Archive sections: ‘For the Record’
There is an English saying that “Rules are made to be broken, but traditions are to be kept”. This could easily be a Kyrgyz motto – especially when it comes to traditions associated with age. Toi : There are several occasions when it is traditional to hold a party to mark some milestone in the [...]
In Soviet times the shores of Lake Issyk Kul were home to over a hundred Sanatoria, most of them clustered around Cholpon Ata on the Northern Shore – although some returning Cosmonauts were brought to a sanatoria at Tamga on the Southern shore. Many were established by trade unions or some other organization, (for example the [...]
The name Djety Oguz means “Seven Bulls” in Kyrgyz. About 25 km South West of Karakol is a lush valley with some striking red sandstone rock formations (the “seven Bulls” from which the valley takes its name)
Barskoon and Tamga are twin Kyrgyz and Russian villages at the mouth of the Barskoon valley – which has an impressive waterfall and is a good centre for trekking and horse riding. The 11th century scholar Mahumud al-Kashgari (also known as Barskhani) was a native of this area. He is best known as the author [...]
Cholpon Ata is the largest town (village) on the Northern shore of the lake, about half way along, some 250 kilometres from Bishkek. Summer always saw large numbers of tourists descend with their vouchers for a stay in one of the nearby sanatoria or tour resorts (Cholpon Ata boasts one of the two Presidential residences [...]
Lake Issyk Kul lies at the bottom of a drainage hollow, or depression and has no outflow. Mountains ring the lake and there are several valleys worth visiting, Gregorievka and Simeonevka on the North, Barskoon on the South and numerous others around Karakol. To the North are the Kungei (“Sunny”) Ala-Too mountains and are criss-crossed [...]
There is a report from Russian UFO-logists who claim that a 600 meter long UFO may have crashed in the Tien Shan Mountains, near to the Chinese border.
The Second Tuesday after Easter is the Orthodox “Parent’s Day”. It’s not like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day in the the West in that it is a special day for remembering one’s deceased relatives. Apparently, the tradition goes back a long way and there are fourth century references linking it to a spring pagan festival. [...]
The Suusamyr valley is a high steppe plateau – 2200 meters a.s.l. – that although only some 160 kilometres from Bishkek is also one of the more remote and rarely visited regions of Kyrgyzstan. Although it is on the other side of the massive Kyrgyz Range from Bishkek and the Chui valley, it is part [...]
The Kekemeren River runs through a striking narrow valley South from Suusamyr plain, past the village of Aral (in Naryn oblast – 1400 m. a.s.l.), until eventually it flows into the Naryn River. 108 kilometers long, the river is popular for white-water rafting, at first the river is relatively calm, but gradually, more and more [...]
