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| Map of Kyrgyzstan |
KYRGYZSTAN
Spectacular scenery,
prehistoric wonders and intriguing indigenous culture make Kyrgyzstan unique.
After a discovery holiday in Uzbekistan, our
group of 33, with tour leader, Choo Kok Wai and tour manager Abdullah, flew from
Tashkent to Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan is a rugged Central Asian (CA) country
along the Silk Road. It is a landlocked mountainous country, bordered by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and China. It became independent
in 1991 from Russia.
Kyrgyzstan’s history spans over 2000 years,
encompassing a variety of cultures and empires. Its 5.7 million people are made
up of Kyrgyz (72.6%), Uzbeks (14.4%), Russians (6.4%) Dungans (1.1%) and others
(5.5%). In addition to its Turkic origins, Kyrgyz culture is influenced by Persia, Mongolia and Russia.
The official language is Kyrgyz. 83% of the population are Muslims and 15% are
Christians.
BISHKEK
Bishkek is the capital and largest city of
Kyrgyzstan. It is situated at about 800 m altitude, at the Northern fringe of
the Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range, an extension of the Tian Shan mountain range.
We arrived in Bishkek in the morning. From the hotel room, I looked out to
see spectacular snow-capped mountains, a backdrop to houses and tall
buildings of the city.
Bishkek itself is a city of wide boulevards and
marble-faced public buildings, with Soviet-styled apartment blocks surrounding
interior courtyards and smaller privately built houses.
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| Soviet-styled apartments |
That afternoon, we took a walk to the park nearby.
Young Kyrgyz girls, fair complexion but with Russo-Chinese features, greeted
us with wide smiles. They were happy to let me take their pictures.
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Young Kyrgyz girls in the park
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| A fair complexion child |
Next day, dressed in warm clothes,
our group was all ready to hike to Ala-Archa National Park. a popular destination for picnickers, hikers, horse trekkers, skiers
and mountain climbers.
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| All ready for our trek to Ala Archa Park |
As we
neared the park, we saw elegant horses prancing about. Kyrgyz horses have great
endurance and adapt well to the mountain
terrain These equestrian beauties were sought after and fought over during ancient
times.
Horses are an important part of of Kyrgyz life and culture. Kymyz (mare's milk) is the country's national drink.
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| An elegant horse |
It was a long, long walk, with blue skies, snow-capped mountains, flower-clad
meadows and tall alpine trees like spruce and juniper, all the way up.
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| Entrance to Ala Arca Park |
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Ladies love the scenery Photo: Lai Hee Cheng
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| Rugged mountains and rivers, with trees like spruce and juniper |
The “archa” which gives the park its name, is a bright,
many-coloured juniper tree. The Krygyz people used the smoke from burning
its wood to ward off evil spirits.
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| Picture-perfect view |
After about half an hour uphill, we met a
group of local students having a picnic. They invited
us to share their picnic lunch. Some of us took out whatever food we had in our
backpack to share with them too. Our group of mostly seniors felt young again as
we mingled and chatted with the students.
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Local students sharing their food with us
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Feeling young with local students
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After that short break, as we continued our
ascent, snow capped mountains and alpine flowers enraptured us. There were benches at various places for us to rest. As we climbed higher, the air became colder and the landscape changed. We saw glaciers, rivers, waterfalls,
springs and unique flora.
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| Resting on benches |
On our descent, we met up with the
students again. That invigorating
walk was our exposure to the natural beauty of Kyrgyzstan.
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| Meeting up with the exuberant students again |
We were
famished after the walk,. Lunch was in a Kyrgyz restaurant:
Besides tantalising meat dishes, appetising noodles, local tea, orange and yoghurt, the kebabs were the most popular.
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| Flat noodles in spicy sauce |
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| Fried noodles |
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| Beef with vegetables |
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| Paloo (rice) with beef and carrot |
Although it was uncomfortable sitting on the floor and being served on low tables, we thoroughly enjoyed the Kyrgyz food.
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| Smiling even though seated uncomfortably |
The kebab lovers savoured the kebabs with great gusto. A Kyrgyz family at a table nearby was amused by our antics.
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Remaining 2 pieces of kebabs
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Kebab lovers
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| An amused Kyrgyz family |
A visit to the Historical Museum gave me an idea of
Soviet life. It showcased the revolutionary activities of Lenin and the history and culture of Kyrgyz people since ancient times.
