East Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan

East Kazakhstan is a province of Kazakhstan. Vast tracts of uninhabited steppe and arid terrain dominate the landscape and cover an area roughly the size of western, central, and eastern Europe combined. This set of east Kazakhstan photos covers a 2-month long and 1,100km journey on horseback across the region with Jamie Maddison. Any fairy-tale ideas about the beauty of undertaking a long equestrian journey were crushed early on when we were faced with scorching heat, unsettlingly long stretches without water, and a couple of wrong turns early on in mosquito-infested mountains. It was a gritty experience and a wonderfully bleak one too. We slept each night under our horse’s sweat-soaked blankets and, on some days, nibbled on dried noodles garnished with salt for breakfast, followed by gasoline-soaked biscuits for lunch after our container leaked over our food. Aside from the austerity, it was our endless encounters with people that made the trip worthwhile — ranging from herder’s curious children stopping by to say hi, kind folk providing grain to see our horses through stretches of poor grazing, and being invited in for tea at random farmsteads.

For historical east Kazakhstan photos, including other parts of the country, check out Baribar.kz’s photo collection. Their album includes photos by late-19th and early-20th century photographers in the area such as Samuel Martinovich Dudin, Mikhail Silvestrovich Weishle, Konstantin Nikolaevich de Lazari, Alexander Lavrentyevich Melkov, Pavel Leibin Solomonovich and Elena Makhova. You can find more historical images of Central Asia by searching on the website of Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (the Kunstkamera) at http://collection.kunstkamera.ru/.

Travelling to east Kazakhstan province is possible via road from Almaty or the provincial capital, Ust-Kamenogorsk. Highlights of the area include Lake Zaysan, the former nuclear testing site Semipalatinsk, the Altai Mountains near the Russian border and the Alakol Biosphere Reserve.

Black and white photo of a creepy scarecrow on a hill made from oil drums.
Jamie standing between two horses in a green field on overcast day, photographed in East Kazakhstan.
The faint rainbow ends on top of a sunset-soaked east Kazakhstan farmstead.
A family of five Kazakhs posing in front of a table of food.
A white and khakhi coloured dog stretches out in a farm yard.
A man riding on horseback towing a pack horse through green fields.
Kazakhstan horse man reading a map with Jamie as one horse chews grass.
Black and white photo in Kazakhstan of man lassoing an oil drum for fun.
Older horse riding man holding whip on wooden stick in East Kazakhstan region.
A teenager riding on horseback brandishing a whip to usher his sheep.
Two Kazakhstan men smile for the camera in the sunshine, wearing wide hats.
A rider gallops past the camera on horseback, riding barefoot.
Two horses and one owner walking on a dirt road with his head covered from the sun.
Two Kazakh men showing a goat they have in their car boot.
Backside shot of horse rider approaching a remote village in Kazakhstan.
A horse rider with pack horse rides down a lonely dirt road in East Kazakhstan.
Two riders and three horses pose for a photograph with equipment on the ground.
Photo of East Kazakhstan insect on tree bark.
A rainbow arches across a stormy Kazakhstan sky with two horses grazing.
Kazakh woman with her son smiling.
Two men with three horses next to a traditional Kazakhstan graveyard.
A Muslim Kazakhstan man and boy wave for the camera.
Pretty Kazakh woman in a dress with red and black swirls.
Horseman and rider travelling across a remote section of steppe in Kazakhstan.
Two Kazakhstan men with arms over each other's shoulder. One has a big swollen eye!
Three kids pose for a photo in East Kazakhstan, giving thumbs up and peace signs.
Very wide angle and close photo in East Kazakhstan of a horse's eye.
Man and horse ascending up a grass hill in Kazakhstan.
Wide photograph in Kazakhstan of three horses grazing on a grassy plateau.
Close up photo of spiky baby cactus.
Jamie sat on the grass inside of a big floorless green tent.
Wide shot of two men and three horses walking down a dirt road in Kazakhstan.
A little boy holding a stick looks at horses being loaded into a truck.
A lone horse and rider standing in the Kazakhstan steppe beneath a beautiful, big sky.
Two Kazakh boys smile for a photograph.
Two boys in the distance riding across the Kazakhstan steppe with horses and cows in foreground.
Burial mound surrounded by yellow flowers in the remote Kazakhstan steppe.
Jamie walking with his horse on a remote Kazakhstan dirt road with Jungar Alatau foothills in the background.
Two riders sat on horseback with arms locked together smiling for the camera.
Jamie riding along a dirt track and green fields with two horses.
Black and white close up image of mayfly sat on a wheat husk.
Photo of east Kazakhstan agricultural land with hundreds of sheep grazing beneath blue sky.
A horse rider tows his pack animal across verdant Kazakhstan grasslands.
A rider kisses his Kazakh horse on the lips.
A closeup photograph of a dragon fly in Kazakhstan sat on a twig.
A Kazakhstan man sits on his horse in the river.
East Kazakhstan kids pose for a photograph in town.
A red-coloured horse carrying pack bags walks past the camera in Kazakhstan's countryside.
Kazakhstan horse man wearing a black beanie and jacket smiles.
Two men stood outside a remote farmstead in eastern Kazakhstan near Lake Balkhash.

My photography has been published in the following outlets:

Russia Beyond the Headlines logo.
Men's Running black text logo.
The New York Times logo.
Alpinist Magazine's logo.
ExplorersWeb online adventure news outlet logo.
Love Nature's logo with multiple colours and textures.
Russian Life logo in blue text.
Sidetracked Magazine logo in black and white.
Ripcord Adventure Journal logo in red, black and white.
Trek & Mountain Magazine's logo.
Geographical Magazine logo in white text with black background.
Action Asia Magazine logo.