ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN: PANFILOV PARK WAR MEMORIAL AND THE SILK ROAD EXPRESS TRAIN

A large park surrounds the Ascension Eastern Orthodox Cathedral, and in that park is a war memorial that honors both the Bolshevik Revolution (1917-1920) and World War II (1941-1945).

The memorial is a long, stone-paved mall bordered by dense foliage and containing several interesting works of art.

This is the entrance on one end of the park. On the other side of this brick wall . . .

. . . is a giant relief of fifteen World War II soldiers (one for each Soviet republic) who seem to be bursting out of the wall. The inscription on the base translates to something like, "Great Russia will never turn back; Moscow is behind us!"

Compare the shape of the sculpture . . .

. . . to the shape of Russia. Yep, it's a match:

One of the interesting customs we noticed all over the Stans is the locals' habit of taking wedding photos in front of war memorials. It wouldn't be my first choice of a backdrop, but I admire the way they honor those who fought in their behalf:

I was so focused on the bridal party that I almost missed this woman walking by . . . 

. . . carrying a load of doves (white pigeons?). I wonder what she's doing with them? Are they for a temple sacrifice? Pets accompanying her on a walk? Peace doves about to be released in some ceremony?

Just like many war memorials around the world, this one has an eternal flame. It is at the end of a long, polished expanse of black stone:

On one side is a memorial to the Russian Revolution, or what the Kazakhs call the Civil War (1917-1920):

It almost looks like a knight of the Middle Ages wearing armor and carrying a lance:

Another frieze honors the soldiers who died in World War II:

On our way back to our bus, we passed the Kazakh Museum of Folk Music Instruments. We didn't go in, but we did admire the beautiful wood construction of this building erected in 1908 (simultaneously with the Ascension Cathedral):

There is a gigantic (and funky)stone musical instrument out front:

Well, it was time to board the Orient Express--the Orient SILK ROAD Express.  Our buses took us to the train station, where we found these lovely maidens waiting to give us one of apples for which Almaty is famous and to pose for pictures with us. What's not to love about a tour company who sets up surprises like this? There would be many more to come at future train stations.

All aboard!

And here is our spacious and elegant stateroom, about the width and length of a queen-sized bed. We had storage in a large cabinet over the door and under the foot of our beds.  Room service came every morning to make our beds and every evening to turn down the covers.

The shared bathroom was down the hall--WAY down the hall. Large windows on the right gave us a nice view out the other side of the train.

Compared to riding a camel across the desert, this is luxury. I kept telling myself that.