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| Climbing up stairs to different floors of Museum |
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| Statues depicting the Russian Revolution Photo: Lai Hee Cheng |
Outside the Museum, Ala-Too Central Square had a Kyrgyz flag and a large fountain. Our bus took us on a tour around the Square,
passing through a Statue of Lenin (the only one left in Central Asia).
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| Ala Too Central Square with fountain |
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| With Kyrgyz flag and fountain |
Dinner was in a Chinese restaurant. We had special VIP Bishkek guests (Mr Myrzabek and his
family), who were actually the in-laws of one couple in our group. It's amazing that one can have in-laws in such distant places and be able to meet and interact with them.
While savouring the many Chinese dishes, vodka was introduced to liven up the
party. A few guys took the initiative to say a few greeting words to Mr
Myrzabek, then drank a peg of vodka with him, one by one. He obliged by drinking a
peg with them. After about 10 pegs, the remarkable man from Bishkek
was still sober.
As the party came to an end, Choo, Abdullah and
Kuban, our local guide, went round the tables toasting everyone with yam seng - Malaysian style. This
was infectious - local Bishkeks and Chinese patrons at neighbouring tables
joined in. It was a jolly night where we interacted with the locals.
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Greeting little guests (Mr Myrzabek's granddaughters)
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Mr Myrzabek (left), his granddaughter and his Malaysian in-law (right)
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Mr Myrzabek and his family getting to know our members
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Mr Myrzabek and his family with Malaysians enjoying the Chinese meal
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| Patrons from China with our Malaysians |
Next morning, we drove to Karakol. Karakol is on the south side of Issyk-Kul
Lake and it was a stopover on the Silk Road for traders from the Far
East to Europe.
There was an impromptu stop at a
strawberry farm. Some members got down from the bus to harvest fresh
strawberries from the ground. The farm owner smiled broadly at our exuberance.
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| Fresh strawberries |
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| One member happily picking strawberries |
Enroute to Karakol, we visited BuranaTower, which is an important part of an open air museum, built in 11th Century. The Burana Tower is a large minaret, part of the ancient city of “Balasagun” the capital of the ancient state of the Karahanides.
The tower, originally 45m tall, is now only 25 m high due to earthquakes which destroyed the top half.
Karakol is one of Kyrgyzstan’s major tourist destinations. Today it is famed mainly for the excellent hiking, trekking, skiing and mountaineering in the Tian Shan mountains.
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| Entrance to open air museum |
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| Burana Tower |
The whole
museum complex covers some 36 hectares. It includes the tower, reconstruction
of mausoleums, remains of the palace, a collection
of balbals. These were grave markers used by nomadic Turkic people dating from the 6
th
century. There were also petroglyphs - paintings on stones - dating from the 2
nd
century BC, and a small museum.
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| Special grave markers |
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| Many grave unique markers |
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| Part of a grave marker |
The small museum has some artifacts recovered from the site like jars, coins and a board game.
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| A grave marker in the museum |
This is one of Kyrgyzstan's ancient prehistoric sites. It was the first time I had ever seen balbals and petroglyphs.
We were not the only tourists there. Busloads of local children with their teachers came a-visiting too. Two of us (retired teachers) joined the children in a photo shoot.
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Kyrgyz students with their teachers and 2 of our members
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TOK MOK
Krygyzstan is a new country, with people
originating from neigbouring countries. At Tok Mok, we met a
Dungan family who originated from China. They have integrated with the locals and today enjoy a mixed Chinese-Muslim-Russian lifestyle.
Mainly farmers, they call themselves Hui-Zhu. We
were taken on a tour of the large farm, to see farm
animals and vegetables grown. Although the farmer could converse with
us in Mandarin (Chinese), his son and other younger folks could only speak Kyrgyz.
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| The farmer's grandson |
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Vegetables grown on the farm
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| Farmer's healthy cows |
Our lunch was a typical Kyrgyz meal of
fruits, noodles and naan bread. The seating arrangement was unusual - all 33 of
us sat at a long table.
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| 33 of us in a long table |
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| Lagman: noodles with chopped vegetables in spicy vinegary sauce |
Next, we went for a Falcon hunting demonstration. Falconry
is the hunting of wild animals in its natural habitat by birds of prey like falcons,
eagles or hawks. Historically, falconry was a popular sport and status symbol
among nobles in Medieval Europe, Middles East and the Mongolian Empire.
The falcon was a symbolic bird of ancient
Mongol tribes. It has great eyesight, fantastic speed and superb
hunting abilities. Choo was the only brave soul from our group who volunteered to have
a falcon resting on his hand.
