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Kazakhstan gifts you picturesque mountainous scenery, a charming natural settings and provides an opportunity to experience the daily life of local hill-tribe people. From magnificent archaeological sites, stunning architecture to rugged landscape, this country has much to offer in its mixed bag of wonders. Kazakhstan can be termed as a bi-continental country as portion of it lies in Asia whereas some regions, which are west of the Ural River, belong to the eastern-most Europe. With an impressive coastline on the Caspian Sea, it is the ninth-largest country in the world in terms of area. Moreover the Kazakh Steppe of Kazakhstan with approximately 804,500 square kilometres area takes away one-third of the terrain and ranks as the world's largest dry steppe region. Due to the oasis and desert of Central Asia on its southern side, Kazakhstan is sparsely populated.
Kazakhstan was initially inhabited by indigenous nomadic people and later came under Mongol rule in the 13th century. In the 18th century, it was conquered by Russia and emerged as the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1925. Kazakhstan was also a victim of the "Great Game" that went on between the Russians and Great Britain. Kazakhstan obtained its independence from the collapsing Soviet Union on December 16, 1991.
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