– A landlocked mountain nation – elements of the Tien Shan range covers 80% of country with some dramatic peaks – the highest being Jengish Chokusu at 7439m.

– In size it comprises 77,261 sq mi, making it 1.2 times smaller than UK; with a population of around 7.5M, it is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world (about 36% are urban based).

– The national flag – the red represents the blood spilt and courage displayed over centuries in achieving independence; the yellow centre piece depicts the sun being viewed through the tunduk (central crown and vent in the roof of a yurt – reflecting their nomadic culture); the sun with its 40 rays depicting peace and prosperity for the 40 tribes that comprise the Kirgiz population.

– The World Bank classifies Kyrgyzstan’s economy as lower middle income with approx 25% of the population being below the national poverty line (focused primarily in rural areas).  However, the GDP this year is estimated to be $1.17 trillion with a year-on-year growth of 11.1% is highly impressive – achieved through exports of Gold (34%), oil and gas (15%), textiles and garments (12%) and agriculture (9%).  Switzerland has traditionally been the prime trading partner for exported goods (33%), Russia (13%) and Uzbekistan (11%).  Nonetheless, Kyrgyzstan still runs a significant trade deficit – exports 1.66bn/imports 8.33bn.  Tourism is a burgeoning source of income, grossing over $1.1bn with a 40% year on year increase in tourists.

Sat 19 Sep:  Once into Kirgizstan we were met by Umrat, our new driver, whom Aito knew well.  He loaded our baggage into a smart Toyota Prado – Victor’s vehicle was a Pajero!  The journey to our mountain campsite took about 20 minutes on well surfaced roads.  I was soon checked into my yurt – a palace by Genghis Khan’s standards!  The site is set in a glacially-formed valley floor between the main road and a fast-flowing river and is flanked by mountains – a beautiful spot.  Aito left me to sort out my things – with lunch set for 1300 – it being 1130, I had plenty of time to set up, and the Wi-Fi connection is excellent.  I got a call at 1230 from Aito enquiring of my whereabouts – I had not realised that Kirgizstan is a further hour ahead! Lunch was a fairly lavish buffet in the restaurant.  I settled for the rice and goulash option, which was very nice.  The original plan was to go for a walk this afternoon but that was shelved to do it tomorrow morning.  This gave me time to do some laundry, using the washing machine tucked away in a container behind the restaurant (Aito also wanted to take advantage of this facility).  I didn’t have too much dhobi as I had been hand washing my shirts etc (always dried overnight).  So, a useful admin afternoon!  In addition, it had been apparent that the good weather was breaking with a much cloudier start to the day.  By mid afternoon there were dark, black clouds engulfing the peaks above us and thunder was rumbling around them with a strong wind blowing up the valley from the southwest.  There was a smattering of rain on and off.  Glad we weren’t walking!  I managed to catch up with things with a decent connection and made to supper at 1900.  Another buffet with chicken and/ Chinese beef with mashed potatoes!  I discovered that Umrat lived near Bishkek, was a builder by trade, was married and had 3 youngsters between 14 and 22 (a girl and 2 boys).  After supper, which was really nice, Aito was determined to show me a movie of the recent Asian Summer Games which had been hosted by Kirgizstan 31 Aug-5 Sep this year.  106 nations took part and they happen every 2 years – not something that’s been on my calendar but the opening ceremony was an interesting insight into Central Asian culture – and really spectacular in parts.  One of the sports I was introduced to was ‘Blue Wolf’ a traditional nomad sport conducted on horseback with, originally, a live wolf as the ‘ball’ which had to be collected from the ground by one of riders, who were in teams of 4.  The objective then was to get the wolf into hole in the centre of one of the cylindrical ‘large bollards’, which was the goal at either end of the pitch.  There didn’t seem to be an option to pass the wolf as it weighs about 30kg – so it had to be grabbed, tussled with by friend and foe.  This resulted in what looked like a permanent ruck/scrum on horseback – I wouldn’t want to be the refree!  The game I had to watch of course was the one where the Kirgiz beat the Kazakhs 12-0, much to Aito’s glee. The game is now played with a stuffed goat carcass – just in case you were wondering.  Apparently, there are quite a few international teams outside Central Asia – for a start Russia and the USA (naturally, D Trump is a world authority on the sport!!).  Well, an entertaining way to finish the day!  I walked back to my yurt with the wind gusting strongly – now on my back from the North down the valley;  the ¾ moon was obliterated by scudding black clouds.  I was met by two well-fed dogs outside my yurt – probably hoping to be invited in, sorry guys!

Sun 20 Sep: Fitful but comfortable night – tried out my silk liner, which proved OK but always a struggle to get in and out of it in the middle of the night!  Woke early despite losing another hour, the strongish winds had not abated and it was quite cloudy.  Made breakfast for 0800 then packed ready for the mornings hike – departing at 0930 with Umrat.  We drove up the valley for about 3km and then Aito and I set off into the woods on a broad gravel track.  Aito is a really nice and decent young man, who is bright and well organised but he is not a forthcoming guide, examples of what I mean are:

A.‘Mr Kerr how far do you want to walk today?’ G. ‘Er well that depends on what the terrain is like, what there is to see and really how long have we got as I am in your hands’.  Decision was already made which was fine so …

