The first hints of spring are appearing amid the drab Soviet apartment blocks and the could-be-anywhere steel and glass office buildings of Almaty. New leaves hang tentatively off birch and poplar trees that line the endlessly straight streets, framing distant views of the snow-capped Ile-Altau mountains (the northern spur of the Tien Shan range). It's a few days after Nauroz, the New Year, the day of the 'big melt', and celebratory flowery neon arches still straddle the streets. And while the snows of winter have given way to a light grey sky and the occasional drizzle, the sun is still rare. People are out on the streets but summer clothes haven't appeared—it's still leather jackets, black and grey overcoats, and boots. You can smell a change in the air though. The city seems poised on the edge of a transformation.
