Kyrgyzstan Trip Log (last one, I promise): Day 6 - Horseback riding in the Chon Kemin Valley and a brief look at modern education in Kyrgyzstan

The Dining Hall (2nd floor) of the Ashu Guest House

We spent our final Morning in Kyrgyzstan in the Chon Kemin Valley at the pleasantly rustic Ashu Guest House.  The Ashu Guest House is a wonderfully charming farm-type establishment with wooden furniture, traditional decor, and a dining hall with great food and an even better view of the mountains.

In the morning, we went for a horseback ride into the hills overlooking the valley.  After lunch, we stopped by a small private Russian School.  The school, built by private funding (some coming from the guest house where we stayed) is working to provide quality education to the children of Chon Kemin Valley.  They have a beautiful building with spacious classrooms, a computer lab, and a beautiful valley to explore and learn in.  It seems oddly fitting that a bunch of school teachers would end their mountain holiday visiting a school.

The Russian School in the Chon Kemin Valley

As this is the final post for the Kyrgyzstan trip, I would like to thank Kyrgyz Concept for an amazing trip, and to give a shout out to the excellent accommodations at the Asia Mountains Hotel in Bishkek, the Green Yard guest house in Karakol and the Ashu Guest House, in Chon Kemin, and all of their wonderful employees who made our trip fantastic.

P.S. I'll add a picture of me on "mocha" my Kyrgyz horse when I manage to get one off one of my friends' cameras.

Kyrgyzstan Trip Log: Day 4 and 5 - Around the Lake

The fourth and fifth days of our trip took us along the northern shore of Issyk Kul to the eastern town of Karakol and then along the southern shore of the lake to the Chon Kemin valley.  On the northern shore of the lake, we stopped at a Scythian burial site where there were a number of burial mounds or "Kurgans" before continuing our drive around the lake. 

A northward view near the Issyk Kul's torpedo testing site

We arrived in the town of Karakol around noon.  Karakol is Kyrgyzstan's fourth largest city.  It boasts a TSUM, a collection of colleges (including a teacher's college), and two significant religious sights.   It is known to have a great ski resort, and also as the sight for Soviet submarine underwater torpedo tests during the Soviet Era.

Two men talking outside the Mosque

One of Karakol's most picturesque sites is the Dungan Mosque.  This Mosque was built of peg and beam construction in 1910 by the Chinese-Muslim "Dungan" population in Karakol.  Along with several other monuments in town, the mosque reflects traditional Chinese architectures, and has exquisitely detailed wood carvings both inside and out. 

The other major religious site in Karakol is the Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral.  Like the Mosque (and the Zhenkov Cathedral in Almaty), the Cathedral was built using peg and beam construction.  It was constructed in 1895 and was used primarily as a Dance and meeting hall during Soviet times.  Several Original furnishings and decorations were saved from destruction by members of the congregation of this church.

Holy Trinity Cathedral in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Karakol is also home to the grave and memorial museum of the great Russian explorer Nikolai Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky.  Przhevalsky made several expeditions during the nineteenth century from Russia, through China and Central Asia in an attempt to reach Tibet.  He died in Karakol before accomplishing his goal.

Memorial Przhevalsky constructed within sight of the lake.

On the fifth day of our trip, we drove westward along the southern shore of Lake Issyk Kul.  We stopped briefly in valley called Jety Oguz which our guide said means "seven bulls."  About halfway up the valley is a picturesque red-rock formation that looks like a broken heart when looking up the valley, but looks like seven rushing bulls when looking at the opposite side.  So as one final thought before ending this post, I leave you with two pictures and a question.

The broken heart

The Seven Bulls

The Question.

Tomorrow's Post:  Kyrgyzstan Trip Log: Day 6 - Horseback riding in the Chon Kemin Valley and Experimental Education in Kyrgyzstan (I know it's a long title, but it is the last one for the Kyrgyzstan trip.  I think you'll survive).

Kyrgyzstan Trip Log: Day 3 - A romp in mountain pastures.

Often while I am looking out my window in Almaty, I wonder where I would end up if I were to just climb the mountains I see and then climb over the mountains behind those and the ones behind those.  The truth is, I'd probably end up dead because I don't have the training or the experience to pull off an expedition like that.  But if I didn't die, and if I was really, really lucky, I might end up walking down Grigoryev gorge toward lake Issyk Kul.

The third day of our trip was occupied entirely by a hike up Grigoryev Gorge.  The road we followed eventually turns into a trail through the mountains to Almaty.  Our guide told us that this particular trail takes 5-10 days to hike depending on the skill of the hikers but that they can't lead groups over the trail right now because the governments of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have not worked out how they will handle the visas.

This day was by far my favorite of the trip.  We followed a glacial stream through wooded hillsides and mountain pastures now empty for the winter.  The edges of the gorge were dusted with fresh snow.  Cool, clean air refreshed and energized with every breath and a glorious sun shone in a beautiful blue sky.

We walked along for nearly three hours, stopping to chat with a Kyrgyz cowboy in search of his errant herd, leaping across small snow-fed brooks cascading down the canyon walls, and stopping to take photographs of the breathtaking scenery.  At last, through the trees we spotted our lunch spot, a tiny Alpine lake, half frozen in the late autumn chill.  We found a stray glacial boulder, and spread out our feast.  There is no better way to spend a day than amidst the beauty and glory of nature.

Kyrgyzstan Trip Log: Day 2 - ancient wonders and smoked fish.

Random fact: 94% of Kyrgyzstan is mountainous.  So here is a gratuitous picture of the mountains from the Chuy Valley between Bishkek and Lake Issyk Kul.