G.‘Could you tell me what we are actually doing and going to see.’ A. ‘Salt spring just behind that mountain.’  G.’OK is there any wildlife in these mountains?’  A. ‘Yes – Cranes.’ G.’ Are those birds that migrate over the Himalayas.’  A. ‘That’s right’.  G. ‘There not here now are they?’  A. ‘No!’  G. ‘I suspect they arrive in early Summer and only stay a short while.’ A. ‘That’s right, about 2 weeks.’  G. ‘Any other wildlife perchance?’ A. ‘Oh yes, snow leopard, wolves, falcons, eagles …’  We sort of got there in the end!   Actually, we didn’t see anything during our 2 hour really enjoyable hike which was all above 6000ft in some spectacular Alpine country.  The forest free land was much greener than in Kazakhstan – the livestock (the usuals – sheep, horses and cattle … they don’t go for goats, not sure why) were not present this late in the year.  We followed the large fast flowing stream up the glacial valley – its waters moving rapidly over the rocky moraine strewn bed.  As ever, the sound of the water is pervasive and quite hypnotic and the white-water crests flickered and glistened in the bright sunshine.  The clouds had virtually disappeared bar a few white, puffy cumulus and we were sheltered from any wind in this valley.  The going was easy and we climbed about another 1000ft steadily on good tracks and paths.  The mountains are part of the Tien Sian massif which starts in China and comprise mainly limestone which has been lifted by the collision of the Asian and Indian plates about 50 million years ago.  You could see the sloping limestone exposed in several places en route.  There was nothing much to see at the salt springs – we continued on up the valley until we found a fossilised shell on a piece of rock.  The views were quite spectacular, there were several shepherds’ huts, which are usually occupied during the summer months when the livestock are up in the hills.  Typically, the shepherding is man’s work, as is tending fields and livestock; the women manage the homestead and do the weaving.  We retraced our steps seeing a few vehicles heading up the track as we descended. We got to the main road at about midday – so a two-hour round-trip.  Aito had planned to walk back to our camp – I asked him how far that was – 3km along the tarmac… very boring.  He said that he would call Umrat once he got a signal – by the time the latter appeared I guess we had covered about 1km.  I was quite grateful as I felt the time could be better spent.  Indeed, upon return I took advantage of the only bike on site and went for a short spin down the valley on the road.  The wind had reduced to a gentle breeze and the sun shone unimpeded from a now blue sky – a very pleasant interlude prior to packing my cases and joining the other two whilst they ate lunch (I declined as I had enjoyed a good breakfast).  We left the camp heading for Karakol at about 1400 and it was a great trip – initially through the mountains on gravel tracks, some really dramatic views.  We then descended into a huge valley which was being extensively cultivated – potatoes were being extracted, maize was ripening (for livestock only), the arable crops were already harvested and, apparently, apples, apricots, cherries and watermelon are grown.  We remained on gravel very dusty roads most of the time – dodging herds of cows and sheep on several occasions.  Roadworks became increasingly extensive as we got nearer Karakol – a couple of Germans, whom I had met at the Comfort Guest House in Altyn Emel had mentioned that most of the roads in Kyrgyzstan were being worked on… how right they were thus far!  I was dropped at my guest house in one of the suburbs of Karakol at 1630, but had to be ready for our boat trip in 30 minutes, which included a swim!  No problem – we stopped at garage to refill (petrol this time) and I bought some drinks for the trip.  We were doing a sort of sunset ‘cruise’ on Lake Isyk Kol – the second largest mountain lake in the world (180km long, 60km max width and 700m deep with about 100 rivers flowing into it – none out!) – the largest is Titicaca. We parked up and descended a rough path to the shoreline and our craft was waiting for us – we were the sole occupants of this rather ancient looking vessel but we were soon underway.  There was nothing very smart about the shoreline – a hangover from Soviet times.  In all cases the photos paint the picture.  However, it was lovely to be out on the water – sadly the mountains to the south were largely shrouded in cloud.  We enjoyed our drinks and then the captain turned back and heaved-to in the shelter of a headland.  We were being invited to swim – well there’s another first – a dip in the second largest high altitude lake in the world!  Having got into my trunks I was told I could not enter the water without wearing a large, old pink life-jacket – most of the ties were broken.  One felt a right prat but dived in nonetheless – the water was warmish but refreshing, Aito had joined me and he got out and took his wretched life jacket off and I followed suit so at least one could now swim. We re-embarked after a short while, dressed and we headed back to harbour.  What a day of activities!  We drove into town to enjoy a traditional meal – horsemeat and pasta Mongolian style, which was actually very nice in a smart restaurant – all washed down with a pint of Kirgiz beer.  I was dropped off at my residence only to find there was a power cut, thank goodness for my phone torch – I was able to unlock the padlock to get into my room.  Fortunately, power was restored shortly afterwards  – enabling me to write up and digest my horse!  What a day!

The Hike

En Route to Karakol

Boat Trip

Mon 21 Sep:  No dogs so I slept until 0545 – a very comfortable night.  We were not due to start our tour until 1000, so I had booked my breakfast for 0900, after the large group that were staying had departed.  A leisurely start to the day and I caught up with some reading.  Aito phoned to say that he was suffering from an allergy and we wouldn’t start the tour until 1100 – excellent more reading!  Both Lonely Planet and Peter Francopan give some great background.  We started the tour with the Holy Trinity Cathedral which has had a chequered history … as has Central Asia as a whole!  It was first constructed in 1865 as Tsarist Russia expanded their influence in Central Asia – it was initially a felt construction.  After the earthquake in 1895, which destroyed most of the city’s comparatively fragile adobe buildings, reconstruction took place using wood.  The cathedral was no exception – modelled on the Zenkov cathedral in Almaty but using nails this time!  During the Soviet era the cathedral domes were removed and the building was used vicariously as a sports school, cinema, a club and it was taken over by vagrants on occasion.  It was finally handed back to the Russian Orthodox community post-independence in 1992 and has since been gradually restored architecturally. We picked up an iced latte in a very smart cake and coffee shop en route to the Dungan Mosque.  The Dungan community were Hui people living predominantly in Xinjiang province (NW China) – as Muslims they were being oppressed by the largely Buddhist Chinese.  With the failure of the Hui revolt in the mid-1880s three groups set off to find new homes in Central Asia; this exodus occurred over the severe winter of 1887/8 – many died en route.  One group finally settled near Karakol and erected a mosque in the style of a Buddhist temple built with local pinewood, without any nails.  It is used today and is a fascinating example of mixed religion architecture.  We moved on to the Przhevalsky Memorial Park named after the redoubtable Russian explorer, Nicholai Prhzevalsky, who died of typhoid at the age of 49 in 1888 in Karakol. It may not be the best kept park in the world but it is a delightful haven with his tomb and impressive monument overlooking the Issyk Kul lake, which was his dying wish.  The small museum is really worth a visit and one departs recognising what a phenomenal explorer Przhevalsky was in leading 4 epic journeys through Mongolia, China and Central Asia between 1870 and 1885.  The Tsar decreed that Karakol should be renamed Przhevalsky in his honour; it remained so called, with a short interregnum, until after independence.  So on to Reina Kench’s eco-farm near the village of Tepke in the hinterland to the east of the city.  This is a family-owned business which has been carved out of the semi-arid landscape surrounding one of the major rivers flowing into the Issyk Kul – a great visit it was too.  The business mainstays are livestock (yes sheep, cattle and horses but with specialisations in Arashan sheep (giant variety, bred and developed in Kyrgyzstan) and horse breeding and rearing – racehorses and local steppe breeds).  As far as I could see the huge amount of hay was the main arable product (for winter feeding their livestock) but there was also horticulture in the form of apples, strawberries and raspberries. In addition, they ran a smart looking accommodation block with an excellent restaurant – the lunch we had was far and away the best meal I’ve had since arriving in Central Asia – all the food was organic home produce and the water came from their artesian well!  We made our way back to the city, picking up another delicious, iced latte from another smart venue.  Karakol is the fourth largest city in Kyrgzstan and is the regional capital of the Issyk Kul district with a population of circa 85K. It is probably Kyrgyzstan’s most ethnically and culturally diverse city comprising mainly Kyrgyz but including significant other groups – Russians (17%), Uyghurs (3.9%), and Dungans being the main ones but other minorities include Tatars, Uzbeks, Ukrainians and Kazakhs.  It’s a paradoxical mixture in appearance and flavour – quite a lot of it seems fairly run down, with half built sites alongside disused crumbling buildings countered by some very modern shops, apartments and administrative buildings.  Some of the roads are excellent but one frequently turns off those onto unmade gravel streets.  Its economy is based upon government administration and tourism. Upon return to my guesthouse, I had about three hours prior to going out to have supper with a Dungan family … more food!  I started today’s blog and then read for a while.  We departed at about 1920 – already dark and spitting with rain!  The final few streets to our destination were unmade and the house we went into was unprepossessing from the outside but the interior was immaculate – we sat round a table in the kitchen dining room area – the white goods were all very modern (probably from Russia).  The wife, Sofia, was of Russian stock but had married a Dungan man and had converted to Islam – but the family were relaxed (I had a beer, the 18 year old daughter did not wear a hijab).  The food was delicious – typical of NW China – quite spicy but beautifully cooked and presented.  Conversation was through Aito and after the meal Sofia gave me a short talk on the Dungans and their traditions around marriage – which was both interesting and amusing.  An insightful and interesting evening – a privilege to have the opportunity to be welcomed into someone’s home.  It was raining still when we departed at about 2145 – reflecting upon another varied and fulsome day.

