We are still touring Almaty but now it’s after lunch and it’s raining off and on. The first photo is the Monument of Independence or the Golden Warrior Monument. It’s dedicated to Kazakh independence. It stands in Republic Square and the monument depicts Kazakhstan’s rich history. It stands 91 feet tall but it was raining really hard at this point.

Our next adventure was a trip up to Kok-Tobe Hill. This is one of Almaty’s main city landmarks. The hill tops out at about 3,900 feet and offers views of the entire city and surrounding areas.

As we were taking the tram ride up the hill (2nd photo), we could see the fog rolling in and up the hill. We had our doubts about what we might see from the top.

I hopped off the tram and ran to the railing to take the third photo. Literally, in about another minute or so, the entire city disappeared in the fog or clouds.

Almaty means “city of apple trees” or “rich with apple” or something like that. They claim scientific DNA evidence that all apples in the world developed from apples right here in the Almaty area.

The top of Kok-Tobe Hill is a popular recreation area with all sorts of food, rides, games, statues, and so on. One of our group actually rode the Ferris wheel but I’m not sure why.