Talghar: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

Talgar combines a significant archaeological past with distinctive religious architecture and the mountainous surroundings of the Ile-Alatau. The archaeological settlement of Talgar/Talkhir is identified with Talhiza, a settlement mentioned in a Persian geographical treatise from 982. It has been included on the UNESCO World Heritage List; its citadel covers 9 hectares.

Geographical setting

The predecessor of present-day Talgar stood on the steep right bank of the Talgar River, where a mountain gorge opens into the valley. This location reflects the historic connection of the place with the river, gorge and valley.

Culture

The historic buildings include St. Nicholas Church in Talgar. It was built in 1908 to a design by church architect Sergei Konstantinovich Troparevsky, with the assistance of military engineer Yakov Antonovich Poroshin. It was restored by 1995 and reconsecrated on 22 May 1995. Local materials were used for its construction; the walls and upper sections are made of local Tian Shan spruce wood.

The Talgar District Central Mosque, the central mosque of Talgar District, stands on the western side of Talgar on Qonayev Street. It was built from 1993 to 1996 with Turkish funding in the style of 16th-century Ottoman-Turkish architecture. Its design includes a large dome, twelve smaller domes and a 36-metre-high minaret. St. Paraskeva Church in Talgar was built in 1911, restored and reopened in 2005; religious services resumed that year.

Nature

The Ile-Alatau National Park lies in the wider regional surroundings of Talgar. Its tourism activities include hiking and camping, climbing and mountaineering, birdwatching, skiing, cycling, horse riding and rafting. The national park's landscapes range from mixed-grass steppe and alpine meadows to snow- and glacier-covered peaks. They also include waterfalls, high-altitude lakes and glaciers.

Local impressions

Talgar's apple orchards welcome groups of tourists from April to the end of October for walks through the orchards and fruit picking. A viewpoint on a hill in Talgar offers a panoramic view of the city. Apples can be bought at an orchard on Upper Talgar Street.

Those wishing to rent a holiday apartment in Talghar can then continue their accommodation search. Other destinations: Besqaynar, Dzerzhinskoye, Üschqongyr, Bakbakty, Shengeldy, Taldyqorghan, Baybulak and Tastybulak.

For the higher-level travel overview: Almaty.