Przhevalsky Park & Museum

Reine Kench Farm

Tue 22 Sep:  Another easy start as we were not setting off until 1000 – so I finished my blog and uploaded it, packed, showered and went down for breakfast at 0950.  I’m not sure that more food was justified but I managed it! Aito kindly lifted my cases downstairs and we loaded the car and headed off to a supermarket as Aito wanted to get some snacks for lunch.  The supermarket was a bit like a warehouse with high shelving, which was well stocked with a wide variety of goods including plenty of alcohol, reflecting on the relaxed nature of Islam here.  We moved on to Pushkin Park which had been established in Soviet times and then fallen into disrepair.  It has undergone a major uplift recently and is looking really quite smart with a range of activity facilities.  It was a bright fine morning with little sign of last night’s rainfall, upon returning the car we headed for the hills initially heading west along the road which ran to the south of the lake.  It was subject to major roadworks nearly all the way until our turn off to the south towards our destination, Jety Oguz Gorge.  This road was also victim of major roadworks!  I felt for Umrat with the poor surface and prevalent dust plus there was a steady stream of traffic in both directions – anyway we reached our destination in fairly wide valley flanked by distorted, impressive cliffs of red sandstone.  The soft rock had been configured firstly in an earthquake and then eroded by wind and water to create some remarkable shapes.  Two famous legends of tragedy emanate from amongst these cliffs and outcrops.  The first is of the broken heart (see photo) the cliffs were split asunder when a love triangle ended with the two suitor warriors (and erstwhile friends), who were in love with the same beautiful women, set about fighting each other.  The women died of grief/shock (?) resulting in the rock outcrop breaking in two symbolising shattered hearts and endless sorrow that ensued.  Are you ready for the next one ‘The Seven Bulls’ … an evil, greedy Khan falls in love with a neighbouring khan’s wife and decides to kidnap her, sparking a bloody war.  The evil Khan’s advisors seeking to end the war without having to return the woman alive, suggested that he should kill the wife and return the body.  The Khan was impressed with the idea and organised a massive funeral feast at which he slaughtered 7 bulls.  As the last bull died, he plunged his knife into the heart of kidnapped wife.  Whereupon her crimson blood gushed out soaking the surrounding cliffs.  The boiling blood and water flooded the valley drowning the evil Khan and his court.  The skins of the slaughtered bulls petrified and formed the seven bulls that can be seen to this day.  Some say that the rock where the woman was murdered split into the shape of her bleeding, broken heart!  Well, enough excitement for one day, what!  The views were spectacular and the village below was an interesting mixture of some well-to-do large houses and ramshackle dwellings – a sanitorium was also under construction.  The surrounding hills and valleys were the domain of shepherds and livestock during the summer months.  Aito and I walked up a tributary gorge which was quite impressive and then we found a great picnic spot by the river.  Aito was well-equipped with picnic chairs, a table and an excellent cooker.  We enjoyed an hour or so by the turquoise-grey river that sped down the valley from its glacial sources way up in the mountains.  We were joined by a pair of dogs and a few, free-range chickens and a cockerel – all of whom reckoned there were easy pickings around!  They weren’t wrong!  Having packed up we headed back north to the lakeside, main road and headed off to a carpet ‘factory’.  This turned out to be a homestead factory with 3 elderly women keeping alive the Kyrgyz, nomad art of carpet making from wool and felt.  It was an interesting and fun interlude for an hour and half.  There were another couple of Brits visiting, both from Harrogate and they had a British guide, who was married to a Kyrgyz woman and living in Karakul.  The guide had spent 5 years in Kings Troop, so we had a bit of banter, which was fun.  I was presented with a small gift prior to departing and I will let the photos paint the picture more fully.  Having departed we were back on the main roadworks heading west – we finally got onto the finished four-lane highway which was tremendous and when the rest is finished, what a road it will be.  After about 40 minutes we arrived at our Oimo-Tash campsite perched on the shoreline of the lake – brilliant spot and I’m back in a luxurious yurt again.  Just time to sort myself out prior to supper at 1900 in the restaurant, which was packed – obviously a popular spot.  Aksai Travel, the firm which run the camp at Karkara, were also doing so here; I can highly recommend them.  Supper was a buffet affair with much of the usual fayre, which, as ever, was very nice.  I retired to write up and reflect upon a varied, enjoyable and interesting day.

Pushkin Park

Jety Oguz Gorge … of Tragedy

The ‘Carpet Factory’

