travel inspirations
Kyrgyzstan ISSUE #NINE
#09 Autumn 2018 | Lu€15 www.diariesofmagazine.com
WELCOME
Kyrgyzstan
So much to discover We feel the need to introduce Kyrgyzstan, seeing that often, when we mention Kyrgyzstan, we notice puzzled faces that imply ‘where exactly are all these Whatsoeverstan countries located and what do they look like’?
The collapse of the Soviet Union brought independence to Kyrgyzstan. Throughout modern times, the Kyrgyz have continued to pursue their nomadic traditions, seasonally. In summer, herding families return to the jailoos (mountain pastures) with their yurts, where they tend the animals that they have learnt to master and respect. Here, we learnt that Kyrgyzstan is the country of hats (kalpaks), horses and horsemen. It’s where children learn how to ride a horse before they know how to walk. Kyrgyz cannot conceive that people might not know how to ride a horse, and that other countries do not use horses as their most obvious means of transportation, or indeed that in other mountains, horses are not free to graze wherever they want. They wonder that some prefer sports without a horse and that others do not have whips and saddles as part of their traditional handicrafts. The culture of the horse is so deeply-rooted in their lives that even the most popular Kyrgyz folk dance Kara Jorgo (Black Horse) mimes the movements of horse riding. Let yourself be transported to the country where horses run freely, where hunters tame eagles, where the endangered snow leopard is the national animal and where marmots can be spotted by the dozen. Wake up early, step outside your yurt, and brush your teeth in the open in a camp washstand. In fewer than 100 metres, all the details of a bucolic life will be happening, right in front of your eyes: women milking cows or washing clothes in the creek, shepherds herding on horseback and wild horses galloping to the nearby lake. Red-cheeked children will appear from under dozens of blankets, stepping out of the yurt in their all-day-long pyjamas, drinking milk (or kumis, or chalap or suzma – no other country has so many words to define variants of milk). Look at the far-off landscape and see the mountains, with peaks above 7,000 metres. This is a country for nature lovers; for long hikes and for unforgettable horse riding. This is the country to experience nomadism first-hand. Nowhere else have we found a country where its nomadic, cultural heritage is so present. Nowhere else are people so willing to voluntarily dress in their traditional costumes, dance to their folk songs, play their ancestral games and observe their rituals. Their culture is so ingrained in their lives that it comes out naturally, and without effort. Kyrgyzstan is a giant open-air museum to the nomadic lifestyle.
Cover Photo Kyrgyz couple wearing traditional costumes during the Wold Nomad Games. Photography by Jorge Valente
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Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous oasis in the desert steppes of Central Asia, enclosed by the celestial Tien-Shan mountain ranges, with countless glaciers and lakes, from where water flows abundantly. The early Kyrgyz were nomadic people, a heritage of which they are proud. They have been invaded by many empires, such as the Mongols and the Turks, and are surrounded by giant neighbours such as Russia and China. Because of this, tiny Kyrgyzstan has had to struggle to keep its nomadic identity alive. Russian influence promised prosperity, at much too high a price – that is, a sedentary lifestyle – which the Kyrgyz were not ready to accept. For this reason, the influence of Russian culture is only superficial (best seen in Bishkek’s soviet architecture or in the multiple statues of Lenin throughout the country). Nothing is as precious to a people’s identity as their language. Almost all Kyrgyz can speak Russian, yes, but they all proudly use their own Kyrgyz language, which is taught at school. The Russians have also not managed to touch the country’s religion (Islam has been practised since the 12th century), even though, we dare say, a great part of the population has a very laid back approach towards religion.
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CONTENTS
NATURE
Expedition Lenin Peak
68
ADVENTURE
One Dog, Two Cyclists, Three Globetrotters, One Big Adventure
EDITORIAL 3 CONTRIBUTORS 11 FACTS & FIGURES 12 POSTCARDS 14 CITY 20
Feeling Bishkek
FOOD 38
Traditional Kyrgyz Dishes
EXPLORE
Time Travel to the Nomad Festivals and Games 42 It’s a Nomadic Life 84
ADVENTURE
Circus: Aida 32
One Dog, Two Cyclists, Three Globetrotters, One Big Adventure 58
Fashion: Asyljan 36
Hitchhiking the Chuy Oblast 110
INTERVIEW
Storytelling: Turgunaaly 34
Off the Road 94
58 NATURE
Expedition Lenin Peak 68 Issyk-Kul: Beyond the Alpine Lake 118
CARING 80
Caring for the Elderly
PORTRAITS 132 Face to Face
ESSENTIALS 140
Essentials of Kyrgyzstan
Find the perfect destination 110 channels to dream about included with
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CONTENTS
42 EXPLORE
Time Travel to the Nomad Festivals and Games
94 20 38 ADVENTURE Off the Road
CITY
Feeling Bishkek
FOOD
Traditional Kyrgyz Dishes
118 NATURE
Issyk-Kul: Beyond the Alpine Lake
Bishkek 20 Talas 58
Our highlights of Kyrgyzstan
Issyk-Kul 118
Song-Kul 94
Naryn 84
Tash Rabat 84 94
> Find our highlights on the indicated pages Lenin Peak 68
Osh
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CONTRIBUTORS
Elena Theelen & Mateo Knoche are a German couple who share a passion for travel. Hitchhiking and hiking is their preferred way to meet interesting people and their cultures as well as exploring off the beaten-track. They are fascinated by the less visited countries because the people are usually more welcoming in those places. When not travelling, they are university students who wish to become teachers one day.
