Daily life in Irad
Daily life in Irad covers the routines of work, housing, transport, schooling and leisure in the Irad Special Economic Zone (ISEZ), where most Iradis live in or around the cities of Talas, Nurzhan and Iyık Janyl. Life in the Autonomous Tribal Regions, which follows the seasonal movement of the herds, is described in that article.
The week
The ISEZ works a five-day, 40-hour week. Government offices are open from 09:00 to 18:00, with lunch from 13:00 to 14:00. Saturday is the day for markets and errands, and the bazaars are busiest at the weekend. Sunday is the day of the Qurbana, the Syro-Iradi liturgy, and of the family lunch, and the livestock markets are held on Sunday mornings. From April to October many Russian-speaking families in Nurzhan spend summer weekends at dachas in the Chu foothills.[1]
Housing
About 70 percent of city households live in Soviet-era panel blocks, five-story blocks of the 1960s and nine-story blocks of the 1970s and 1980s, whose flats were privatized to their tenants in 1994–96; as a result about 85 percent of households own their homes. New apartment towers built in Talas since 2015 are sold in dollars, at $650 to $900 a square meter in the center, while the hillside district of Jogorku in Iyık Janyl is self-built. Rents are quoted in dollars and utility bills paid in som (see Economy of Irad).[1][2]
Getting about
Numbered minibuses (marshrutkas) are the main form of city transport, with about 120 routes in Talas and 90 in Nurzhan, at 2 som a ride, and municipal buses run alongside them. Nurzhan keeps four Soviet trolleybus routes opened in 1966; Talas closed its trolleybus system in 2004, and no city has a metro or tram. Taxis start at 15 som. There are about 180 cars per 1,000 people, mostly used Japanese and Korean imports, old Ladas and, since 2020, Chinese cars bought through dealers in Almaty (see Transport in Irad).[3]
Children and schooling
State kindergartens (bala bakcha) have places for about 45 percent of children aged three to six, with waiting lists in Talas. Grandmothers look after most of the rest, and private kindergartens charge in dollars. City schools teach in two shifts, pupils wear navy uniforms with white shirts, and families who can afford it pay private tutors before the National Graduation Test at the end of grade 12 (see Education in Irad).[4]
Phones and media
Most people use the Tulpar app for chat and channels and, since 2026, for payments, and the classifieds site Jılmay for buying and selling. Foreign platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Telegram and YouTube are widely used; they were throttled during the 2023 Student Protests in Talas, when mobile data was cut for three days.[5]
Evenings
Evenings out center on chaikhanas (teahouses), karaoke bars, the Aigyr Ulak Nights at the Talas Hippodrome and football on IradOne Sport. At home, IradOne's quiz Kim Bilet? at 19:00 and the sitcom Kuda on Mondays and Wednesdays are among the most-watched programs.[5]
Famous faces
Familiar figures include the quiz host Talant Myrzabekov, whose catchphrase "Kim bilet? Siz bilesiz!" ("Who knows? You know!") is widely repeated; Aibike Kenzhebekova, presenter of the talent show Jyldyz Jolu; the pop groups Altyn Muuz and Karakush; the women's football captain Begimai Asan; and the wrestler Almaz Samat uulu. The online creator Sezim Nurmat kyzy is known for her series "100 som a day", which since 2024 has become an informal measure of prices.[5][6]
See also
References
- ^ Territorial Statistics Office (2025). Household Budget Survey of the Irad Special Economic Zone, 2024. Talas.
- ^ Territorial Statistics Office (2020). Housing Conditions in the ISEZ: Results of the 2018 Census. Talas.
- ^ Territorial Statistics Office (2025). Transport and Communications in the ISEZ, 2024. Talas.
- ^ Ministry of Education of the ISEZ (2025). Schools in Figures, 2024–25. Talas.
- ^ Irad Media Research Center (2023). Television and Online Audience Survey of the ISEZ. Talas.
- ^ Irad Media Research Center (2026). Online Audiences in the ISEZ: Survey Report. Talas.