Photo of the Day

the Baiterek Monument in Kazakhstan
August 22, 2013

Baiterek Monument, Kazakhstan

This Month in Photo of the Day: City Pictures

The Baiterek, towering over the central promenade in Astana, Kazakhstan, flares green against a dappled evening sky. Intended as a symbol of the new capital, the 318-foot monument evokes a giant tree with a golden egg in its branches. In the Kazakh myth of Samruk, a sacred bird lays a golden egg in the branches of a poplar each year.

See more pictures from the February 2012 feature story "Tomorrowland."


See pictures of the "Seven Stans" »

Photograph by Gerd Ludwig, National Geographic

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history