The idea behind Bayterek is rooted in a Kazakh folk tale about the hero Yer-Tostik, who, after long wanderings, finally found the Bayterek tree, in whose crown the magical bird Samruk lays a golden egg once a year. A tree of life, a source of strength, a link between worlds — this image has been carried through generations of Kazakh storytelling, and it became the natural symbol for a brand-new capital.
The monument was built to mark the relocation of Kazakhstan's capital in 1997. The tower stands 97 metres tall without the sphere — no coincidence, since the figure symbolises the very year the capital moved from Almaty to Astana. With the sphere included, the total height reaches 105 metres. The sphere itself is made of "chameleon" glass that shifts colour depending on the angle of the sunlight.
From the upper observation deck, a panorama unfolds over the entire left bank of Astana — futuristic buildings, broad avenues and the endless Kazakh steppe stretching to the horizon. Bayterek appears on the 10,000-tenge banknote and has long since become the country's most recognisable symbol.