The staircase leading to the top of the minaret.

The second day of our little expedition to northern Kyrgyzstan took us 270 km eastward from Bishkek to the resort town of Cholpon Ata with historical and scenic stops along the way.

Our first stop was at the Burana Historical Complex about 80 km east of Bishkek.  The Burana Complex is on the site of the ancient city of Balasugin.  All that remains of this ancient city is a minaret which once stood at 40m tall.  The top portion of the minaret collapsed in a 15th century earthquake, but the lower portion has been restored and opened for tourism.  This site also has a collection of grave markers from different periods of history and a small museum with artifacts.  There are also several mounds that cover the remains of Balasugin and partially restored mausoleums.

After leaving the Burana complex, we drove northward about 10km through the town of Tok Mok where the Soviet Air Force used to run a mountain training program (apparently Hosni Mubarak trained at this location) and then resumed our eastward track along the Chuy Valley toward Lake Issyk Kul.

As we neared the lake, road shifted southward and the terrain changed dramatically.  Volcanic hills occasionally punctuated with red sandstone replaced the long flat fields of the Chuy Valley.

smoked fish in Balychky

We stopped for lunch in the town of Balychky which is famous for its fishing and for smoked fish.  Here we got our first view of the lake before driving along the northern shore to Cholpon Ata.

Cholpon Ata, in addition to being home to many resorts on the lake, also boasts an ancient petroglyph site.  The petroglyphs in Cholpon Ata are located in a bolder field left behind by a glacier.  The petroglyphs, like those in Kazakhstan, are rock carvings/drawings created by the ancient Scythian inhabitants of central Asia.  The drawings are almost exclusively of natural elements with animals being the most plentiful, and representations of the sun, and hunters also being quite common.

The most marvelous thing at Cholpon Ata, however, was not the ancient rock pictures, or even the glacial bolder field.  The most marvelous thing was watching the sun rise over the mountains and across the lake.  So I will leave you with a picture of the dawn and with the promise of another post tomorrow:  Day 3 - a romp in mountain pastures.

Kyrgyzstan Trip Log: Day 1 - Bishkek

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I've just returned from Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan.  If you don't read my blog regularly, I've just returned from a trip to Lake Issyk-Kul in the mountainous country of Kyrgyzstan. 

Map of Kyrgyzstan

Lake Issyk-Kul lies directly south of Almaty (in a valley behind those mountains I am always showing you).  It is the second largest Alpine (high altitude) lake in the world (behind lake Titicaca in Peru/Bolivia).   Issyk-Kul sits at an altitude of 1,607m (5,272 ft) above sea level.  It is also slightly salty.

Day 1, Bishkek

The road to Bishkek

In order to reach Issyk-Kul, we first had to travel to the capital, Bishkek.  We drove west from Almaty, along the northern edge of the Tien-Shan Mountains before turning south, crossing the boarder from Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan, and making the 20 minute drive into Bishkek.

The central park in Bishkek is called "Oak Park."  The park boasts some trees that are over 120 years old (others, of course, are much younger).  Because it is in the center of town, the park contains or boarders other major Bishkek sights. For example, on the northern edge of the park, across from the American University, you will find a statue of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels deep in conversation.  An interesting side note is that this statue replaces a statue of Stalin that was removed after 1991. 

Statue of Manas

On the western border of Oak Park you will find a large sculpture of Kyrgyzstan's epic hero "Manas" (for an introduction to this epic tale, click here) in front of the National History Museum (formerly the Lenin Museum). The tale of Manas is part of a living oral tradition with annual story telling contests and even group recitations of part of the story.  The story of Manas is protected by UNESCO.



The giant statue of Lenin that seems to be a staple of every Kyrgyz town (although Bishkek's is larger than most) is directly behind the museum.

 

 

my best Lenin pose

You will find Bishkek's other two attractions to the east of Oak park.  The Opera House (pictured left) was built around the same time and in the same style as the structure in Almaty.  While considerably larger than Almaty's Opera Theater, the Opera Theater in Bishkek is visibly in need of repair and renovation.

Victory square is home to the war memorial in Bishkek.  The memorial is impressive in both size and vision.  It features a yurt with a woman inside waiting for her husband and sons to return from war.  Like many of the famous sights in Almaty and other Central Asian towns, this landmark is a draw for wedding photos. 

The other monument that was striking and is worth seeing if you are in town is the monument to those killed in the uprising against a corrupt government in April of 2010.  I remember the news coverage of these events in the west, but for those who don't, our guide told the story this way:  People camped out in Oak park in the days leading up to the uprising.  When the demonstrations began, snipers positioned on the roofs of buildings around the "white house" (the presidential residence at the time), killed more than 80 people in the crowd.  The monument stands where the first protester died, and is striking with two large slabs of marble, one black and one white with a person between the two pushing the black slab over.

Accommodations (and food)

The best part of our day in Bishkek was the guest house where we stayed and the medeterranean resteraunt where we had dinner.  We stayed at a small, cozy guest house called "Hotel Asia Mountains" where the rooms were cute, clean and comfortable.  The walls were covered with art and artifacts from the region and the wood furnishings added charm.  As an added bonus there is a stunning garden and places to sit outside.

We had dinner at an amazing restaurant just across Ibraimov street from Victory Square called L'Azzurro Restaurant.  They serve a variety of food including (perhaps most impressively), Lebanese and Mediterranean food.  Their service was phenomenal and friendly and our little band of travelers had a wonderful evening thanks to this restaurant's hospitality.

 

Tomorrow's installment: Day 2 - ancient wonders and smoked fish.