Wed 23 Sep:  I awoke early having slept pretty well – I was due at breakfast at 0800 so listened to the radio for a while then did some stretching exercises – it was an overcast morning but still quite warm.  We were not due to leave until 1000 for our eagle hunting session, so I finished off uploading yesterday’s blog.  We headed off west on the main road but turned off shortly towards the lake following a graded track into a valley between two low hills.  There were some other people finishing off their session, which included eagles, dogs and archery!  The pair of blokes who ran my session were delightful and it was an interesting plus entertaining session.  They like to catch their eagles (in a net) when they are about two month’s old – for ease of training.  They tend to use females, which are the larger, weighing-in up to 9kg (males are around 5kg) – as such the hunting is predominantly (but not exclusively) done by the female.  It takes around 4 months to train the eagle to hunt at man’s behest.  There sight is their prime means of locating prey – with vision up to 2km!!  They kill swiftly with one heavily taloned claw going for the neck whilst the other squeezes the heart of the victim.  My attempt to video the demonstration hunt was a complete failure but it was hugely impressive watching the eagle being released from the top of the hill to our south home in on the ‘prey’ being dragged in front of us and then swooping in for the ‘kill’ – there is a shot of a very pleased looking eagle having killed a ‘jackal’.  I was then invited to pose on the horse with the eagle – with the appropriate headgear of course – at least I did not embarrass myself getting on and off the horse, which was thankfully delightfully docile!! I am not sure that I am up to be recruited into the Golden Horde! The Taigan dogs, which are a Kyrgyz breed used exclusively for hunting – lithe, fast and they can go for 15km – again an impressive demonstration of a dragged rabbit being hunted down.  Finally, it was the archery – our man put all 5 arrows into the bullseye – I managed to get two on target, Aito got three.  Then to put us all to shame our man shot at the frisbee-like disc as it was thrown into the air – hitting all five as they reached their apogee!  A splendid morning’s entertainment.  We called into the village where Aito was brought up – it was just nearby and he wanted to get something from the supermarket – plus show me his home.  In my view it was more of a town with a population of 25,000.  His mother still teaches at one of the schools and he showed me where he went to school.  Schooling runs for all children between 7 and 18; they are breaking away from the old, outdated Soviet system and textbooks – but it’s taking a while.  We got back to the camp for lunch – I just had a snack, but both my boys had two heaped platefuls of what was on offer in the buffet!  We set off again at 1345 heading for the Fairytale Canyon, which took us about 20 minutes to get there.  This was another red sandstone emporium with the sandstone eroded into a wide variety of shapes and switchbacks – all more accessible than Jety Oguz as the hills were lower.  Indeed, it could be misconstrued as a Disneyland set!  With ‘castles’, sleeping dragons, gremlins et al which, with imagination can all be found in distorted, sandstone landscape – amazing what wind and water can achieve!  We headed off for the Barskoon Valley which was just under an hour from the Canyon.  Again, we turned off the road to the south and went on to road that was being subjected to major roadworks again.  This seemed odd as we were heading up a glacially formed valley with increasingly steep sides leading up to lofty peaks above us.  Naturally, there was a fast flowing glacially-fed river powering down towards Issyk Kul.  Upon enquiring about the road improvement contractor, Aito informed me that they were all Chinese – all the roadworks we had experienced were being done by Chinese firms and Chinese workers (shades of Africa).  Aha evidence of the New Silk Road!  Particularly in the case of the Barskoon Valley as one of the major gold mining areas is at the head of the valley.  The mine used to be run by a Canadian company but post-independence the gold mining industry has been nationalised.  It was raining gently as we progressed up the valley and the snowcapped mountains, which dominated the far distance to our front, were often wreathed in nimbus clouds which scudded amongst their peaks.  We came to a rough car park area, upon disembarking Aito and I set off to see a couple of waterfalls tucked into the steep pine covered slopes to our west.  Again, we were setting off at over 6000ft and climbed another few hundred to get to the first waterfall – steady plod.  This was known as Manas Cup as a bowl had been carved out of the rock just opposite us.  The rock was once again limestone so much less eroded and purely by water.  Manas is a legendary figure from the mists of time in Kyrgyz history and the subject of the world’s longest poem (2M words) – it’s an epic (as you will discover if you decide to Google it!).  We descended a short distance and then traversed across an intermediate spur and made our way up the next valley to the Snow Leopard’s Tears waterfall.  Both were highly impressive.  At the latter we met a group of Malayan tourists, who had just visited UK (London, Glasgow and Cardiff – they hadn’t heard of Dorset!).  Once a few pictures had been taken (after the Malays had left) we descended to the car park, the rain had eased up and as we got to the bottom there was a group of elderly local folks who called me over to welcome me to Kyrgyzstan!  Aito did some interpreting but they insisted that we drank vodka together and then had several group photographs.  What fun it all was – the advantage of travelling on your own.  We regained our car and set off back to camp.  I did some washing, showered and read and dozed for half an hour prior to supper.  After which I set to on today’s blog – reflecting on an actioned packed day.

Fairytale Canyon

Barskoon Valley

Fri 24 Sep:  Not such a good night as I have developed a streaming cold and something disagreed with my stomach … all part of life’s rich travels but didn’t get much sleep.  Decided to skip breakfast so packed and was ready to go by 0900.  It was an overcast dull day, with the mountains shrouded in clouds – we were heading for Bishkek via the tower at Burana.  The roads were predominantly very good as we made our way to Balykchy at the western end of the Issy Kul.  There wasn’t much to see so unusually I dozed for a while.  We topped up at Balykchy which was a large light-industrial town; there was a single track railway which ran to Bishkek but the journey took about 4 hours according to Aito.  Shortly after leaving the city we entered a gorge with fairly steep sided hills on either side; the road wove its way down steadily for several miles until we emerged into another vast plain.  It was one of the driest areas in Kyrgyzstan but the soil apparently is naturally quite fertile so with irrigation farming was highly successful – as we could see by the  crops, orchards and some pasture.  We turned off south at Tok Mok to visit the Burana Tower, which is a UNESCO site as it is one of the oldest architectural sites in Central Asia.  It is basically   the only remaining construction from the city of Balasagun, established by the Karakhanid Turkic people in the 10^th century as an important trading centre on the Silk Road.  The city lasted from about 940-1212AD – with the demise of the Old Silk Road and earthquakes it never recovered; nevertheless, what remains of the tower (it was 45 high, now 25) is architecturally important. Aito and I wandered round the site and the small museum – interesting but not gripping.  We then pressed on to Bishkek, which took about an hour – Aito was very keen that I should join him for a haircut at his tame barbers!  The traffic was dense so progress was slow – Bishkek is the capital of Kyrgyzstan and was established in 1825; post the Bolshevik victory it was renamed Frunze (after the Bolshevik general who was born in the city).  It reverted to Bishkek post-independence.  Aito pointed out various buildings, in particular the university which he is attending.  We had our haircuts – he had a facial too!  I am not sure that ‘a trim’ is in a Kirgiz barber’s lexicon!  I don’t think I will need another haircut this side of Christmas – but he took a lot of trouble – as well as a lot of hair!  It took a while to reach the Garden Hotel, which is comfortable and well appointed.  I decided not join Aito and Umrat for a restaurant meal – I deliberately had only drunk water thus far during the day and was feeling better.  I caught up with a bit of sleep and then finally found the restaurant and enjoyed some soup and a salad.  I met a delightful Danish couple who were doing a group tour – he was waiting treatment for a DVT, we agreed that it was a relief that a seemingly sensible agreement had been reached between Trump, Denmark and Greenland …. But you never know!

