text: A landlocked country lacks a coastline or direct access to an ocean or sea. The world has a total of 43 landlocked countries with the largest being Kazakhstan. Landlocked countries have many advantages and disadvantages. 
   
   Landlocked countries are relatively sheltered from adverse weather effects caused by oceans such as tsunamis and hurricanes and the ability to monitor goods coming into or leaving the country through the borders. Landlocked countries are safe from invasions by sea. However, these countries especially developing ones have challenges in the importation and exportation of goods forcing them to rely on their connected neighbors. Transport costs and customs duties become expensive for the landlocked countries. To access the coastline, landlocked countries are forced to maintain friendly relations with countries with coastlines even when they do not agree. 
   
   
   
   10. Central African Republic - 
   
   The Central African Republic is a central African country. C.A.R is the tenth largest landlocked country with an area of 752,612 km². C.A.R shares her boundaries with 6 countries including Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, and Sudan. The country has a population of 4, 422, 000 people. 
   
   9. Afghanistan - 
   
   Afghanistan is a South Asian landlocked country with an area of 647,500 km² and a population of 29,117,000 people. Afghanistan is bordering 6 countries including Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, China, and Iran. 
   
   8. Zambia - 
   
   Zambia is a landlocked South African country with an area of 752,612 km² bordering 8 countries including Zimbabwe, Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Malawi. The country has a population of 12, 935, 000 people. 
   
   7. Bolivia - 
   
   Bolivia is a central South American country bordering 5 countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru. Bolivia has an area of 1,098,581 km² making it the seventh largest landlocked country in the world and has a population of 10,907,778 people. 
   
   6. Ethiopia - 
   
   Ethiopia is a landlocked country in Eastern Africa with an area of 1,104,300 km² and a population of 85, 237, 338 people. The country borders 6 countries including Sudan, Kenya, Eritrea, Djibouti, South Sudan, and Somalia and is the sixth largest landlocked country in the world. 
   
   5. Mali - 
   
   Mali has an area of 1,240,192 km² making it the fifth largest landlocked country in the world. The country is located in West Africa bordering 7 countries including Algeria, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Niger. The country has a population 14, 517, 176 people. 
   
   4. Niger - 
   
   Niger is the world's fourth largest landlocked country with an area of 1,267,000 km². Niger is surrounded by 7 countries of West Africa including Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Libya, Mali, and Nigeria. Niger has a population of 15, 306, 252 people. 
   
   3. Chad - 
   
   Chad is a central African country with a total area of 1,284,000 km² making it the third largest landlocked country in the world and a population of 10, 329, 208 people. The country borders 6 countries including Cameroon, Central African Republic, Libya, Niger, Nigeria, and Sudan. 
   
   2. Mongolia - 
   
   Mongolia is the second largest landlocked country in the world with a total area of 1,566,500 km². Mongolia is located in northern Asia bordering 2 countries China and Russia. The population of the country is 3 million people. 
   
   1. Kazakhstan - 
   
   Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in the world with an area of 2,724,900 km² and the ninth largest in the world. Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia bordering 5 countries, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The country has a population of 1, 6372,000 people. ||||| European cities are all about charm and character – shimmering skylines are not really our style. North America do them pretty well - New York, LA, Toronto - and Asia has some beauties - think Singapore and Hong Kong - but Europe? Not so much. 
   
   There is one (almost) on our doorstep, however. And it's poised - rather unexpectedly - to be the next hot destinations for travellers in search of a more adventurous city break. 
   
   Introducing Astana. First up: can you find it on map? The answer is below. 
   
   Did you get it right? 
   
   It's E. Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan, the world's ninth largest country by area. Congratulations if you got it right. 
   
   The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, designed by Norman Foster Credit: This content is subject to copyright./Jane Sweeney 
   
   Why should I go? 
   
   Kazakhstan’s glittering capital is already regarded in niche travel circles for its captivating architecture, with the skyline increasingly filling with ambitious, space-age skyscrapers and monuments, including the 150-metre Bayterek Tower and the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, designed by acclaimed British architect Norman Foster. But it is now taking a confident step towards showcasing its cityscape to the world. 
   
   The announcement that two major global hotel chains are setting up shop in the city - ahead of the imminent Expo 2017 world fair - suddenly make the central Asian city feel a little closer. 
   
   The city's KazMunayGas building lit up at night Credit: Nutthavood Punpeng/Nutexzles 
   
   Sure, Kazakhstan is not on many British bucket lists, but the Ritz Carlton and St Regis think that might be about to change. 
   
