Abay: Museums, Mining History and Steppe

In Abay, memories of Abai Kunanbayev, mining history and a dry-steppe landscape come together. If you are looking for a hotel in Abay, you can first decide whether Abai, mining history, cultural events or the landscape will be the main focus of your stay.

Abai in the Cityscape

A nearly ten-metre-high bronze monument to Abai stands in the square in front of the Abay House of Culture. The full-length figure holds a book and gazes into the distance. The book and the figure’s gaze define the motif and connect the square with Abai. The square has been improved with repaired fountains and rotundas, resurfaced paving, lighting, benches and rubbish bins. A report dated 30 July 2025 also described a twelve-metre-high portrait of Abai on House 6A on Pobedy Avenue. This makes it possible to distinguish between two different forms of depiction: the bronze full-length figure in the square and a portrait as a wall image. The wall image may change over time.

Museums and Local History

The Abai Kunanbayev Literary and Memorial Museum has four exhibition halls. One is devoted to the prehistory of Abay and Sherubay-Nura. The Abay Kunanbayev City Museum displays photographs of the settlement’s first social institutions. Their focuses differ: the Literary and Memorial Museum devotes one hall to the area’s early history, while the City Museum shows early social institutions in photographs. On 26 November 2021, the Literary and Memorial Museum presented the exhibition “Tools of Miners’ Labor: From Past to Present”. If you plan to visit today, check the current exhibition programme separately.

Mining History

Development of the Churubay-Nura coal district began in 1949. The Miners’ House of Culture dates back to 1959. The Abayskaya Mine Museum preserves the history of the mines and the Churubay-Nura coal deposit. These details place mining history in different contexts: the beginning of a district’s development, the construction history of a cultural centre and the preservation of the subject in a museum.

Cultural Events in Abay

The Abay District Cultural and Leisure Center is located in the centre of Abay. Its “Creativity Without Borders” programme includes festivals, competitions, forums and entertainment programmes. At concerts, the Zere ensemble presents Kazakh folk song traditions and customs. Events and performances may change; if you are planning to attend a particular event, check the current programme.

Landscape and Getting Your Bearings

Abay lies in a gently undulating valley formed by the Sherubay-Nura and Sokur rivers. The long-term vegetation is characteristic of dry steppe, including feather grass, fescue, wormwood and steppe shrubs. The valley’s shape and its plant life describe different aspects of the landscape: its landforms and the vegetation typical of dry steppe. To get your bearings, Abay lies east of the railway and highways between Abay and Karabas. Behind the Miners’ House of Culture are a 6.5-hectare park and a stadium.

Discover more destinations: Balkhash, Bereznyaki, Astakhovka, Saryshagan.

For the main travel guide: Karaganda.