Fri 25 Sep:  Better night’s sleep – Happy Birthday Graham!!  Surfaced at 0800 and sorted myself out for the day’s adventures. Had breakfast which was a buffet that looked fabulous but was sugar intensive! Crisis because the coffee machine was broken!  Met Aito in the lobby at 0900, moved out to the wagon, then he and Umrat wished me an effusive ‘Happy Birthday’, very touching.  Having pointed up the ‘crisis’ we moved directly to a coffee shop prior to making our way to the Ala Archa national park in the mountains which dominate Bishkek from its south.  It was a brilliantly sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky; the snow-capped peaks looked majestic gleaming in the sunshine.  It was slow progress in the traffic as we made our way out of the city, we passed the new presidential palace – really smart!  I had tired of Kirgiz music so had downloaded best of Queen to celebrate my birthday – We Will Rock You got both Aito and Umrat going! Once clear of the city we were immediately into the foothills of the Alps covered in short brown grass.  The Ala Archa national park is 165 sq km in area and is specifically and alpine ‘resort’ but no skiing – climbing and hiking.  ‘Archa’ is Kirgiz for juniper, bushes of which abound on the slopes and has a special place in local folklore – its medicinal benefits as well as its ability to ward off evil spirits – such as gin, I mused! The park was created in 1976 and there are some 50 mountain peaks (several well over 4000m, highest being 4895m) with 20 odd small and large glaciers, making it an alpinist’s dream, as these mountains are readily accessible.  The park has been modernised brilliantly over recent years – there is a central car park well down from the main area, which is accessed by buses only, which run up to the cable car and several other facilities, all of which are bright and modern – this has significantly reduced the carbon footprint of traffic that used to pile up the track (which is now a good road).  We went up the cable car for some stunning views and then walked up the valley for an hour or so prior to returning to the car park – I’ll let the photos speak but the red squirrels abounded and I spotted one gorgeous butterfly! I declined the option to see yet another waterfall, which was a steep climb and would take 2 hours more!  Once we met up with Umrat we set of in the car to return to the city – more Queen en route .. Aito fell asleep.  I had been mightily impressed with park, the way it had been set up and the scenery was stunning.  Once back in the city Aito walked me around several of the central sites and we chatted over things.  Given that Kyrgyzstan has undergone 3 revolutions (2005, 2010 and 2020) since independence – with the 2010 one being bloody resulting 86 deaths of ‘revolutionaries’.  One may be forgiven for assessing that that Kyrgyzstan’s political system is volatile and unstable.  I didn’t get that impression talking to Aito (bear in mind that he is 21 and suitably representative of the young population – running a student’s union at his university in Bishkek).  He firmly believes that the revolutions have been a huge success for democracy and that the current president has transformed the constitution for the better as well as rooting out corruption.  The parliament has 90 members (no party system, just representing their ‘constituency’), the executive is the president and the judiciary is independent.  In his view, the judiciary and rule of law work well and the police do a great job.  He was very upbeat about the direction in which the country is going – it’s normally the young who start the revolutions?  All very encouraging – what about Russia?  He regards Russia as an old uncle – they are a major trading partner (Turkey and China being the other two main ones).  There are still a large number of Russians living in Kyrgyzstan but assimilated as Kirgiz – Russian is the second language.  Regardless, Kirgiz people treasure and maintain their absolute independence.  We finished the tour at the central mosque – which at a glance is a replica of Sinan’s Blue Mosque in Istanbul – unsurprisingly as Turkey funded its building and provided all the material to do so.  It is magnificent and was completed in 2018 having taken 6 years in construction. Back to Kirgiz music returning to the hotel … for a quiet pint and decent meal in the restaurant … a birthday to remember.  Had lovely messages and calls during the evening.

Ala Archa Park

Bishkek

Sat Sep 26:  We were due to leave at 0930 and as I woke reasonably early, I decided to venture to the gym which I eventually found in the basement – actually pretty well equipped.  The wife of the Dane with the DVT was conducting a lively session.  I didn’t have that much time but felt better for a short sharp workout.  Returned to my room uploaded yesterday’s blog and then packed ready for departure.  I had just showered and dressed when Aito came to collect my baggage at 0920 – we went down together and he took it all to the car whilst I had a quick breakfast, having settled my bill – £39.15 for both meals, beer and small (aircraft size) bottle of wine.. excellent value.  We set off and initially the traffic was not too bad – the day was warm and bright but hazy, indeed the mountains were sort of silhouetted in the haze.  First stop was for coffee – my round and then we found an ATM to top up my cash.  Once underway it seemed to take an age to clear the city suburbs – I had noted that petrol cost about £1 a litre, so relatively expensive, fuel supply is from Russia. The suburbs were a mixture of quite modern and a bit ramshackle, once clear of them we headed south towards the mountains, the surrounding land being reasonable for farming.  We soon hit the foothills and entered a valley which narrowed to more of a gorge with our road following the inevitably gushing river and cris-crossing it several times.  The valley sides were steep and increasingly becoming higher, with limestone rock faces and scree slopes precluding much vegetation.  We progressed along the fairly bumpy, single-carriageway road meandering, sometimes sharply, towards the snowy peaks which could be glimpsed in the far distance (only on occasions).  After a fair time, we began the climb towards the Tuu Ashuu pass (3586m) in initially a series of long sweeping hairpins with relatively gentle gradients.  The latter became steeper and the bends tighter as we climbed and the snow-covered peaks became clearly in view.  The original track/road was carved out in 1865 and improved over the years; judging by some of the protective short tunnel ways and some of the road surface – further improvements are required!  Particularly, because it is a busy road with a constant stream of large lorries and every other sort of vehicle using it as it connects the north to the south of Kyrgyzstan.  An added hazard today was the not infrequent herds of sheep, cattle and horses being shepherded along their way! The scenery was highly impressive and the views quite dramatic.  The temperature dropped significantly but commensurately with our climb.  There clearly had been a fresh snow fall overnight and most of the upper spurs were quite white. I enquired as to whether this road was kept open throughout the winter – Aito assured me that it was – quite a task I assumed. The apogee of the pass goes through a 4km tunnel but traffic was stopped from entering as a herd of horses were shepherded through from the southern side!  Once they burst out of and cleared the entrance we were on our way, emerging at the far end in thick cloud!  The descent to the Suusamyr valley was significantly gentler than our ascent the other side.  The slopes were convex and the road could take more sweeping zigzags down into the huge Suusamyr valley some 700m below.  The valley ran east to west and was utilised extensively for agricultural purposes – mainly pasture but some rough arable.  The road surface improved and we were in a steady stream of traffic heading west.  We turned off onto a track heading south to find a picnic spot which we eventually found just beyond a series of semi used farm buildings.  The mountains tops, which were at a distance to both the north and south of us, were shrouded in cloud but the foothills were straw coloured.  Much to my surprise and pleasure Aito and Umrat had procured a birthday cake – Kirgiz equivalent of a Blackforest gateau, which was delicious and much enjoyed by all of us with a couple of cups of coffee!  I was very touched.  We didn’t hang around as the wind was chilly and the temperature was only about 8 degrees!  What fun though!  We set of into another steady stream of traffic heading west once we regained the main road.  The skies darkened and in began to rain, which then turned to snow!  As we started our descent through the second pass, Ala Bel (3184m), the clouds clagged in and we were in fog in driving snow for a short while.  Umrat drove really well negotiating the traffic and several steep bends – I focused on reading Ed Conway’s worrying article in Times concerned about the potential collapse of the global trading system. Was it more worrying the driving conditions?!  We emerged from the cloud and snow after not too long and into scattered showers and sunshine!  This descent was more gorge-like again, but the steep valley sides were more covered in vegetation than our morning’s ascent.  Bushes, stunted trees and some yellow brown grasses were the main contributors.  Once again, it was very impressive and naturally there was a fast-flowing river accompanying us!  At about 1600 we turned off the road to the left, crossed a sort of suspension bridge and we had arrived at our ‘motel’ – flagged up as the Oson Motel but the name on the bedspreads is The Belek Dream Hotel – the latter does sound better!  It’s in a brilliant spot right by the river and although only 2 star – it’s clean, comfortable and bijou!  Staff are lovely too! So, sort out – routine of unpacking and packing is pretty well-oiled now – Wi-Fi connection is good.  Therefore, download the photos, check emails, start writing this up and now it’s supper time – salad, beef soup followed by trout and rice in a newly built large function room.  That’s me for the night – quite a day’s driving and a memorable picnic too!

