A beautiful painting I have photographed at the Kazakhstan Railways Museum in Almaty
Versailles, France
I came across this beautiful poetry in this no less beautiful book (Shayakhmetov, The Silent Steppe)
In the slumbering stillness Nature looked kindly on us:
Myrzaliev
What pride we take in a soul as boundless as the steppe,
We inhale the wind rushing across the plains so free,
Treasure the meditative translucence of our lakes,
Stubborn and stoic, we stand firm as the rocks.
Nomadic life the sand-hills taught us long ago,
And to stand tall – the ridges showed us how,
Caution came to us on the wings of the dark night.
Our destinies are like paths forged in the steppe.
And our smiles – the sun in the grey skies above
A guest is always welcome in a Kazakh home,
For we know that a guest in the home
Brings joy – just like a newborn boy!