Medeu - Kazakistan

The Medeu is a high-altitude sports complex near Almaty, located at an altitude of 1691 meters above sea level. It is considered to be the world's largest high-mountain skating rink. The skating rink was named after the Maloalmatinsky volost Medeu Pusurmanov. He built three wooden huts for the wintering of his family there, and began the development of the tract in the foothills of the Zailiysky Alatau. Medeu became a well-known entrepreneur, patron of educational institutions, and participated in the planting of the city.

In 1930, a sanatorium was opened in the area named "MDO" (Local holiday home). Construction of the skating rink began in the fall of 1949, and the first competition took place at the stadium on 4 February 1951. The capital of the Kazakh SSR was responsible for building the new skating rink. The complex was meant to prepare athletes for competitions in the highlands. The site was chosen by a special commission from Moscow. The construction of the Medeu rink involved over 1,300 workers.

On the opening day of the skating rink (February 5, 1951), it established two world and six all-Union records. During the opening ceremony, a traditional parade of athletes was held, honoring the veteran skaters. For the following 17 seasons, 47 world records were established on the ice rink. The level of solar radiation in the area, as well as low pressure and a weak wind was thought to be a key aspect in numerous world records broken within the complex. Also, the ice used on the skating rink was thought to be an important factor as it's composed of water from Malya Almatinka

The other main attraction at Medeu is the dam across the valley. The Medeu Dam, built in the late 1960s, is located at the south of the skating rink. The dam has 3 successive altitude levels. Special water reservoir allows holding of approximately 6 million cubic meters of water. Stairs consisting of 842 steps were built to access the dam.

 It dam was built to protect Almaty from potentially stone and mudflows precipitated by rains and thawing of snow. The dam was called into action in 1973, when some 4.5 million cubic metres of water and ebris, flooding down the gorge, were stopped short here.