Tuu Ashuu Pass

Suusamyr Valley – Picnic

Ala Bell Pass

Chychkan Gorge – Belek ‘Hotel’

Sun 27 Sep:  Had a good night and didn’t wake until seven – sorted myself out and headed for breakfast at 0800 – it was overcast and raining.  Excellent breakfast and Aito wanted to leave at 1000 so had time to upload my blog and some photos.  However, I have now run out of storage space on WordPress and the only quick/feasible solution in my circumstances is to purchase 50GB of storage for $750 – really not worth it for my purposes, which are for it to be a daily record of events with photos.  So I will have to adopt a work around and shed photos after a few days just keeping 3 days current.  Real bore.  By the time I had attempted to upload without success it was time to go.  I packed hastily – not difficult and was out of the door at 1000.  It was pelting with rain, making more noise on the roof and trees than the white-water river.  Fortunately, I had dug out my wetproof jacket.  We set off onto the road which had a steady stream of water running down it.  The road was quite busy both ways for a Sunday as we descended further into the valley.  We were in for a roller coaster of a day’s driving dropping down and then re-ascending with the road weaving back forth with bends of varying sharpness and gradient.  The surrounding terrain was varied too – from moraine clay to sandstone to the most resilient limestone.  Sometimes we were in steep-sided gorges with rocky cliffs towering above us; upon other occasions we were winding our way over switchback spurs of clay then into a wide valley bottom for a while.  Then we had scree running up a V-shaped slopes looking formidable.  The road surface was generally fairly reasonable and Umrat handled the day’s driving really well.  We cleared the rain once we had descended into the first valley and then we started to climb again we spent a long time skirting around the perimeter of a huge reservoir which had been built in 1975 damming the country’s second largest river and flooding a huge area – 80km long, averaging 200m deep.  This was to provide both water and hydro-electricity.  Its blue-turquoise colour was enchanting with surrounding, snow-capped and cloud-strewn mountains framing the horizon beautifully (the camera has done better than me!!).  Weaving our way round by midday we were clearly following a relatively narrow inlet which meant we were ducking in and out of gorges – rather like following a turquoise snake through ever changing mountain scenery- it was awesome.  Finally, we got to a comparatively small dam, which evidently wasn’t the main one, but still produced some hydropower.  The other notable feature of the ‘serpent’ was that there were a significant number of fish farms – rearing trout apparently.  Fish had been introduced to the Kirgiz heavily carnivorous diet by the Russians.  We finally emerged into a broad valley in which lay a significantly sized town, Tash Komar; it had a single track railway line – its raison d’etre was coal mining, which became evident when we drove out to the north – it also explains why there was a railway line!  The coal was primarily for domestic and industrial use but, apparently, not for power generation.  Umrat and Aito found a supermarket to procure some picnic comestibles and then we departed – heading into rolling clay hillock covered valley with its river running south.  It was intensively utilised for agriculture – livestock and arable.  The road meandered through it criss-crossing the river on occasion and still rollercoastering but in a much gentler fashion.  We found a great picnic spot in the shade of some red-berried trees – the sky was clear now and the sun was hot so the shade was welcome.  We had a wholesome snack with some coffee and then packed up and continued our journey arriving at our homestay lodge in Sary Chelek.   This was on the banks of another fast-flowing river again – my room was quite spacious but contained three beds, which filled most of it.  It was after 1700 and supper was at 1900 so there was just time to sort myself out, connect, download photos, check emails etc prior to heading to the dinning room.  Soup, salad and beef and vegetable stew – all of which was delicious.  Umrat thought we should share a vodka or two subsequently – I couldn’t let him down .. it was fun.  Then Aito produced a film about Kurmanjan – the women who united the Kirgiz tribes in the face of the Russians (her statue was in Bishkek) – actually really well done and interesting.  So I am recording this pretty late – therefore time to bid good night.  Another exhilarating day!

Chychkan Gorge to Sary Chelek

Tash Komur – Coal Town

Picnic Site & Beyond

Mon 28 Sep:  Surprisingly didn’t finally awaken until 0730 – well it was quite a late one last night!  Breakfast was at 0830 so there was no panic – did some washing, showered and descended to the dining room.  Porridge, 3 fried eggs, tea and a bit of bread with some honey – set up for the day.  We set off from our village, Artyk, heading for Sary Chelek lake and nature reserve.  The park entrance was on the north exit of the village, we started up the graded track and began to climb steadily through the forested foothills of the peaks above.  There are wide variety of trees including wild apple, cherry, walnut, pistachio and pear – in amongst the pine and deciduous.  There were a number of trucks heading up and down the track and evidence of it being worked on in several places.  The views were increasingly dramatic and after a while we stopped at a viewing point, which enabled some good shots although it was a hazy day.  We shared the spot with a family gathering from the village which was amusing as they lined up for various photos.  There were also livestock roaming amongst the trees and patchy open spaces.  It was another session of hairpins and climbing but nothing Umrat couldn’t handle.  We finally arrived at the lake and parked up; the lake is 7.5km long and is 650m wide at its widest point with a depth of around 200m. We ambled down to the lakeside and there was a group of men from the village mosque on a morning out – combined with some prayers.  Having tried out my rusty Arabic I was invited to join them for some photographs!   Aito then arranged for us to go on a short boat trip, which took a while to materialise, so I continued with Francopan in the sunshine for a while.  Eventually we were summoned and made our way down a steep, somewhat hazardous footpath through the bushes – made the more so due to the rain of yesterday making the path very slick in places.  The alloy boat had seen better days and embarking was not straightforward, but we got there and sat on a bench seat with the pervasive smell of petrol enveloping us.  Luckily the helmsman didn’t smoke!!  We launched and went into the middle of the lake, which is justifiably described as one of the most beautiful sites in Kyrgyzstan – the backdrop of the snowcapped mountains, the forested foothills and the colour of the water all combine to make it enchanting … could have had a better boat!  We didn’t linger having got to the middle and hastily turned about, returning to shore at speed – it was easier getting back up the path.  The fare was $30 approx – a bit of a rip off all things considered but I am glad we did it!  The next serial was to walk to another very small lake above us and to the south – 15mins away said Aito.  Actually, he was about right – the climb was relatively easy but we were at about 1900m – also the rain had rendered the footpath quite slippery in places and one’s shoes developed Elton John soles quite quickly; all of which upped the level of difficulty.  The small lake was worth seeing; again, its setting and colour made it impressive.  We debated whether to go on to another lake – about 45mins further but with a steep climb.  I declined largely due to the slippery nature of the mud .. and actually, another lake?  So, we retired to the car park off and set off down the hill, finding a delightful picnic spot by another lake – the skies had cleared quite a bit and the sun beat down on us very pleasantly.  The picnic lunch provided by the ‘hotel’ was much enjoyed.  Having packed up and loaded the car we were about to set off when officialdom intervened in the form of park wardens.  Apparently, we had been observed and reported by someone on suspicion of us fishing (which is forbidden).  Well, they were very friendly, Aito explained that we had merely been picnicking, they conducted a rudimentary search of the vehicle and we were on our way!  The descent gave us some good views but it wasn’t long before we were back in the village and our residence at just after 1600.  A thoroughly enjoyable day’s excursion.  Time to clean up (did some dhobi), do battle with WordPress, download photos – ready for supper at 1900 – borsch and a rice dish tonight, topped off with some delicious melon.   I have permanently deleted my Antarctica Blog and all its ancillary photos – so I should have generated enough space to continue with this blog!!

