Postcard from Bishkek

The other day we had to call in the computer engineer … we had a problem with one of the hard drives … and no sooner had he arrived than something else cropped up … then another problem … and another.  What should have been a fairly straight forward visit lasting, say, half an hour […]

As the holy month of Ramadan gets underway, I thought I would spend a moment to consider what this night mean for visitors to Kyrgyzstan. Maybe it is because I was a teacher, but the first piece of advice for any person traveling to a country where there is a substantial Muslim population, especially during […]

In theory – today marks the beginning of Ramadan, the Muslim month of Prayer and fasting … although it all depends on the sighting of the New Moon … and whereas some Muslims are happy to calculate the date on the basis of astronomical data, in Muslim circles this is a hotly debated issue.  Anyway, for […]

The Kashful Mahjub or Unveiling the Veiled –  an early treatise on Sufism - by Ali bin Uthman al-Hujwiri. Tomorrow evening marks the start of Ramadan – probably, it all depends on the sighting of the new moon and whereas some Muslims are happy to calculate the date on the basis of astronomical data, in Muslim circles this is […]

Yesterday I wrote a postcard about the Chupacabra, the legendary monster first reported in 1996 in Puerto Rico but which, apparently, has appeared or at least been blamed for attacks on livestock in may far flung places … even in the Kochkor region of Kyrgyzstan. As usual with such legendary creatures, the sightings are rare, […]

There have been some interesting reports in the press over the last couple of weeks, coming out of Kochkor. It all began with a report that a special commission had been set up to investigate reports about the appearance of an animal that had started attacking and killing livestock in the region.  The creature has […]

On Sunday, at the 38th session of the  Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO, held in Doha, it was decided to accept a number of historical and cultural sites from around the world into the UNESCO World Heritage List. Among the nominations that were approved was one relating to the Silk Road, making special mention of the […]

SPOILER ALERT: This postcard has (virtually) nothing to do with Kyrgyzstan. One of my fabourite sayings is that “I don’t believe in absolutes …” which is ironic because that, in itself, is an absolute. Even though I taught Mathematics, the Queen of the Sciences, which is often considered to be about rigour, logic and absolutes … […]

I was complaining to the kids the other day about how often they fail to give a straight forward answer to a direct question; something like : Me: “Where are you going?” Maxim: “Out”, or Me: “who are you writing to on Facebook?” Andy: “A friend” I feel like saying “That tells me a lot […]

Knowing how keen the people here are on both celebrating each and every holiday and also on Music … I am a little surprised that I have never seen anything about the fact that today is World Music Day. Each year on the 21st June there are a series of free public events to celebrate […]