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The falconer and his son with their birds of prey
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| Choo (right) the brave one |
We walked to an open field for the demo. Because the country has low rainfall, the vegetation is different. The plants are short and scrubby, with small leaves and are sturdily built to adapt to the arid environment. I saw some pretty flowers - they gave colour to the dull sparse monotonous landscape.
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An open enclosure for the falcon demo
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| Purple flowers in the arid environment |
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Yellow flowers brighten up the area
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The Falconer first walked to a hillock far away. His assistant held the prey, a hare, at a far away spot.
Then the demo began: The assistant set free the hare. Simultaneously,
the falconer released his falcon. The falcon swooped down from a far
distance to capture the live hare. It happened very fast –
within minutes, in a blink of the eye.
The falconer's son then took over. He repeated the same action as his father's performance to perfection. He was learning at the hands of a master!
KARAKOL
Karakol, (formerly Przhevalsk) is the 4th largest city of Kyrgyzstan. It is near the eastern tip of Lake Issyk-Kul.
At Karakol, we headed straight for the restaurant. There were cheers all round when we were served cold beer. It was refreshing after the hot falcon demo!
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Cheers
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Cheers
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I watched with fascination as our meal of hand-made noodles etc was cooked right in front of us.
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| Chef prepares the ingredients |
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| Chefs cooking our meal |
We visited a church and a mosque in Karakol the next morning.
The
Russian Orthodox Church served as a dance hall under the Soviets, and a school
during the Second World War. Originally built of stone in 1872, it was
destroyed in 1890 by an earthquake. The current church was built out of wood on
a brick base. It took 6 years to complete.
T
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| Ladies happily posing in front of the Orthodox church |
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| Russian orthodox church |
The Dungan Mosque of
Karakol was built by Chinese architect Chou Seu and 20 carvers using
Chinese architecture. Completed in 1910, it was built without any nails. A small minaret in
front distinguished it as a mosque.
The mosque holds 42 based pillars
and encircling the building is multi-tiered wooden cornice, decorated with
images of plants like grapes, pomegranates, pears and peaches.
Coming from a land of domes and minarets, we found the mosque unusual and unique.
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| Dungan Mosque- built without nails |
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| Dungan Mosque - designed and built by Chinese |
From prehistory, we moved on to the near present - the Russian phase of the Kyrgyz life.
We visited the museum and the monument dedicated to Przhevalsky. Here we learnt of a local icon, Russian scientist Nikolay Przhevalsky.
He is one of the first Russian
Scientist-Geographer who studied in detail the geography, flora and fauna of
the CA countries. Beginning in 1870, he organised 4 large expeditions to
Mongolia, China and Tibet.
At the
museum, we were entertained by an elderly curator, who had loads of interesting
anecdotes of Przhevalsky.
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Museum Prezevalsky, with curator (middle) and Kuban (right)
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| A monument dedicated to Przhevalsky |
CHOLPON-ATA
We drove to Cholpon-Ata, passing along Issyk Kul Lake the next day. The scenic stretch has
spring flowers blooming in the cool weather, with the mystical snow-capped
mountains as a looming backdrop.
Issyk Kul
Lake is a popular vacation resort. It is the largest mountain lake in the Tian Shan
Mountains. It is unique because dozens of rivers and streams flow into it but surprisingly none flow out.
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| Lovely landscape along the way to Cholpon-Ata |
We stayed at the Karven hotel, a resort with holiday homes by the shore of the enticing blue Issyk- Kul Lake.
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| Entrance to hotel |
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| Beautiful holiday homes |
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| Issyk Kul- Lake with Tian Shan Mountains |
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| Lovely flowers in the landscaped garden |
After the long journey, everyone was happy to sit down and relax in the cool environment. We had a delicious lunch in the Western-decorated dining hall.
After lunch, we took a
long walk to view Cholpon-Ata petroglyphs (rock engravings). Cholpon-Ata covers
an area of 42 hectares, containing a number of prehistoric monumental
structures.
We found stone circles,
tombs, boundary stone walls etc, dating from 500 B.C. to the 1st century A.D. They
were probably made by Scythian people, predating the arrival of the Kyrgyz
people. Most engravings are of long-horned ibex, wolves, deer and
hunters, with some clearly discernible and others faint.
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| Entrance to the site |
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| Cho[pon-Ata covers an immense area |
The area is like an open museum of stone art and is known locally as the Stone Garden of Cholpon-Ata. Cholpon-Ata gives us an insight into the prehistory of Kyzgyzstan.
