Spectacular photography, rich historical background, and essential travel information are combined in this indispensable reference for the immense, diverse, remote region at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. A country larger than Western Europe, Kazakhstan's vast expanse encompasses the Great Steppe, the heights of the Tien Shan in the south, the exquisite lakes and valleys of the mystical Altai mountains in the northeast, and the archaeologically rich desert coast of the Caspian Sea in the west. With independence and the discovery of oil has come rapid modernization, and Kazakhstan today stands as Central Asia's most stable and forward-thinking nation.