Kyrgyzstan, Kind

Entering Kyrgyzstan

Our driver picks us up in Almaty (Kazakhstan). He has our name on a paper. Shakes our hand and during the drive he doesn’t speak a word. There’s not much traffic so quickly we reach the border. First, with our luggage only we walk out of Kazakhstan. We fill in some exit documents and then walk into Kyrgyzstan. They only need to see our passports here. No luggage check.

We meet guide Baktiar and driver Sanjay. We drive to Bishkek. First lunch in a nice restaurant called Navat. Here we try the local lamb kebab. We get to know our guides and talk about the upcoming days. Also we talk about scrabble. When you are stuck with some difficult letters like ‘y’,’r’,’s’ you always could make ‘Kyrgyzstan’!

Bishkek

Walking around the city center. Some streets filled with shops. A big square with the statue of Manas. Manas is a famous former ruler; he was the first Khagan of the Kyrgyz Khaganate. A poem ‘the Epic of Manas’ describes his life story, dating back to the 9^th century.

On the streets you see older men wearing a typical type of hat. Part of the culture – and it is surely practical when it’s cold. When you walk further you pass the ‘White House’; the residence of the president. Then the Ala-Too square and another statue of Manas. The square makes a friendly impression with local youth playing around statues of Lenin and Marx.

We stroll through Panfilov park, visit a gallery full of paintings and see the Philharmonic Hall. Very impressive is the Victory Monument with the eternal flame remembering the victory over the Germans in 1945. In one day we saw the highlights of Bishkek.

Close to our hotel Ambassador is restaurant Frunze. We dine there, eating local food like lamb meat, ajam and ayram (a mix between milk and yogurt).

Exploring the country side of Kyrgyzstan

A small breakfast and an early start; at 8 o’clock we take off to the Issyk-Kul lake. A long drive but at lunch time we arrive in the city of Cholpon Ata, a summer resort on the northern shore of the lake. We are to visit the petroglyphs museum here. But, alas, it’s closed. End of season. Our guide phones someone responsible for the museum – without success.

Instead we lunch at a nice place. The guys that serve us ask if they may take a picture of us. Minutes later they show us this picture on their website and on Facebook.

Great distances here. It takes an hour to drive to the Grigorievka Gorge. We walk around there. This is very impressive. Raw nature, beautiful views.

Because we missed the museum about petroglyphs in the city we visit a large petroglyphs place. This open-air museum, sometimes nicknamed “the stone garden”, is a very important historical site. It includes both petroglyphs, images carved on stones, and prehistoric structures and monuments.

These petroglyphs date from the 2nd millennium BCE up to the 4th century AD. There’s no fence, no protection at all. Some malicious person could easily remove one or two pieces of this cultural heritage. Our guides say everyone respects this place and will leave it unharmed.

Issyk-Kul lake

Finally we are dropped off at hotel Raduga. So now we stroll past the Issyk-Kul lake. Issyk-Kul means ‘warm lake’ in the local language. According to our guide the lake is the second largest mountain lake in the world – the biggest is Lake Titicaca in South-America. The lake looks very nice, the water not cold at all.

The hotel is organized in Soviet-style. The dinner buffet is between 18.00-19.00. We are assigned to our table. Don’t spend too much time sipping your aperitif – at 18.00 everyone throws themselves at the buffet. The food is acceptable.

In a corridor there’s a small shop where a woman sells souvenirs and drinks. She only accepts cash, though the hotel can be paid with a credit card.

Burana Tower

We rise early to walk around part of the lake. In the morning it also looks beautiful. After the breakfast buffet I need to pay for our stay. Paying by credit card is not easy but in the end it works. Our guides pick us up and we prepare to leave. At the gate our car is stopped. Obviously someone first checks our room whether we took any towels or whatsoever…

We drive all the way back to Bishkek. A long drive. Looking on the map this could be shorter but there’s no road through these big mountains yet.

Beginning of the afternoon we arrive at the Burana Tower. The tower, along with grave markers, some earthworks and the remnants of a castle and three mausoleums, is all that remains of the ancient city of Balasagun, dating back to the 9th century. The tower was built in the 11th century. An external staircase and steep, winding stairway inside the tower enables visitors to climb to the top. It is one of the oldest architectural constructions in Central Asia.

From the top the view is terrific. We continue back to Bishkek. In the hotel we drink some wine, contemplating about the day. A small snack before we go to bed. Tomorrow we fly very early.

Osh

A domestic flight takes us to Osh, the second city of Kyrgyzstan. It’s amazing to see how much luggage some people take with them on this flight. The luggage claim area in Osh airport looks like a small battlefield…

Osh is located in the Fergana Valley. The valley is ethnically diverse and divided into three republics which leads to conflicts now and then. Because local guides will pick us up I tell the inviting taxi drivers ‘Ragmat’ – meaning ‘Thank you’. In Kyrgyzstan language you write ‘рахмат’, pronounced as ‘ragmat’. We then meet guide Talbic and driver Dalen. We enter Osh, drink some coffee first.

On it goes to the National Historic and Archaeological Museum Complex Sulayman. This museum was carved inside the Sulayman Mountain. The structure represents a glassed concrete arch that closes the entry to the cave. It’s one of the most beautiful designed museums we ever visited! What we see is very nice but the view over Osh when you step outside is overwhelming.

Osh Bazaar is for centuries located on the same spot. It’s crowded, immense, loud, and cheap. And you can find almost anything you need here. The Bazaar is a huge marketplace near the centre. People from all over Osh and the surrounding areas come here to buy and sell. For visitors like us it provides nice photo opportunities.

On our way out we pass the Town Hall, a Soviet style building. And then we are heading to our next destination – Tajikistan. Before the border we stop at a simple, honest, outside eat cafe. We order shaslick and some meat bread. Farmers who just harvested some fruits offer us both a few Sharon fruits. Very friendly.

Though we only stayed a short time in Kyrgyzstan this country full of raw nature, vast mountains and kind people made a lasting impression on us. Ragmat!