   The former promises 157 rooms clad with exotic marble and luxurious woods in downtown’s Talan Towers, while the latter, in Astana Central Park, will be home to 120 rooms in a palatial, neoclassical design. Marriott and Radisson already have properties in the city. 
   
   What even is an Expo? 
   
   Remember the World Fair that gave London its Crystal Palace in 1851? The Expos (expositions) are the modern evolution of The Great Exhibition, but maintain the same purpose: to showcase to the world the strengths and prospects of the host city or nation. 
   
   The Khan Shatyr tent, also designed by Norman Foster Credit: This content is subject to copyright./Jane Sweeney 
   
   The great and good have enjoyed expositions since London’s effort - New York, Chicago and Paris, to name a few - while the modern-day expos have taken in cities such as Brisbane, Barcelona and Hanover, not to mention Plovdiv in Bulgaria, Tsukuba in Japan, and Zaragoza in Spain. 
   
   The latter were all “specialised expos” focussing on a particular topic, such as sustainability or technology, as is Astana’s, with “future energy” at the centre of the celebrations. 
   
   The Bayterek Tower usually holds a prime spot in the city's skyline 
   
   Kazakhstan’s president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is keen for Expo 2017 to be the beginning of Astana’s future. For it, he ordered the construction of the Khan Shatyr Entertainment Centre, also designed by Norman Foster and his firm, a miniature golf course, a river, a beach resort and a monorail. 
   
   A number of the world’s exposition have left indelible marks on their host cities - Brussels retains its Atomium, The Space needle still stands in Seattle, while Shanghai’s China pavilion, built for Expo 2010, is today the China Art Museum. 
   
   Dubai is next in line to host the next Expo in 2020, while Lodz in Poland is competing with Minneapolis, Rio and Buenos Aires for the following event. 
   
   Why else might you visit Astana? 
   
   Beyond the impressive architecture, Astana boasts a rich Soviet history. The city’s old centre still harbours a “Soviet atmosphere”, according to the Kazakh tourist board. There is also an ornate theatre named after Russian author Maxim Gorky. 
   
   The Nur Astana Mosque is the third largest in central Asia Credit: This content is subject to copyright./Jane Sweeney 
   
   Visiting in 2008 for Telegraph Travel, James Mackintosh found the city on the cusp of change. 
   
   “For all its grand pretensions, Astana retains something of the Russian and Soviet steppe trading post of its roots,” he wrote. “Traces of elegant, pastel-coloured, tsarist merchant mansions; the bustle of the dusty streets; the familiar Soviet grid-avenues lined with birch trees and ugly 1950s housing blocks; the cosy but elegant Russian drama theatre; the ubiquitous circus. 
   
   “Placid, gold-toothed women sit all day at street stalls selling raspberries, cucumbers and varieties of forest berries in cut-off plastic bottles. Astana girls, miniskirted and flirtatious, Russian blondes and oriental-looking Kazakhs, cling giggling together like natural-born cousins. 
   
   The city's Soviet past is still evident in parts Credit: This content is subject to copyright./Michael Runkel 
   
   “At Line Brew, a Belgian pub quirkily designed as a Crusader castle, a Nordic-looking family and friends are swilling back lager. They speak Russian but this scene could be anywhere in Germany. They are Volga Germans, shunted by Stalin to this backwater many decades ago. We’re at the heart of Central Asia but, the paradox is that much of the culture is European.” 
   
   How do I get to Astana? 
   
   Air Astana, the nation’s flag carrier, flies direct to Astana International Airport from London Heathrow, with prices starting around £500 return for the seven hour service. Flying via Kiev with Ukraine International can cut £200 off the price, but will double the time. Likewise, flights via Moscow with Aeroflot. 
   
   Flights to Astana are quite pricey Credit: Nutthavood Punpeng/Nutexzles 
   
   What else does Kazakhstan have to offer? 
   
   Kazakhstan is the proud owner of some immense countryside, including the nation’s answer to the Grand Canyon, in the form of Charyn Canyon. There is also skiing at Shymbulak ski resort, 30 minutes from Almaty, while the hidden Lake Kaindy in the Tien Shan Mountains is a startling sight to behold. ||||| It is not too far away from Europe, it has a futuristic skyline and a rich history and it could become one the world’s hottest travel destinations. 
   
   The city of Astana may be difficult to place on a map, but the capital of Kazakhstan is already becoming a hype destination in travelling circles. 
   
