Archive sections: ‘Kyrgyzstan’
It used to be said that there were over 80 nationalities represented in the population of the Kyrgyz Republic. According to the results of the census in 1999, there were some members of 132 nationalities registered in Bishkek – including 33 “Brits”, ( … we are still waiting for the results of the 2009 census).
Over 94% of Kyrgyzstan lies at an altitude of over 1000 meters above sea level and 71% above 2000 meters. (Generally – anything above 1500 meters is counted as mountainous).
Numbers play an important part in mankind’s history and culture. However, many people in the world view numbers with distrust and suspicion (the British Prime Minister, Disraeli, is said to have uttered “There are lies, damn lies and statistics” when presented with ever increasing figures for the cost of building Babbage’s Analytical Engine – the [...]
In the former Soviet Union there was a network of state run Circuses – and the Khirghiz SSR was no exception, although it was established only in 1962, when a troupe was formed called “Molodaya Kyrgizia” – “Young Kyrgyzia”.
You can imagine my surprise when, one day in 1999, I sat at my computer and downloaded the latest episode of Alistair Cooke’s letter from America and read the opening sentence: “The name Bishkek does not come trippingly off the tongue … “
Now, although golf is not exactly a traditional Kyrgyz sport, the country does have a golf course which is available for members and non-members alike, which hosts a number of tournaments, competitions and charity events. The Maple Leaf Golf and Country Club was opened in 2001, and although most of the members are ex-pats working in [...]
Kyrgyzstan may not spring to mind whenever there is discussion about the Cinema and the film industry. This is understandable as very few films made in Kyrgyzstan reach the West, and those that do are normally restricted to various specialist festivals. There is, however, a film industry and, even though they don’t produce high-budget “blockbusters”, [...]
Food is a question of taste – as the saying goes: “One man’s meat is another man’s poison”. Don’t expect the food in Kyrgyzstan to be the highlight of your trip – but that does not mean that you have landed up in a culinary wasteland!
The sports columns of the popular newspaper Vecherniye Bishkek, (“Evening Bishkek”), once carried the headline “The Incomprehensible Game” – Rugby Football. It may well be that the game with it’s complex and complicated system of laws, scoring, scrums, lineouts, tries, penalties and the host of technicalities, (such having to pass the ball backwards while trying to run [...]
The news has recently been full of stories of great firsts – especially the case of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first men on the moon, as we have been marking the anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. One of the thoughts that this brought to mind was of a pioneers blazing a [...]
