I was asked to give an interview this week for a television programme looking at foreigners who have lived here for some time. Personally, I don’t really like interviews – it you are not well prepared then you can let something slip, say something in the “heat of the moment”, and regret it afterwards. At least when it comes to writing articles like these postcards, there is the opportunity to review and reflect on what is being said before it becomes “public”. That isn’t really the case when it comes to an interview.
As it happened, the journalist had done her research and asked a lot of very good questions … and what advice I would give, both to other foreigners who were thinking of investing in Kyrgyzstan and also to locals. I fielded the questions as best I could – but when I did sit back and review the two hour experience afterwards, I thought to myself that a better answer than the one I givee might have been to contemplate the inscription on the memorial to the “Afghansev” in Attaturk Park.
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International Museum Day
Today is International Museum Day and I thought I would take the opportunity to outline some of the museums in the capital. Indeed, for those visitors with time on their hands, Bishkek has a number of museums. Some of them are small and receive few visitors, but you will receive a warm welcome in all of them. In most of them, the displays are in Russian and/or Kyrgyz only.
A city tour can include a visit to one or more of the museums … the most commonly visited ones are theHistorical Museum (formerly the Lenin Museum) in the main square and the Museum of Fine Arts. It is possible to arrange special visits to most of these museums, (in the past we have also been asked to provide visits to others such as the M.V. Frunze Museum, the Mineralogical Museum, the Ala Archa National Park Museum and the Sadykov Museum), where one of the museum’s expert staff can present and talk about some of the more interesting exhibits. As most of the staff don’t speak English, or other foreign languages, it may be necessary to take a guide/interpreter as well.
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The European School
I had an interesting meeting on Tuesday morning … and I think I can forgive the organizers for dragging me out of the office for an 08:30 start. Although I am normally in the office by about 06:00am, I am normally on my own don’t have to worry about encountering other people for several hours; meetings don’t usually start before 09:00.
However, because this one wasn’t in my office, it was at the European School, I had to get myself organized and ready to face the world a little earlier than usual. At least the trip to the school went against the flow of traffic and I was there in plenty of time, but I feel; sorry for my driver who then had to sit in the traffic jams on the way back to the office having dropped me off.
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Friday, (18th May), is International Museum Day, (IMD), and all over the world museums will holding special events based on the theme “Museums in a Changing World - New Challenges, New Inspirations“.
- International Museums Day
(Actually, although Friday is designated as International Museums Day, not all events around the globe take place on the day itself, some are spread over the days either side of IMD.)
The idea behind the Museums in a Changing World theme is a recognition whereas each museum will have its own unique set of goals, interests and audiences … they are all faced with interpreting, and existing in, a context that is constantly changing and changing faster than ever. Where technology delivers new ideas and masses of information, which is shared in new ways, such as by social media, and presenting us with new challenges in our work and recreation – whether in the workplace, school, playground or home.
We all have to compete for an audible voice against the furious pace of this background: Schools, Banks, Shops, Tour Companies, Films, Musicians … and so on … even museums, large and small.
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May 15th, 2012
Author ian
Sections: Tourism
Holiday in a Hospital?
A few years ago I was accompanying someone from The Swiss Hotels Association who was here in Kyrgyzstan on a project to try and help develop the provision of hospitality services in the republic. As part of the mission we went to visit several educational institutions which offered courses in Tourism and Hotel Management and also a wide range of hotels, “pensionats”, resorts, and other establishments which offered accommodation. We got into trouble at one establishment because in the introductions he referred to “hotels” and the Director sitting on the opposite side of the table pointed out: “We are not a hotel. We are a Sanatoria.”
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I was astounded when I read the announcement: at 12:00 today a new exhibition, ”Men Ming zhyl zhashadym“, will open at the State Historical Museum.
At 12:00 today‽ … But today’s Monday!
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Speeches at the IBC AGM
Yesterday was the second TEDxBishkek conference and it’s the sort of event that I really enjoy attending. I always have – they remind me of sixth form conferences that used to be organised in my youth by the British Association for the Advancement of Science and I went to the first TEDxBishkek which was staged last autumn. I was really pleased to hear that the organizers had decided to arrange another one this spring. Unfortunately, however, I couldn’t go … I had a clash of dates in my diary.
Saturday also saw the Annual General Meeting, (AGM), of the International Business Council, (IBC ). It was a difficult choice, but I knew that I could only attend one gathering and that I really had to decide which it was going to be.
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The lady with the lamp - illustration from the Ten pound banknote
My home town of Malvern, in Worcestershire, was famous in Victorian times as a spa town. In the middle of the nineteenth century the ”water cure” attracted a wide variety of celebrities to the town including the likes of Charles Darwin, Lord Tennyson, Samuel Wilberforce and Florence Nightingale. Despite that, not everyone was convinced in the efficacy of the treatment.
I am not sure exactly when Florence Nightingale visited Malvern, before or after she made her name in the Crimea, tending to wounded soldiers. Her pioneering work in organizing the hospitals and earning herself a reputation as a reformer, the adoration of the public and a place in history as an icon of Victorian womanhood. She became known as “the lady with lamp” which is the image that most people have of her – as featured in the illustration on the reverse of the ten pound banknote.
It was, however, her later work which was to be far more more important, saving far more lives as it helped to bring about a radical change in the entire medical system, and not just the care of patients in the wards. In order to achieve this she pioneered a brand new technique for bringing about social change – the use of applied statistics.
Yes, the lady with the lamp was also an accomplished mathematician.
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Dali's Columbus discovering America
Life in Bishkek can be full of surprises, although, (to be honest), most of the time life simply continues is mundane progress through a series of routines, meetings and habits and procedures.
Personally, I don’t like surprises, as they mean that something is happening which we are not prepared for; a revolution, for example. Of course, most surprises are less dramatic than that and I suppose could be said to constitute, (even if I don’t really like the phrase), a pleasant surprise.
One of those came to mind recently, because today happens to be the birthday of the surrealist artist and one of the icons of twentieth century art, Salvador Dali.
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May 10th, 2012
Author ian
Sections: Tourism
Earlier this week I came across a link to news item which looked as if it might be interesting:
Top 10 Weird Travel Stories
By Paloma Migone: Everyone has a crazy story about their adventures overseas. Cows on a plane? A kidnapping before your eyes? A naked receptionist? Yes, apparently, these did happen.
I clicked on the link and soon wished that I hadn’t.
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