   The former Soviet city, which has undergone a huge makeover, is launching itself as a new Singapore at the heart of central Asia. 
   
   Architect Norman Foster, whose London-based company is known for its high-tech architecture, has worked to design the city’s Khan Shatyr Entertainment Centre, an award-winning tented-shaped steel structure, which echoes Kazakh history. 
   
   The city’s blend of old and new architecture will no doubt be an attraction to the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected to attend the 2017 Expo. 
   
   The world fair, which in the past gave London its Crystal Palace and Paris its Eiffel Tower, is designed to showcase each country’s strengths and vision for the future with this year’s theme being “Future Energy”. 
   
   “Nur Alem”, Kazakhstan’s national pavilion has been described as the largest spherical building in the world and promotes wind energy. The pavillion has already attracted close to 100,000 visitors since the Expo, which brings together 115 countries, opened on 10 June. It will run until 10 September. 
   
   For the Kazakhstan Government, the Expo is the opportunity to put Astana on the map and continue to attract tourists from around the world. 
   
   A general view shows Nur-Astana mosque in Astana ( KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV /AFP/ Getty Images) 
   
   But there are plenty of other things to see in Astana, which is seven hours from Heathrow. 
   
   In a travel review, written for The Independent in 2010, Astana is described as “rising up of nowhere”. 
   
   “You fly for an hour over a flat dry emptiness and then, suddenly, without any hint of outlying farms or suburbs, there it is: the Presidential Palace, a blue-domed version of America's White House, and behind it the Pyramid of Peace (likened by some New Age bloggers to a device for communicating with aliens), and the Bayterek, a bird's nest viewing platform 318ft high,” it reads. 
   
   Surrounding by steppe, looking beyond Astana is like “looking straight to the edge of the world,” the author wrote. 
   
   The couples who travel instead of having a wedding - In pictures 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   16 show all The couples who travel instead of having a wedding - In pictures 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   1/16 Cheetah Platt and Rhian Woodyard in Las Vegas 
   
   2/16 Cheetah and Rhian by the Sydney Opera House 
   
   3/16 Cheetah and Rhian in Chiang Mai, Thailand 
   
   4/16 Cheetah and Rhian in Bangkok 
   
   5/16 Cheetah and Rhian at the Ajanta cave in India 
   
   6/16 Cheetah and Rhian in Nairobi, Kenya 
   
   7/16 Cheetah and Rhian in Giza, Egypt 
   
   8/16 Cheetah and Rhian in Giza, Egypt 
   
   9/16 Tessa and Matt in Montreux, Switzerland 
   
   10/16 Tessa and Matt in Madrid 
   
   11/16 Tessa and Matt in Norway 
   
   12/16 Tessa and Matt in Rothenburg 
   
   13/16 Tessa and Matt in Rothenburg 
   
   14/16 Tessa and Matt by the Matterhorn 
   
   15/16 Tessa and Matt in Madrid 
   
   16/16 Tessa and Matt in Ireland 
   
   Astana is also an open door onto the rest of Kazakhstan, the world’s largest landlocked country. Between Europe and Asia, the Kazakhstan has a complicated and rich history, a unique and authentic culture and landscapes where east and west meet. 
   
   The Kazakh tourism board boasts about the diversity of the country’s tourism industry, which range from cultural excursions to skiing and trekking in the mountains, and water sports in nearby lakes and rivers.
target: – For many people, Kazakhstan is probably best known as the home of fictional newscaster Borat, who made a mockery of the former Soviet republic in the hit 2006 comedy film named after him. But while the country's capital, Astana, may not currently rank as one of the great travel destinations of Europe, with the Expo 2017 world's fair currently underway there—and two global luxury hotel chains set to open—that could all change. According to the Telegraph, Astana is already "regarded in niche travel circles for its captivating architecture," including the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, and the country's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, ordered the construction of a new entertainment center, a miniature golf course, and a river to coincide with the opening of the fair, which is touting the city's "future energy." Since the Expo began on June 10, nearly 100,000 people have visited the Nur Alem pavilion, which is touted as the largest spherical building in the world, the Independent reports. The Kazakhstan government is hoping the event puts the country on the map for international tourism, which has not been a selling point for the world's largest landlocked country, tucked between Europe and Asia. Expo 2017 is also a historic occasion: It's not only the first world's fair held in Central Asia—it's also the first one held in a Muslim-majority country. The fair runs through Sept. 10. (Check out Kazakhstan's "singing" sand dune.)