This caught me by surprise.

Although I was  aware that we grow a lot of apples here in Kyrgyzstan, I was intrigued as to why someone would want to travel all this way to see the orchards when we grow an awful lot of apples in the UK as well.  Indeed, in our garden we had four apple trees of different varieties, (two “eaters” and two “cookers”) which almost every year bowed on the weight of the plentiful fruit.  Many fell to the ground before we could get to pick them – and one of my regular jobs was to rake up the “windfalls” and sort them into ones that could be salvaged and others which were to be composted.

So I went off and did some research.

To my amazement I discovered some learned articles in a variety of journals that seemed to suggest that, although the apple was now found virtually throughout the world, it’s origins were thought to be deep in the Tien Shan mountains.  As it turns out, deep in the Kazakh Tien Shan, not the Kyrgyz part of the range – a little bit to the East of the modern republic.

The research seems to show that the modern apple evolved from seeds which had blown over the mountains from China many millions of years ago and then seeds were transported westwards over a period of time – naturally at first, (for example carried by migrating birds or simply blown by the wind), but in more recent times, (over the last 10,000 years),  with the assistance of human intervention.  Everywhere, the fruit proved to be a popular food and the cultivation of trees began with grafting and new hybrids were developed wherever mankind settled.

For the record: As it happens, it’s not just the apple that it thought to have originated in this area.  Central Asia turns out to have been a real melting pot in the world of flora.  Rhubarb and the tulip, for example, are also thought to have their origins here.  Surprisingly, the walnut, for which Kyrgyzstan is particularly well known as it hosts the world’s largest extant of wild walnut forests, probably didn’t originate here – but it probably the source of the European walnut.  Alexander the Great is supposed to have found the tree when he conquered the region and sent some back to Macedonia where it thrived.  Oddly enough, they are still known in Russian as Grecheskiy Orecky – Greek Nuts – which is the cause of a little annoyance locally.

Anyway, in Kyrgyzstan there are numerous varieties of apple – varying in shape, colour, size and sweetness.  For several years there has even been an Apple Festival organized by the Association of  Orchardists and the Gardens and Plastic project, (the first one being held in 2005, and it has been held annually, in October, ever since), to commemorate and market the fruit – giving people the opportunity to taste and purchase some of the wide variety of organically grown produce, products made from apples (and other food and beverages), as well as giving people the chance to have a good time.  The Festival has normally been held in the Issyk Kul region, but this it was held in Kochkor, in the Naryn oblast.

In fact, I hadn’t heard anything about this year’s festival – we received no leaflets or posters, unlike in previous years.  So the first I heard about this years’s event was when I received the latest issue of the IBC Monthly Newsletter, which included the following article:

Singing an ode to Kyrgyz apples

Communities of Issyk-Kul and Naryn oblasts and the “Nur-Omur”Association, with the support of Kompanion Financial Group,Mercy Corps and the Kochkor District Administration held the 5thAnnual Apple Festival on October 30, 2010 in the Kochkor villageof Naryn.

This year’s Apple Festival brought together about 400 people from 40 villagesof Naryn and Issyk-Kul regions to celebrate this year’s harvest. The day wasfilled with exciting contests and competitions for adults and children, humoroussketches and jokes, musical performances, as well as the traditional andthe most delicious part of the holiday – apple tasting and the display of originaldishes made with apples.

In addition, to further the development of organic horticultural practices andagricultural market linkages, event organizers facilitated round tables to providecommunity members an excellent opportunity to discuss and identify important ecological and economicissues at the local level for further joint development.”

The tradition of the Apple Festival was born in 2006. This year’s Apple Festival is held in the Naryn region forthe first time. Communities of Kochkor took the initiative to introduce gardening experience that serves as agood example for others, “- says Erkinbek Zhumabayev, Kompanion’s Chief Liaison Officer.

There was tough competition in the fight for the title of the “Biggest Apple.” A juicy fruit weighing 700 gramstook first place. Among the vegetables, the winners were: a 4 kg beet; a 12-pound pumpkin; and a huge potato,weighing 1.6 kg.

I am used to receiving announcements of different events just before, (say a day or two), before they are going to happen, but this time, the first I knew about it was three weeks after it had happened.

What a waste … I would have liked to have gone – and I can think of several others who might have enjoyed the day out as well.

