Aksay

The steppe around Aksay lies east of the Ural River, in the country of the Burlin and its tributaries. Open grasslands and saline soils form part of the northern Caspian lowland. For centuries this was a land of pastoral movement, crossed by the peoples of the Kazakh steppe. During the eighteenth century Russian fortifications extended along the Ural, while Kazakh communities continued to move with their herds through the lands beyond the river. The town of Aksay itself arose much later.