Maddi Urizar & Iñigo Prieto are a Basque couple travelling with their sheep dog, Larre. They are passionate about exploring new landscapes and different lifestyles. Along with their bicycles they are drawing a two-year path that started from their home, through thousands of kilometres of intrigue and will end back at their point of departure. As they feel and believe, not only is travelling to the unknown important, but also finding a way to return back home. Follow them on fb.com/Bizizkletan
Andrey Borisov is an accomplished climber and expedition leader who takes large groups of mountaineers to explore the most amazing peaks in Russia and, more recently, abroad to Nepal, Tibet and Kyrgyzstan. Andrey is also a passionate photographer and videographer who never tires of shooting his favourite places: the mountains. Follow him on instagr.am.borisovone
Fernanda Kiehl & Tiago Ferraro are a Brazilian couple and have been full-time travellers since 2014. She is a journalist and he is a photographer. Together they managed to unite their passion to see the world with a desire of making it financially sustainable. ‘The challenge is huge, but not impossible’. Adept at slow travelling, they prefer the lesser-known places and think the best part of a trip is meeting new people. Follow them on mondayfeelings.com
Anabela & Jorge Valente Born in Portugal and Luxembourg respectively, they explore together their passion for travelling, preferably with the motorbike. Naturally curious, they love to explore new places and to meet new people. They have travelled to all the continents, including Antarctica, and contribute with their stories and photographies to several travel magazines. In 2015 they quit their jobs to be full time editors of the travel magazine diariesof. Follow them on diariesofmagazine.com
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CONTRI BUTORS
Aitmatov
Novelist Chingiz Torekulovich Aitmatov is probably the most famous and popular of Kyrgyzstan’s sons. Aitmatov’s novels gave a voice to the Kyrgyz people, when Kyrgyzstan was still under the dominance of the Soviet Union. He later became a diplomat (Ambassador to the Soviet Union in Luxembourg and an advisor of Mikhail Gorbachev).
Tündük
The tündük is the crown piece on the top of yurts. It symbolizes the family and home and is also present in the Kyrgyz flag, surrounded by a yellow sun that represents wealth. In Kyrgyz, yurts are called boz-üi, which literally translates as ‘grey house’ in reference to the colour of the exterior layer of felt.
417 7,439 Gold 40
With 80% of the country covered in mountains, it is not surprising that Kyrgyzstan’s railway network is only 417 kilometres long. This puts Kyrgyzstan on the short list of countries with the shortest railway networks in the world, along with Luxembourg. To be fair, there are at least 30 countries that don’t have any railways at all.
Kyrgyzstan has been often described as ‘The Switzerland of Central Asia’ because at least 80% of the country is covered in mountains. The Tien Shan range has two peaks above 7,000 metres: Jengish Chokusu, at 7,439 metres (the highest point in the country), and Khan Tengri (at 7,010 metres). Lenin Peak, in the Pamir-Alai range, is 7,134 metres high. In total there are 20 peaks above 5,000 metres and 49 above 4,000 metres.
Precious metals represent the largest percentage of Kyrgyzstan’s exports. Gold is at the top of the list, by far, and is followed by several other ores. The Kumtor Gold Mine (run by a Canadian company) sits on one of the largest gold deposits in the world. The country also exports an important amount of dried legumes (beans, chickpeas and peas). Planes and spacecraft come next on the export list.
The word ‘Kyrgyz’ is thought to be derived from the Turkic word for ‘forty’, which is a reference to the 40 clans that the great Manas is said to have united to form the Kyrgyz nation. This is also the reason why the country’s flag features a 40-ray sun.
FACTS&FIGURES
FACTS& FIGURES
The Epic of Manas tells the deeds of the legendary Kyrgyz hero, Manas, the man who rallied the Kyrgyz people to fight for their homeland, and his descendants. This epic poem is reputed to be 500,000 lines long (longer than Homer’s Iliad and The Odyssey put together) and is transmitted orally, by the Manaschis to their children. See page 34.
