Movie Monday: Speed Skating at Medeo ice Rink

The Rink at Medeo finally has ice.  When I was up there last week, I caught part of the kazakh speed skating team at an early morning practice:

Sunday Snippet: First Snow

On a weekend where it seems like a good portion of the northern hemisphere was hit by snow, Almaty also got a taste of not-so-rare late October cold weather.  It began spitting snowflakes on Friday night (and actually snowed big fluffy flakes in parts of the city with slightly higher elevations) and Saturday evening the entire city received its first winter coat.  Here are some pictures from around my building.

Thursday Thrill: (just this once) Medeo Gondola Ride

Don't get used to Thursday Thrill posts, you will only get them when I am on holiday.  Also I am canceling Friday Photo this week because I am running out of things to say.  That feature will return next week with a picture of something really spectacular (or not).  At any rate, enjoy the thrills:

Gondola Ride from Medeo to Shymbulak Resort

Since my first visit to Medeo I have been planning to take the Gondola cable car that runs from a station just below the ice rink up to Shymbulak Ski resort.  I set out on my adventure early because I wanted to get to the resort before the haze set in over the city or before it clouded up (the forcasted weather did not look good).  So I set out from my apartment, walked down to Abay Avenue, and squeezed myself onto the first down-town bound, overcrowded, rush hour bus that looked like it it might be able to hold another passenger.

At the end of Abay, I walked down the hill to the first bus stop.  That is where the No. 6 bus to Medeo originates.  I was surprised that the bus was almost empty (given the cramped nature of my last ride on that bus) and that the fare was only 50 tg (on weekdays - weekends are 70tg).  When I reached Medeo I discovered why:  The Ice rink was closed for speed skating practice, and the Gondola doesn't open until noon Monday through Thursday.  So I wandered around a bit trying to decide whether to wait a couple of hours for the Gondola to open or to hope for good weather next weekend.  I decided to wait.  Your reward for my patience is a video of the experience:

Incidentally, It costs 2000 tg to take the gondola from Medeo to Shymbulak.  The ride lasts around 15-20 minutes.

Children between 5-10 years old cost 1500 tg and I believe that children under 5 are free - I don't actually know that Russian word yet, so don't quote me on that one.  There is also a discount for seniors with ID.

Oh and the hours of operation seem to be Monday-Thursday 12:00 - 5:00 pm (one sign said 6:30, but I saw 5:00 more frequently) and Friday through Sunday 9:00am - sometime after dark - (I think 10:00 pm).

There are restaurants at the top with appropriately marked up prices, but there are also picnic areas so bring a thermos with something warm and a picnic lunch.

Tuesday Tale: Tamgaly Petroglyphs

Short preface:  today's entry is a bit longer than a tidbit, so Tidbit Tuesday seemed an inapropriate title.  If you are heartbroken about this one-time change to the order of things, you'll survive:  there are lots of pictures to distract you.  Besides, the world is filled with change and we will be back to normal next week.

Petroglyphs are a form of ancient rock-art.  They are images scratched onto the surface of large rock faces (kind of like cave paintings, except without the caves...or the paint).  Apparently there are more than fifty sites with ancient petroglyphs in Southeastern Kazakhstan (where I live).  Today I visted the Tamgaly Petroglyphs which are located in a small gully about  two hours to the northwest of Almaty.

The Story...

The main highway west was in excellent condition and we managed to make great time in spite of the heavy fog that blanketed the region.  About 80 km outside of Almaty we turned northward onto a road that was, once upon a time, paved.  Whether by neglect or heavy animal traffic (we had to wait for a large heard of sheep and their horseback shepherds to cross the bridge over the train tracks) the road is now strewn with massive potholes. Entire sections of pavement have simply vanished.  Our driver expertly weaved and bobbed his way through the maze created by the pavement for another 80 km until we reached a small welcome station that consisted of a deserted parking lot, two portapotties, and an official guide with his two very cute dogs.

