Let’s Go Take A Hike!

Every week (weather permitting) our Hiking Activity Group explores the mountains surrounding our beautiful city of Almaty. The Hiking Group is one of many activity groups we offer. For more information website link in our profile.

If you are interested in joining, please contact our Membership team at membership.aiwc@gmail.com

Evening Edition

Every 3-4 weeks we have Evening Edition, a social gathering for members who work full time (or those who wish to join the full time workers for some dinner and drinks!).

Evening Edition Members get special rates due to their limited availability for our weekly activities. Please contact us if you are interested in joining! membership.aiwc@gmail.com

Nauryz Spring Festival

Author: Local member and Nauryz aficionado, Farida

Nauryz is my family’s favourite holiday. Every family sets a table for guests. Friends and families visit each other, bringing gifts. It is similar to Christmas in that it unites people together around the table with traditional food. While presents are not specifically part of the celebration, when we visit friends we do bring sweets and homemade food. It’s the oldest holiday celebrated in Central Asia and the Middle East, dating back almost 5,000 years.

The month of Nauryz is the first month of the year according to the Eastern calendar. It coincides with the equinox, where day and night are equal lengths everywhere on Earth, as the sun crosses the equator. Kazakhs considered the month of Nauryz sacred.

“Nou Ruz ” translates to “New Day” in Persian, the first symbolic step of the Sun toward the Earth. The Nomadic year is associated with the beginning of Spring and the Revival of Life.

It is believed that New Year does not come into the house if something old reigns. Therefore, in preparation for Nauryz, houses are cleaned and repaired, clothes mended, and work tools fixed. People buy new items and give old goods to the poor.

Just before Nauryz I clean my house and get rid of my old and unused things. My family and I cook some special dishes like Nauryz Kozhe or Baursak. We visit friends and family and they visit us. We celebrate the new year and new life coming.

The way you spend the first day of Nauryz is the way you will live a year. Therefore we try to be generous and hospitable on this day. We forgive any debts and offenses made against us.

The whole of Kazakhstan celebrates this month-long holiday. Some people like to wear traditional dress. In the cities people go to their public squares, where they organize concerts with traditional music and games. Sometimes Plov or Baursak will be served. In the villages they go to the fields, where there are horseback riding games, a big swing, and food cooked in the open air.

Celebrating the end of the old year and the beginning of the new one, we repeat the act of Initial Creation. The ritual helps us to feel the connection with the Space, with something very ancient, giving us an instant sense of belonging to the Eternal.

Activity Group Highlight: Book Club

Blog Author: US member and avid book lover, Heather

The AIWC Book Club is a happy collection of avid readers from around the world.  We meet once a month on Tuesday evenings, usually at a local restaurant and sometimes at the home of one of our members.

We choose our monthly reading from the group’s suggestions, and the range of books we’ve selected over the years is fascinating.  While our tastes seem to run primarily to literary fiction (Oseki’s Tale for the Time Being; Bennett’s The Vanishing Half; Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore) we’ve also read international classics like Anna Karenina, The Idiot, and Things Fall Apart. You’ll find that no genre is unrepresented, including memoir, mystery and comedy.

We bring a huge variety of tastes, backgrounds, and life experiences to the discussion, and the book serves as a great platform for getting to know each other better.  We’re casual, smart, funny, open-minded and opinionated (in a respectful way!).   Good food and drink always accompany the festivities.
If this sounds interesting, the Club is always looking for new members.  You can join our WhatsApp group for details and come to our next meeting on March 1. We’ll be discussing Kazuo Ishiguro’s stunning new novel Klara and the Sun and there is a LOT to talk about.

Give us a try!

Maslenitsa & Vendors Day

Dear Members & Non-Members!

Join us Wednesday 2nd March for our 1st Vendors Day at the Intercontinental Hotel.

Local craftsmen and women will be selling their wares so get in quick! We will also be celebrating Maslenitsa (Pancake Day!) and providing free pancakes to all attendees. We’ll be in the Bosphorus Restaurant from 10.30am till 12.00pm.

Admission is free.

InterContinental Almaty Hotel 

181, Zheltoksan St.  

Tel.: +7 (727) 250 50 00

See you there!

Almaty International Women’s Club (AIWC) and the Intercontinental Hotel invite you to a Christmas Brunch & tree lighting ceremony.

5 December 2021 at 11:30 am – 3:30 pm. 

Experience the magic of Christmas and join us in the ceremony of lighting the Christmas tree! A wonderful occasion to share with family and friends. 

Full buffet brunch at Asian Café. 

Bring your family and friends! Book your table now. 

Price: 20 000 KZT per person. Children 2–12 years old: 10 000 KZT (children under 2yo free)

Part proceeds of ticket sales support AIWC Charities. 

Tickets can be purchased directly from the Intercontinental Hotel or by contacting Robyn Kilgariff (AIWC). Cash preferred. 

Email: communication.aiwc@gmail.com 

WhatsApp +61 417803369

InterContinental Almaty Hotel 

181, Zheltoksan St.  

Tel.: +7 (727) 250 50 00