The Islamic Center of Astana

The first picture shows the whole Islamic Center, which is made up of a mosque, school, and library. The mosque is located on the right, the school and library on the left.
This beautiful structure was sponsored by the Emir of Qatar.
We were able to watch two wedding parties enter the mosque. At the back of the second party were these babushkas.
Our little family in front of the Islamic Center.This is the main entrance to the mosque.Next is a courtyard. The marble structures in the middle are fountains for cleansing yourself before entering the prayer room. It was neat to walk into the courtyard, there was definitely a more quiet feeling than outside the walls, and that quiet feeling continued--perhaps even increased--as we entered the prayer room. There was definitely a special feeling there, which I liked a lot. It reminded me of the Latter-day Saint temples which we love so dearly.I loved the arches and covered walkway.
Inside the courtyard looking up at the dome. The moon isn't really visible because of all the light.
There's that moon!
We were allowed to take pictures inside the mosque, but there is a sort of barricade you must stay behind. We were told that men are the only ones who go on the other side of the barricade, where prayers are said. I thought the barricade itself was beautiful.

Where do the women go while the men are praying? Well... Women pray on the side of the barricade we were on, it's a smaller area, but would still fit many many women.
There is room for 5,000 inside the mosque. This is the prayer room.

Is the Islamic population in the area large enough to fill that kneeling area? I don't think the answer is very cut and dry on this one. Historically the people of Kazakhstan are Muslim. My understanding is that the atheism of the Soviet Union has definitely affected the number of practicing Muslims. While most Kazakhs would probably tell you they are Muslim, many are not practicing. I am not sure of the percentage which does practice, and the Imam was busy with the two weddings so I wasn't able to speak with him. The population in Astana is estimated at over 650,000--even if only 1% is practicing, the prayer room could get close to capacity. It's my understanding that prayers do not have to be said in the mosque, so while there should be enough practicing Muslims to fill the Mosque, I'm not sure how full it actually gets.
This picture is of the main dome, but there were many others. Each dome was similarly decorated. They are elaborate and beautiful.
I am not an expert on Islam. From what I have been told and read (ever so briefly), Islamic art generally avoids representations of people, and some Muslims avoid visual depictions of living beings altogether. All of the artwork I saw in this mosque involved geometrical design or calligraphy.

If you look at one of the "rafters" (for lack of a better word) in the picture below you see that it is painted blue with a gold design--that's an example of the calligraphy.
This picture is from the entryway to the prayer room looking through the courtyard to the main entrance.
From the outside looking in.

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Jenna asked some good questions, so I amended this post to answer them. Questions are in italics, with the answers immediately after.