Bayterek is a monumental tower built in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, to commemorate the historic moment of transferring the capital of the country to this very city. Bayterek means a "high poplar" in the Kazakh language. The name and the shape of the tower refers to the myth of the creation of the world. According to tradition, the bird of happiness laid an egg in the branches of a giant poplar – the tree of life, which supported the vault of heaven and that is how the sun was created. The Bayterek tower is crowned with a golden ball, which is meant to represent the sun rising over the world.
