Krygyzstan : the wedding

Krygyzstan Lake Issyk Kul

Krygyzstan:hotel-man made grandeur

Here we are in the little country of Kyrgyzstan which gained independence from the Soviets in 1991 and has had two revolutions to oust the former and current presidents. Currently the country of five million have no president or active parliament. Elections will be held in June to get the country back to some semblance of government. We visited the Kyrgyzstan white house, built by the Soviets, very impressive and with a much fancier fence than that other white house. Sadly, part of the fence had been destroyed and  blocked up after the recent civil unrest.

Kyrgyzstan’s main industry is tourism. The Americans and Russian pay for army bases here so that provides some income into the GDP. All the manufacturing industries and factories lie idle as after the Soviets withdrew the manufacturing industry collapsed and of course China their neighbour can provide any manufactured goods more competitively than this little country. The country side is littered with rusting and unused factories.

Bishkek is the capital and all the swish public buildings are the relics of the USSR. Approximately one million people live in Bishkek and there is enormous discrepancy between the urbanites and those who eke out a subsistence rural life.

Yet again the country side is a photographer’s delight. We have all OD on mountain/alpine peak pictures with juniper and fir trees. Everywhere you look the view is framed by snow capped mountains. 95% of Kyrgyzstan is above 1000 metres and 40% is at 2000 plus metres.

We have a great guide Arsen who is very informative pleasing  the “information hungry” He is happy to share his knowledge of the social, political and historical context of the country AND he provides clear and unambiguous directions about time and place. He is fluent in Russian and English. He gave the group a choice of four alternative routes given that we had to reroute into the country. It was put to the vote and everybody is happy.

We travelled by mini bus to Lake Issyk Kul, the world’s second biggest inland sea water lake. At an altitude of 1,608 metres, it was stunningly beautiful to observe a sea side environment set against a back drop of rugged snow capped mountains. We stayed at a former soviet spa and health resort which was built in the sixties with extensive gardens and many art deco features. The gardens were superb with an extensive palette of lilacs in bloom, tulips, jonquils, daffodils, snapdragons and pansies surround by fir and pine trees.  Apparently it was a favoured holiday destination of the Russian generals. It is currently run by the state and is in remarkable condition. The dining hall, the marble entry, the pools and health centre are extremely grand. We are now dining on Russian inspired cuisine: borsch, blinis and pancakes, rye bread, lots of cheese, eggs and Russian beer. And I thought I’d lose weight in The Stans!

We had the good fortune to visit the ruins of an ancient city which had been destroyed by Genghis Khan. The only remaining feature is the Burana Tower; 11^th century minaret. A wedding party were there for the typical family photos. They were accompanied by a guy playing “the Squeeze Box” and there was lots of dancing and singing. Before long we were all in with the wedding party dancing and downing vodka shots. We wish the bride and groom a long and happy union.

We climb to 3000 metres today so we will be out of internet and mobile range

Krygyzstan:Tall peaks that reach to the sky