These events are normally small scale – something approaching a village fete back in the UK, but they are fun all the same – they get me out of the office … and you never know quite what you might come across.  Last year, for example, at a similar festival I found several jams that I had never tried before – including Pine Cone Jam – a speciality of the Issyk Kul region.  It wasn’t bad … tasty and interesting.  (Nothing, incidentally like the Greek wine Retsina which is fermented in Pinewood barrels and often credited with tasting like disinfectant – which is a little unfair.  Although Retsina is not my favourite wine – and if there was a choice I would choose the alternative – it is not too bad.)

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that something like this has happened – that we have learned about an event only after it has happened.

Why does it happen? – because there is a tendency here to “do, nothing, do nothing, do nothing” – and then – “rush, rush, rush” as the appointed date becomes imminent.  I keep saying to people that if they want their events to be well attended then they need to market it – and if they want us to try and encourage tourists to attend, then we need to know about them well in advance … preferably a year in advance, so that we can include them in our planning and marketing and offer them to clients as part as part of their itinerary.

For example, the clients with whom I opened this postcard would have been delighted to have gone along.  When they came to Kyrgyzstan – it was the wrong week for the festival and although they saw lots of fruit orchards – especially apples -the trip wasn’t exactly what they had in mind.  It didn’t stop them, however, recommending a similar to some of their friends who also wanted to undertake a pilgrimage to the “home of the apple” this year.  However,  for various reasons – something to do with a revolution back in the Spring – that particular trip was restricted to Kazakhstan … although they say that they may come back to visit Kyrgyzstan next year.  Maybe, we’ll be able to arrange a trip to the festival for them if they do come.

Anyway, this year I missed the chance of weekend out.  What is really annoying, is that I passed through Kochkor that weekend – twice … on my way to Naryn, and back.  It would have been nice to have taken the opportunity to call in.

If only I had known!

The Red Data Book of the USSR (also known as the Krasnaya Kniga) was the Soviet Union’s contribution to the IUCN Red List maintained by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural resources (IUCN – www.redlist.org).  The book took its name from this worldwide “list”- and was not connected with the politics of the Communist regime.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, (IUCN – The World Conservation Union), was founded in 1948 and has its headquarters in Switzerland.  Its membership includes more than 80 states, (but not Kyrgyzstan), 100 government agencies, 750 NGOs , 80 international organizations and a number of Affiliate members … which means it has over 10000 experts on whom it can draw for information and expertise.The Union has six Commissions which asses the state of the world’s natural resources and one of these is the Species Survival Commission.  The 7000 members of this Commission advises the Union on all aspects of species conservation and produces the ICUN Red List of Threatened Species – which is updated every four years, although not every species is able to be re-evaluated every time.  The latest edition was issued in May 2006.

It is widely recognized as the most authoritative guide to worldwide biodiversity.

The IUCN website actually lists 269 endangered species resident in Kyrgyzstan - 263 species of animals and 6 species of plants – although it should be remembered that this list includes species which are variously categorized as:

Code	Description	Plants	Animals
		in Kyrgyzstan
EX	Extinct
EW	Extinct in the Wild
CR	Critically Endangered		1
EN	Endangered		7
VU	Vulnerable	1	12
LR/cd	Lower Risk / Conservation Dependent
NT	Near Threatened		17
DD	Data Deficient		2
LC	Least Concern	5	224
TOTALS		6	263

There is also a category NE – Not evaluated.  The categories Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable are classified as Threatened species.

More information can be found on their websites: www.icun.org and www.icunredlist.org

Citation: IUCN 2006. 2006IUCN Red List of threatened Species. <http://www.iucnredlist.org>.  Downloaded on 11 March 2007.

Originally the “Red Data Book of the USSR” was just an organized list of endangered species - widely consulted, especially by those considering measures for the protection and rehabilitation of such species, but it later became a legislative document providing for the implementation of various measures and programmes.

The Red Book of the USSR was published in 1978 as a formalization of earlier research, and was subsequently followed by a number of other local versions in different republics of the Union – for example Russia, the Ukraine, Turkmenistan … indeed all of the CIS states now publish their own version, and even for regions and much smaller areas.  Moscow has its own official Red Data Book.

In 1979 the Ministerial Council of the Kyrgyz SSR adopted a decree approving the the list of rare and threatened species including:

• • 13 species of mammals
  • 20 bird species
  • 3 reptiles
  • 1 species of fish
  • 5 inspects and
  • 65 plant species.

The Red Data Book of the Kyrgyz SSR  was published as a book in 1985 and ran to 136 pages with line drawings and maps showing the distribution of the various species throughout the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic.

