Nur-Sultan

Nur-Sultan (/ˌnʊərsʊlˈtɑːn/;[8] Kazakh pronunciation: [nʊɾ sʊltɑn]; Kazakh: Нұр-Сұлтан, romanized: Nūr-Sūltan), formerly known as Akmolinsk (Russian: Акмолинск, romanized: Akmolinsk), Tselinograd, and Astana[a] (Kazakh pronunciation: [ɑstɑnɑ] (About this soundlisten), Cyrillic: Астана), is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city acquired its present name on March 23, 2019, following a unanimous vote in Kazakhstan’s parliament. It was named after former Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev.[12][13][14]

The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, though administered as a city with special status separately from the rest of the region. A 2020 official estimate reported a population of 1,136,008 within the city limits, making it the second-largest city in the country, after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997.[3] The city became the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997, since then it has grown and developed economically into one of the most modern cities in Central Asia.[15][16] And, in 2021, Nur-Sultan was selected as one of the top 10 tourist destinations in Kazakhstan