Tue 29 Sep:  Again, slept until just after 0700 – no rush so did some exercises, showered and sorted out laundry for packing.  Snatched a quick breakfast at 0830 – semolina (achieved some flavour with the homemade jam) and a slice of omelette with a boiled egg too this morning.  I retired to pack and check on WordPress – yes, I had freed up 4GB of space, so I will not need to delete photographs from my current blog – yet!  We loaded the car and set off at 0930 – we retraced our route to Tash Komer, the coal town and crossed the bridge onto the main road, which was busy.  One also became aware of the size of Tash Komar as one observed it stretched out on the opposite bank of the river, there was a significant cluster of modern looking office blocks – possibly the headquarters of the mining industry.  It was a single carriageway but well surfaced road – we failed to find a coffee shop, but Aito stopped in a largish market town to purchase some items for our picnic.  The terrain had been very similar to recent days switchbacking through the hills of varying composition – clay/sandstone/limestone – so I did not take many photographs. Where the valleys broadened out there was extensive farming and generally the soil seemed to be quite fertile.  In these areas there were also a large number of poplar trees.  There was also a great number of livestock – on the road too with their horse borne shepherds trying to keep them to one side of the road or the other and invariably failing, causing significant tailbacks!  It was a bright sunny and, by now, warm day; I perused the Times, finding little encouragement there!  Come about 1300 the team were clearly looking for a picnic spot; we were running parallel to a huge rock and stone-strewn riverbed, most of which was given over to stony ground with a fairly large river meandering through this sort of a stone quarry – there were plenty of trucks collecting the goods anyway.  There was a shortage of shade amongst the stunted trees and bushes so it took us some time to find the ideal spot – we eventually came upon a suitably sized tree with sufficient overhanging branches to oblige us with a shaded picnic spot.  We enjoyed an hour or so with the fayre which Aito had purchased – all pretty unhealthy but what the hell, it was nice!  We chatted over a few things – women have equal rights but homosexuality is illegal and then, semi invited, I launched into a critique of my guide!  I gave him my honest thoughts – he is very well organised and takes sensible care to make sure his clients are well looked after.  He is bright and thinks sensibly and is well prepared.  My only criticism or recommendation was that his spoken English could be improved – he garbles his words and speaks too quickly on occasion.  I think he appreciated my honesty and he is anxious to please (but not overly so).  We spent a little longer over the picnic that intended – all to the good.  It only took us 40 mins to arrive in Arslanbob and our homestay for two nights in the depths of the largest walnut forest in the world!  The homestay is part of a small holding farmstead (the photos say it all) – my room is in the ‘study’ of the main house and we have a shared bathroom.  As ever, it is clean and comfortable and the dining room is an open-sided pergola outside … also the only place to get the internet!  So I wrapped up warm prior to the evening meal and have been working away since …. With supper appearing at 1900.  Umrat produced another bottle of vodka, which was welcome internal heating!  Aito joined us this time and we had many toasts to friendship and humanity, all of which was delightful – as was the food … soup and then beef plus local pasta.  Unfortunately, I shall not be able to listen to any radio tonight but the temperature precludes sitting in the dining area any longer!!

En Route and Homestay

Wed 30 Sep:  A comfortable night but patchy slumber, fortunately my iPad was able to connect so listened avidly to the final two episodes of the BBC’s ‘How did we get Here’ (Tristan Redman), an excellent 6 parter about the demise of the post war Rules-Based International Framework.  Breakfast was at 0830 and comprised omelette – no porridge but some drop-pancakes instead, these went well with the honey and homemade raspberry jam.  We headed off to explore Arslanbob and the waterfall at the north end of the town.  It was a bright, sunny crisp morning and the snow, splattered mountain peaks which provided the backdrop to the town, looked fabulous.  The town has a population of about 20,000 and tourism is the mainstay for the economy but the produce from the forest (walnuts mainly and pistachio), the fruit trees and integral farming – mainly livestock all provide a backup.  The tourist high season is May to August; there is a commune of homestays (we are staying in one) throughout the town and its hinterland. The buildings were of varying quality and state of repair and quite hugger-mugger. Cooking is undertaken with gas, wood, electricity and there was quite a lot of coal in evidence (suspect the latter was for heating).  We sought out the waterfall first which was impressive as were the ancillary views.  Then called into the bazaar which housed its stalls in an open square – the smells and sites were quite familiar from any sooq. Aito had explained that this area is much more devout and subject to Sharia law than in northern Kyrgyzstan; this was evident from the number of hijabs, bearded men and the school children were very smart but well covered.  Umrat meanwhile was cleaning his car so we wandered down to meet him.  We had to be back for lunch at 1200 because the lady of the house was a schoolteacher who had to work that afternoon.  We dropped her off at her school which would have been quite a trek for her otherwise – a healthy climb up from the main road into the forest, I certainly felt for the young kids attending – no taxis or school buses!  We then headed for the big waterfalls in the foothills to the north.  Once the track got too rocky and bumpy Umrat decided to go no further – fair enough.  It left us a 2km walk in on a steadily climbing vehicular track.  It was hot in the sun but the going was reasonably easy and eventually we got to the waterfalls ‘basecamp’, there was a dilapidated café area, which was hard to guess how long ago it might have been in operation.  We proceeded up a narrow canyon with stream pacing down beside us to the first waterfall and then retired to the ‘café’ to decide about viewing the second fall (a 60m drop on this one).  We met three young women, as we got back to the ‘café’, who were just making their way down to the gorge.  Aito wanted to know how I felt about the climb to the next waterfall – it was a steep path on beside a big scree slope.  My concern was not so much going up but descending is just not easy these days; adding to my problem is that I had foolishly left my pole at Sary Chelek – having cleaned upon return to the hostel I left it outside to dry … didn’t pack it!  Silly me… however even if I had it with me I wouldn’t have been that keen – it was yet another waterfall and the risk of slipping when coming down was higher than was sensible.  So, I sat it out whilst Aito went up – it was pleasant sitting in the sun looking over Arslanbob way below.  The girls returned after a short while and perched themselves in carpeted pavilion just up above me – they were having a lunch break.  I was playing a bit of online bridge on my phone but after a bit I went over to chat to them – they were all from Cologne university – one had just qualified as a doctor, the other was in final year of special needs training and third was also going to be a teacher.  They all spoke embarrassingly good English and were very friendly – one of them came from Sennelager!!  We chatted about various things – particularly our respective trips to Central Asia but the AFD came into the conversation – they were worried by it.  Aito returned and they had finished their lunch and rebooted ready to ascend from whence he had just returned!  We made our way back down the main track – received cheerful cat calls from the three fair fraulines above us … so good for morale!!  Upon re-finding Umrat, he was surrounded by a delightful gaggle of village infants – who were delighted to be photographed and Aito treated them to the remanent of yesterday’s picnic sweet items – guess who was thrilled! We proceeded down the hill passing through the town centre and headed up towards the school where we had dropped mien hostess – we passed her coming down the hill with stream of children around and following her.  We went on up the steepening hill into the hear of the forest then onto a track which took us to a brilliant viewing point overlooking the folding hills to the south.  Aito made us coffee and we sat revelling in the view as the sun went down – not a bad end to the day’s activities.  We got back to our residence at about 1830 and were told that supper would be at 1930 – just time to clean off, set up computers, download photos etc in the open dining area.  Supper was rice, with vegetables and a few bits of beef with chai – no vodka tonight.  Onto Osh tomorrow – early start but it will be good to see our first truly old silk road city.