29.5 Kyrgyzstan has an estimated population of six million inhabitants. As Kyrgyzstan is slightly smaller than Britain it is easy to see that the country is not densely populated. In fact, there are only 29.5 residents for each square kilometre of land.
Issyk-Kul is the world’s second largest alpine lake (after Titicaca in Peru). It lies at an altitude of 1,607 metres and reaches a depth of 668 metres. It is also the second largest saline lake in the world (after the Caspian Sea), with a length of 181 kilometres and a width of 60 kilometres. Its name means ‘warm lake’ because the lake never freezes despite being surrounded by snow-covered mountains.
Kyrgyzstan is raising awareness of the need to conserve the snow leopard species, which is in danger of extinction. While most of Kyrgyzstan’s mountains offer potential habitats for the snow leopard, its population is estimated to be between 150 and 500 only.
‘ It is only when a Kyrgyz dies and is laid to rest, that he ceases to be a nomad and finally settles down ’
~ Kyrgyz proverb
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Manas
snow 1,607 leopard
‘The hills are alive with the scent of flowers’ Sary Mogul The wind caressed the flowers and filled the air with an enchanting scent, on the high steppe leading to the tiny village of Sary Mogul. Jorge Valente
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POSTCARDS Send your photos with a description to jorge.valente@diariesof.lu
‘A cosy place’ Altyn-Arashan Snuggled up in a comfortable mattress, under the pretty interior decoration, protected from sun and rain and wind by the yurt’s thick felt, we watch the horses that brought us here and listen to them munching grass... Monika Midel & Peter Puhr-Westerheide
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’Home is where your yurt is’ Song-Kul Most of the nomads of Kyrgyzstan are seminomadic. They take their animals and yurts to the mountains during summer. In the winter they descend again to the villages. Anabela Valente
‘Reflections of silence’ Naryn Reservoir Life is a reflection of what we allow ourselves to see. For that reason we choose to see beautiful places and the positive side of things. Early morning at this artificial lake, near the Naryn dam, offered a lovely double view of the mountains. Jorge Valente
‘Final rest in the city of the dead’ between Sasyk-Bulak and Kara-Oy Kyrgyz cemeteries have the feel of abandoned cities, because it is not the Kyrgyz culture to visit their dead. Here the adornments are a reference to Islam, with the Islamic star and crescent on top of the sepulchre. Very often there are also nomadic (deer antlers or eagles) or soviet references (hammer and sickle).
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Maddi Urizar & Iñigo Prieto
Text by Anabela Valente Photography by Jorge Valente
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feeling
Bishkek
[previous page] The State History Museum and the Manas statue under an approaching thunderstorm
Bishkek
Some cities are better experienced through the senses (whereas you absorb Barcelona with the eyes, you taste coconut and coriander in Bangkok and smell the freshly-washed clothes of Lisbon).
B
ishkek opens a brand new category. Some say there is little to see. We say there is a lot to feel in Bishkek.
On our first day in Bishkek we decided to take a marshrutka (a shared taxi in Central Asia) to go to the centre of town, where, coincidentally, celebrations to commemorate Independence Day were happening. On our way from the hostel, we marvelled at the enormous homogeneous apartment blocks, with
exposed concrete walls and textures that felt harsh, but which were occasionally lightened up by one or the other splashes of colourful graffiti. They are samples of the soviet architecture that has left its mark on the city. We tend to associate blocks of apartments with an anonymous and individualistic lifestyle, everyone for oneself, without even knowing one’s neighbours. We did not have that feeling in Bishkek though. On the contrary, there’s a sense of
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CITY
[top left] The State Opera and Ballet Theatre is located opposite Oak Park, the oldest park in the city [top right] One of the statues of Manas, the legendary Kyrgyz hero, with the national flag
community in the gathering of adults that sit and chat on the grass, in the gangs of sweet-scented youngsters that wander the streets, and the clans of kids that run through the parks. Bishkek is like a large family-city. Manas and Lenin: a feeling of history. We hopped out in the main square, Ala-Too Square, where, in normal days, sixteen fountains and countless blossoming flowerbeds aren’t enough to banish a feeling of emptiness. Today, it was filled with crowds and we sensed a holiday mood. On the other side of the square is a four-lane road, and behind the huge statue of the great Manas, the imposing State History Museum. Manas and his horse found their way to this dominant place in 1991 – with Kyrgyz Independence – and replaced a solid
statue of old Lenin, since then demoted to the back of the building. It is perhaps not a coincidence that both statues are standing back-to-back, we still feel some tension there... The museum is the backdrop for the festivities that are happening next to a colossal Kyrgyz flag, secured by two guardians of the National Guard. Hundreds of well-organised groups of children and teenagers, dressed in traditional attire, are ready to transform the street into an endless stage, through the performance of dances: Kyrgyz’s preferred art form. We feel the good vibes and stay around to enjoy the show. Signs of nature. When the sound coming from the loudspeakers became unbearable to our ears, we sought
