> You're using the Soviet bastardization of the name. I am genuinely curious about how the name Alma Ata which consists of two Turkic words and which how I was

> You're using the Soviet bastardization of the name. I am genuinely curious about how the name Alma Ata which consists of two Turkic words and which how I was taught in school when I was growing up in Turkey is the "Soviet bastardization". Update: Hmmm ... Wikipedia article also seems to indicate that it was Soviet thing to call it Alma Ata: > The name Almaty has its roots in the medieval settlement Almatu, that existed near the present-day city.[10] A disputed theory holds that the name is derived from the Kazakh word for 'apple' (алма), and is often translated as "full of apples". Originally it was Almatau which means Apple Mountain. The Russian version of the name was Alma-Ata (Kaz. Father of Apples). Since gaining its independence from the Soviet Union, the use of the Kazakh Almaty is accepted.