Arslanbob

The Waterfalls and Panoramic View

Thu 1 Oct:  Woke early but listened to the radio – breakfast was due at 0700 so I got up, showered and just about finished packing prior stepping outside on time (for once!).  It was raining and the hills were swathed in cloud; it was not too cold.  The others didn’t appear until 0730 – no matter breakfast was kefir and fried eggs, which was fine.  We loaded up said our fond farewells to the husband and wife and then set off in the rain retracing our route to the valley below.  There was nothing of particular note until we got to Uzgen after a couple of hours on the road, we stopped near a tower, which appeared to be a twin to the Burana tower in Balasagun (see 24 Sep).  Uzgen, like Balasagun, was once a capital of the Karakhanid Khanate, dominating Central Asia 10^th – 13^th centuries.  This tower had also been reduced in height as a result of earthquakes and restored in the 1970s – the brickwork is rather wonderful.  This site, in addition to a small museum, had a beautifully restored mausoleum.  Aito and I spent 45 mins or so wandering around the site – we also had a up of coffee at a small café, which had opened yesterday!  We then pressed on to Osh travelling on a reasonable but busy road through the Fergana Valley – which crosses eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kirgizstan and northern Tajikistan – noted for its fertile farmlands.  We arrived in Osh at about 1230 – the oldest city in Central Asia and the burial place of Kurmanjan Datka.  First impressions of the city that the Soviet influence upon buildings and infrastructure was very apparent but the Asiatic homesteads, market stalls and quite a few hovels were abundant – a melting pot.  There were not a plethora of high-rise buildings and the condition of the streets and roads varied enormously.  We started by visiting the metalworker’s sooq which had not moved from the old central bazaar area, tucked into their cubby-hole workshops and producing every kind of metalware from horseshoes to alloy flus.  We moved on to the new bazaar area which was a huge site on the outskirts of the city – there were a vast number of stalls within the mega-warehouse like construction, where you could probably by anything that had ever been created providing you could track the vendor down!  The retail infrastructure which was being built around the bazaar was phenomenal in size and aspiration! We had a pasty-like snack (a small pastry coated ensemble of potato, onions and meat) to keep us going and then headed for the Suleiman Mountain (commonly known as Solomon’s Throne) – an impressive limestone ridge which dominates the whole city.  It has been deemed a holy mountain since Shaman times and has been adopted as a place of worship by the Muslims.  Its dominating position attracted the earliest settlements in Osh.  We walked the length of the stepped walkway contouring below the peaks; we went into the cave museum which displayed some interesting historical artifacts – the setting was fascinating and well done.  We completed our journey to the viewing point at the eastern end of the ridge.  The overview of the city was fabulous and there was also a small mosque named after Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynastic in India – he reputedly prayed on this site prior to moving south.  We finished our tour by descending the vast number of steps down to the university at the bottom of them, where Umrat was awaiting us.  There was an excavation site just at the entrance which Aito told me was a sauna and baths area.  They dropped me at the Classic hotel in the centre of town and I settled into a very comfortable room on the 5^th floor – nice to have my own bathroom!  I did some dhobi, sorted out my photos etc and then showered to make myself ready for 1830 as the boys were picking up to go to a restaurant for our final evening together – it was raining again but luckily the day had been dry when we needed it so!  I got to the lobby as the boys appeared and we set off into the city.  The restaurant was nearby and providing Chinese-Central Asian fayre.  Aito ordered a few dishes and then made a speech, finishing off by presenting me with a small package of gifts, including a Kirgiz national hat – I’ll certainly cut a dash in Stockbridge high street!  Seriously kind and overly generous – I responded in kind but with out a gift package (tips will be forthcoming tomorrow).  The meal was lovely – it was my treat with a vodka for Aito and myself, the very least I could do as they have been excellent company and very generous.  We didn’t linger – they were quite keen to get their heads down because having dropped me at the border tomorrow at 1000hrs they are heading back to Bishkek – a 12-hour journey!!  Then Umrat’s next job starts on Saturday!  I don’t envy either of them.  I ordered a beer upon return to my hotel and then set about finishing today’s blog – reflecting upon a wonderful 20 days with Aito, Victor and Umrat – but particularly upon the incredible scenery and the welcoming nature of the Kazach and Kirgiz people… onto the next phase of this adventure! How lucky am I?

Uzgen

Osh Bazaars

Suleiman Mountain

Fri 2 Oct:  Up in good time to update my blog and finish packing – it was grey overcast and raining outside.  I manoeuvred myself to the lift with my cases and descended to the lobby to meet Aito who took charge of my baggage, leaving me free to have a swift breakfast. Subsequently, I joined them in the waiting car and we made our way through the outskirts of the city to the border post where we waited until my guide in Uzbekistan had arrived at the far side.  After about 20mins it was time to go – I had given my tips, with which they seemed well pleased – so just some fond farewells and I trundled off the border post with my cases.  I had been well served by both of them..