Luanda; from the Jordanian deserts where Lawrence of Arabia fought alongside Bedouin tribes, to the discovery of the real Kazakhstan and its beautiful mountainous terrain, gorges and archeological sites.

This series gives you the opportunity to travel without stepping out of your environment and offer viewers first-hand insight into the countries, cultures and peoples of the globe. Each presentation is illustrated by photographs of a real-life journey which will be followed by a film from the country that we talk about.

Your host Andrew Princz of ontheglobe.com has traveled to over fifty countries and has been published in international publications including CNN Traveller, the Wall Street Journal and is a contributor to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) program Dispatches. He is also the author of numerous travel guides including Frommers Budapest and the Best of Hungary.




Kazakhstan: The real Kazakhstan


This stop on our journey takes us to one of the most misunderstood countries of the globe: the vast and oil-rich Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan. With myths and urban legends abound we intend to give you a taste of the real Kazakhstan; its culture, its people, history and natural beauty.

Cultural navigator Andrew Princz and photographer Anna J. Kutor will take you on a journey over the country's snow-capped mountains, vast steppes and flatlands. We fly in a Russian-made helicopter to what could be the top of the world at the impressive Charyn Canyon, Lake Kolsay and the sculpted rocks and multicolored gorges found here.

We then visit the mountainous terrain surrounding Almaty, with its wild horses and Soviet-era remains that are etched on the landscape. We take a walk in a central park, spending a lush day visiting the former capital's wooden churches and strolling through the leafy 19th century quaintness.

Heading south we take you to Shymkent, a city on the routes of the ancient Silk Road. We head out on a mysterious morning walk to the mausoleum of Khodzha Ahmed Yassau, a site constructed on the orders of the conqueror Tamerlane and considered among the holiest sites of Islam. We then visit the ancient archeological site of Otrar, the town that brought Chinghiz Khan to Central Asia.

Our journey ends hundreds of miles away in Astana, in the shadows of its quirky futuristic architecture and flashy neon lights.

Film to be screened:


Farewell Gulsary
(dir. by Ardak Amirkulov, 102 mins, Kazakhstan, 2008, with English subtitles)

This film is a loose adaptation of the story Farwell Gulsary! by Chingiz Aitmatov, one of the most noted works of modern Soviet and Russian literature. Farewell Gulsary film plays on the story of shepherd and horseman Tanabayev and his struggle to maintain his traditional way of life in face of the Soviet regime's hard-handed and peculiar ways that reveal only destruction, manipulation and psychological manipulation.

Read Andrew Princz's July 11th, 2009 Montreal Gazette article on his trip to Kazakhstan. Click HERE.