The official guide led us down the path toward the hills that hide these ancient treasures.  When we reached the valley he began to point out rock faces that were covered in etchings.  There were hundreds of images of horses, bulls, shamen, the sun, women with children, and even a couple of camels.   There was even one image that the guide said was of a female alien.  Apparently several cultures in this region around that time used similar shapes to represent alien life (according to our guide, anyways).  Most images on these rocks were created between three and four thousand years ago, and it is somewhat humbling to be among the expressions of people who lived so long ago.

A burial mound

After stopping briefly for a picnic lunch at a small, covered pagoda, we hiked through the hills ultimately touring three of the seven petroglyph sites and a burial site before returning to the buses.


We then settled in for the long trip back to Almaty, a trip that was punctuated by the sighting of a wild fox, and chasing herds of stray horses off the road in what turned out to be beautiful clear weather.

Tidbit Tuesday:  The Modern Kazakh Cowboy

If you've read this far, you must really like me.  As a reward (because I buy my friends), here is a picture from the back window of our bus (sorry it is so blurry) of a moderd kazakh cowboy and his pony "mercedes".  As the saying goes, there is more than one way to catch a cow.

Movie Monday: I must live on the most interesting corner in the city!

What I saw on my way home from work Friday:

Friday Photo: Fall Colors

Leaves are turning yellow and the weather is rapidly cooling.  Sunny days have a chilly bite to them and the nights are downright cold.  The weather changes in the mountains much sooner than in the city.  I saw my first yellow leaf up by Medeo weeks ago.  Now most of the trees in Almaty have turned a beautiful gold.

I catch the bus in the dark both directions now, and sometimes I don't see the mountains at all until I get to work and the sun comes up.  The street lights turn off at the earliest moment of morning twilight and I often catch their fade as I sit on the morning bus.

The heaters are on (thank goodness - or the city planners) and I almost got out my winter coat this morning.  At the last minute I traded it for a warm sweater and my fleece jacket when the thought of a heavy winter jacket in the middle of October proved too depressing.

This is Autumn in Almaty.

Friday Photo: Weddings

Last Saturday there was a wedding in my apartment building.  That isn't quite accurate.  Someone on the 16th floor of my apartment building got married last Saturday.  My first clue came in the form of four gentlemen in nice suits carrying large buoquets.  Flowers here can mean anything from a birthday to a funeral, but a decked out stretch limo can only mean wedding.

All day, the elevators went up and down and up and down always to the 16th floor as wave after wave of revelors came and went from the building.

After whatever ceremony takes place, the revelors will typically take a photo tour of the city that includes the Cathedral of the Holy Ascension, President's park, and even Medeo.

Friday Photo: One of my favorite spots

One thing that I have heard numerous people praise about Almaty is the green space.  There are trees lining almost every street.  Even the medians are converted into parks with paths, trees, shrubbery, and benches.

One of my favorite spots in the city is really nothing more than a median about as wide as a four lane street that has been converted into a park.  This place is peaceful and quiet, and very pretty.  It serves as a place for people to play basketball and table tennis, to jog or watch their kids play on one of the numerous playgrounds.  On Sundays, there is some sort of record exchange that takes place on one of these park benches.  This usually features two or three cardboard boxes filled with LPs (The Beatles seem to figure prominently in the collections) and a perpetual crowd of 10-15 men ranging in age from 19 to 79.  It is a kind of quiet gathering place for the community - a public space that is truly used by the public.

Tidbit Tuesday: Swine Moat

Ok, not technically a moat but, "swine run-off ditch beside the road" just doesn't have the same ring.  It also suffers the disadvantage merely being a reference to, rather than a quote of, a very funny movie.

Nearly every street is lined with such moats.  The streets that don't have these amenities are a muddy mess when it rains (I know, because I have spent two unpleasant mornings trying desperately not to get a mud shower from passing cars on my way to work).  There are always bridges, some pretty, some plain, to cross.  This was a particularly pretty bridge that I found one morning in the older part of the city.  There are also some very nice bridges crossing the really large moat (think four times wider and three times deeper than this one) on Abai.