The biggest name in Kazak cultural history is Abay Kunanbaev, a 19th century poet and man of letters who launched Kazak as a literary language and translated Russian works into Kazak. Before Abay, Kazakstan literature consisted chiefly of long oral poems. Recitals by bards (aqins) and contests between them known as aitys are still important and popular. Kazakstan's most impressive textiles originate in the country's north-east, near the 'four corners' region of Kazakstan, Russia, China and Mongolia. The mix of influences is apparent in wall carpets and rugs unmatched in their striking colour combinations and the intricacy of their geometric designs.

k a z a k h s t a n

Though Kazaks are Muslim (Sunni) they are not, by and large, strictly so, and Islam is not a major political force. Reasons for this include the Kazakstan's location on the fringe of the Muslim world, and their traditionally nomadic lifestyle, unsuited to central religious authority. Kazak women appear Central Asia's most confident and least restricted, despite the lingering custom of wife-stealing, whereby a man may simply kidnap a woman he wants to marry (often with some collusion, it must be said), leaving her parents with no option but to negotiate the bride-price.
Many Kazaks maintain a seminomadic existence, moving with herds, flocks and yurts from their collective farms to summer pastures every year. An affinity with the horse is shown in sports like kökpar, the wild free-for-all ancestor of polo (with a headless goat's carcass instead of a ball) and qyz quu, a boy-girl horse chase - if a boy catches a girl he kisses her, if a girl catches a boy she beats him with her riding whip, all the while both of them riding hell for leather.
Much Kazak food resembles that of the Middle East or the Mediterranean in its use of rice, savoury seasonings, vegetables and legumes, yoghurt and grilled meats. Other dishes have developed from the subsistence diet of the nomads - mainly mutton (including entrails), milk products and bread - whereas in the heavily Russian-populated cities of northern Kazakstan, the dominant cuisine is Russian. Rural Kazaks make good qazy, smoked horsemeat sausage sometimes served sliced with cold noodles. If that sounds a bit hardcore, look out for a sweet plov (pilaf) made with dried apricots, raisins and prunes or Kazak apples which are famous throughout Central Asia (Almaty literally means 'father of apples').
Kazakstan is a Turkic language written in a 42-letter version of the Cyrillic alphabet. At least as many people in Kazakstan speak Russian as Kazak; Kazakstan is the official state language but Russian is the 'language of inter-ethnic communication.