The fountains of Ala-Too Square star in a light and sound fountain show that takes place on summer nights
refuge in Dubovyi Park, at the rear of the museum, only to find that the place was also popular with Kyrgyz youths, who canoodled there, unseen by the crowds at the front. Yes, love was in the air... After the performances, this and other parks would be invaded by the crowd, eager to find some shade under the centenarian oaks and willows that fill them. In summer time, the city can easily reach forty degrees and it feels very hot. These parks are both a place of refreshment and an adventure playground for kids and adults. You can choose between paying to ride a tetra-cycle bike; shooting for a teddy bear; testing the power of your punch or hanging off a bar, for two minutes, to win bets. Otherwise, you might just feel
like having a relaxing ice-cream instead of all that action. The parks and tree-lined boulevards are the main draw of the city. They are responsible for its embellishment and they make the city walkable. They give shade, and more importantly, they give oxygen. Ageing cars, trolleybuses and marshrutkas are responsible for the polluted air that one breathes in Bishkek. During rush-hour, particularly, we searched for tree-lined avenues, where the air is fresher and breathing is more pleasant. Modernisation at a price. Although not exactly Fifth Avenue, Chui and Kiev Streets have so many sophisticated shops (and people that fit them), that one feels just how quickly the
CITY
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Changing the guard in Bishkek takes place every hour
Strolling amid the old weeping willows in Dubovyi Park is a popular activity
city is modernising. Even Osh, the second biggest town in the country, has difficulties in following Bishkek’s pace of progress. Fancy bars offer the opportunity to chill with gourmet
‘
has given way to the stale original one. Without wanting to feed the never ending discussions about the benefits and damages of modernisation, our feeling is that Bishkek is slowly walking towards general globalisation. Visit soon, to experience the many authentic attractions in the city while you may!
In summer, the city easily reaches forty degrees coffee and freshly backed cupcakes! (Hell, this is Asia, who wants coffee and cupcakes? You should be asking for tea and borsok!). International chains are opening up and shopping malls are replacing traditional commerce. The family-owned KFC (which in Kyrgyzstan used to stand for Kyrgyz Fried Chicken)
’
Genuine Osh market. Bishkek has seen many caravans pass by; after all it has been part of the Silk Road (the main street Jibek Jolu translates as Silk Road) for centuries. If you can’t resist local grocery shopping, then head to the Osh bazaar, where you will find horse
Crossing one of the busy streets of Bishkek
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CITY
sausages next to the fruits. If you are adventurous with your taste buds, there is a lot more to try. Kyrgyz love korut, and sooner or later you won’t be able to avoid them. They are salty snacks and an acquired taste! These salty cheese balls have a strong flavour of goat’s milk, and can be simple or with added flavours (smoked, with fish or animal oil and with herbs or spices). If you are lucky, you will find one that suits your taste. With our stay in Bishkek winding to an end, we felt nostalgic and rewound all the good things we had experienced, such as that time a couple called us over to their car only to ask where we came from and then to offer us vodka and a handful of dried fruit; or the day at the
public baths, when knowing we were tourists, a Bishkeki couple insisted on accompanying us (separately of course, public baths are separated by gender in Central Asia) and introduced us to the otherworldly experience of being washed and peeled by old babushkas until the skin capitulates and drops off; or the time when we were stopped on the street and just stayed chatting with these local strangers in the warm evening and didn’t notice the time passing by. What does Bishkek feel like? It is difficult to express it in one word. Bishkek looks simple but it’s fine. It feels both parochial and sophisticated, in a hurry and lingering, atypical but familiar, grey and green in turn. Bishkek feels good!
Inaugurated in September 2018, the new Central Mosque of Imam Sarakhsi was built by the Turkish religious authorities and is dubbed Central Asia’s biggest mosque
Independence Day is celebrated throughout the country on August the 31st and honours the declaration of independence from the Soviet Union, made in 1991. Besides a military parade, dances are the highlight of the festivities, with many groups of dancers donning traditional attire.
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CITY
[top] One of the largest markets in Bishkek is the Osh Bazaar, where there is a large section of food products as well as traditional souvenirs [right] Typical Kyrgyz house with a blue wooden roof
CITY
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This graffiti on Chui Avenue is the street-art work of the DOXA art group together with Nikolai Cherkasov
The cupolas of the public baths, where the cold water pools are situated, are a remnant of the Soviet-styled architecture