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| Engravings of Reindeer |
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| Reindeer 8th C BC to 5th C A.D. |
That night, at dinner, we wined and dined, with tasty local dishes.
The songs of yesteryears came on the air. Our tour manager, Abdullah led the way, with a splendid rendition of Turkic dancing. Then everyone got on the floor and danced the night away. It was a
memorable Cholpon-Ata party.
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| The Cholpon-Ata party |
We had come to an end of our Kyrgyz visit.
After breakfast, we left for the border of Kazakhstan. Along the way
were grey-purple undulating hills, remarkable rock formations, clear blue skies,
willowy white clouds and multi-coloured soil. Finally we reached the outskirts
of Bishkek.
It was not an easy overland crossing. There were some hiccups at the immigration check point. We had the unpleasant experience of waiting and waiting, while dragging our own luggage to different spots here and there. Luckily,our members were a patient lot. After a long long wait, we were finally in Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan.
KAZAKHSTAN
Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country and the world's 9th largest country in the world. It has borders with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It is a country with flat lands, steppe, rock canyons, hills, deltas, snow-capped mountains and deserts. It became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Kazakhstan is populated by Kazakhs (63%), Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians,Germans, Tatars and Uyghurs. 70% of the people are Muslims, and 26% Christians. Kazakh is the state language and Russian has equal official status, reflecting the long history of Russian dominance in the region.
The capital of Kazakhstan is Astana, but we were only able to visit its former capital, Almaty.
ALMATY
As we entered Almaty,
we saw grave markers dotted along the highways. Kuban informed us that normally accident victims were buried
alongside the highway.
Dinner
was in a restaurant that has a Chinese-Russian-Kazakh décor. After the
long wait at the immigration check-point, everyone was happy to sit down for a well-deserved
meal. We had vodka again with our Chinese food.
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| Cheerful and happy in Almaty |
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| Kebabs |
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| Soup |
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| Yummy vegetable dish |
We stayed
in Otrar Hotel, which retains strong Russian style settings. In the
dining room, Western murals on the walls gave the place a warm charming ambiance.
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| Dining hall in Hotel Otrar |
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| Murals depicting history of Kazakhs |
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| Murals depicting culture of Kazakhs |
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| Almaty streets, from hotel room |
Our first tour was to visit
Zenkov Cathedral, a Russian
Orthodox church. Here we could really see and feel the Russian influence.
This candy-coloured church, situated in Panfilov Park, is
named after the architect. It is constructed of wood (1904 to 1907), with the interior structures made in artistic workshops of Moscow and Kiev. It is one of the tallest wooden buildings in the world.
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| The grandeur of Zenkov Cathedral |
We then explored Panfilov Park, which is large and
rectangular. We took our time walking leisurely around, enjoying the
beauty and serenity of the park.
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| Entrance to the park |
The Park is dedicated and named after 28 Panfilov Heroes who died fighting the Nazi tanks in villages outside Moscow in 1941. Ivan Panfilov was the General commanding the 316 divisions.
The soldiers are commemorated at the war memorial, which depicts soldiers from all 15 Soviet republics bursting out of a map of the USSR.
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| The statue dedicated to the Panfilov heroes |
An
eternal flame honouring the fallen soldiers of the Civil War (1917-20) and
World War 11 (1941-45) flickers in front of the giant black monument. Many of us
sat in front of the statue to rest our weary legs.
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| An eternal flame burning |
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Macho members resting their weary legs
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| Statue honouring soldiers of Civil War |
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| Statue honouring soldiers of World War 11 |
Next,
we took a cable car to Kok-Tobe (Green Hill). Kok-Tobe is a mountain with a
popular recreation area. It is the highest point of Almaty.
It was cool and pleasant. We looked down to get a panoramic view of Almaty city. The view was not very clear because it was a misty day.
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| Almaty from Kok-Tube - a misty view |
Although there were some souvenir shops, cafes and amusement park there, we were contented just lazing around and enjoying the cool environment and people-watching.
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| Contented just lazing around |
On our final night in Almaty, we had a Russian dinner, which was also a farewell dinner for our local guide, Kuban.
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| Our final dinner |
We had a flight back to Tashkent, and from there another flight back to Kuala Lumpur.
We had a
wonderful holiday with lasting happy memories. Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan,
though geographically different, share some history and a culture that results
from the various conquests and their nomadic roots. I came away with a greater awareness of ancient civilization in the Central Asian region.
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