ALMATY, Kazakhstan — Local families lounge on manicured lawns under fir, aspen and spruce trees; horse-drawn carriages ferry tourists; and boisterous children kick balls and drive toy cars with flashing lights. People scatter bird feed for pigeons that swoop above our heads.
I am in the sprawling Panfilov Park, the most popular park in Almaty, the second city and cultural capital of Kazakhstan, the largest landlocked country in the world and once a key element of the Silk Road trade route between Europe and Asia.