It was not the first instrument adopted in the republic which provided measures for the protection of endangered species.  Legal protection for endangered species began with the first law on hunting which was enacted in 1930.  Currently, as well as prohibiting their hunting, killing or the collection of specimens of certain species, Kyrgyzstan has created a number of special preserves, parks and natural reserves and in some cases populations of animals are “relocated” to assist the preservation of the species – for example the wild nopar and maral.

Then, in 2009, some further amendments were made to the list.  Here is a summary of the changes:

Although the list has been published, a new edition of the Red Data Book for the Kyrgyz Republic still has yet to be prepared and published.

A film crew are preparing a documentary film on camels and I was asked if I had any advice for them.

Now, there’s nothing new or surprising about this.  Over the years we’ve been asked to help quite a lot of people in a quite a variety of different ways.  Sometimes the questions are quite specific, for example we’ve been asked for help locating tourists who have apparently gone missing; if we can help someone born in Kyrgyzstan but now living abroad get a copy of their birth certificate; even if we can list of speeds of flow for various rivers in Kyrgyzstan;

It’s not the first time we’ve been asked for help and advice by journalists and film crews either.  We have been approached by a number who have been doing background stories on Central Asia in general and Kyrgyzstan in particular, but also on specific issues, such as a photographer who researching social issues and film crews working on a documentary about German cyclists traveling in the footsteps of Marco Polo and trading Kyrgyz horses.

As I said, this request grabbed my attention and really intrigued me.  The focus of their film will be camel cheese – yes, that right camel cheese!  The project as a whole, however, will explore wider issues: the gastronomic, cultural and economic ramifications of the camel in pastoral communities.

Now we do have camels in Kyrgyzstan – not that many of them, to be fair, but it is even possible to buy Kyrgyz camels over the internet!  (Honest! click the link and see for yourself.)  Indeed, farmer Christopher Oates bought seven in 2004 for his 600 acre mixed organic farm on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, where they are a great attraction and used for camel trekking.

The native habitat of Bactrian, (or two humped camels), which are found in Kyrgyzstan, is in the barren and rocky deserts of China and Mongolia, although it is thought that they and their distant cousins the dromedary camel, (or Arabian camel, with a single hump), originated in the Americas where their more distant relatives, (the llama, alpaca, guanaco, and vicuña), are still to be found, and that they crossed the Bering Strait into Asia long ago.

Nowadays, virtually all the camels in the world are domesticated.  The only wild camels are about a thousand Bactrian camels wandering the Gobi Dessert in North Western China and in Mongolia and they are listed in the Red Data Book as a critically endangered species.  It is thought, apparently, that there are no wild dromedaries at all.  There are however a large number of feral camels in Central Australia which escaped from captivity from those brought in as beasts of burden – so many in fact that the Australians have a programme of culling the animals.

It seems that the camel was domesticated quite early on, (although there is some argument about when and where this happened).

They proved to be excellent beasts of burden – a camel can carry 170-270kg at a rate of about 47km per day traveling at an average of 4km an hour.  The ancient Persians, for example, used camels for their baggage baggage trains for arrows and equipment when their armies went on campaign.  They are also a symbol of the caravans that used to travel the Great Silk Road.

As well as being for transportation, domestication also brought mankind a source of meat and milk, and their hides and hair would also have been put to good use.

Because they are so valuable, they are rarely killed for meat, but when they are they can provide a tremendous amount of meat.  The carcass of a Bactrian camel, for example, can yield anything between 250 and 650kg.  Apparently, however, it is low in fat, so I not sure how popular it would be amongst the Kyrgyz as Kyrgyz cuisine tends to prefer fatty meat … indeed there is Kyrgyz proverb or saying the “cheap meat has no fat”.

The milk is quite different from cows milk, richer in fat and protein.  It is highly nutritious and can be used to treat auto-immune deficiencies; has ten times more iron than cow’s milk; has more B12, and more vitamin C.   There is a lot of research underway about how camels, (with their incredible immune systems),  can help us treat diseases from autism to cancer to HIV/AIDS.  Camel milk  is even said to be a great beauty treatment … remember that Cleopatra was supposed to have bathed in the stuff!  I have been told that the use of camel’s milk is a feature of nomadic Kyrgyz cuisine, but to be honest, although I can see the possibility, I have never come across it.  However, due to it’s composition, it does not curdle easily and is very difficult to skim, consequently it more difficult to produce the range of dairy products, like ice cream and yoghurt, that it is possible to obtain from cow’s milk.  Difficult, but not impossible … or else they wouldn’t be making a program centered around camel’s milk.

The European Union have recently allowed camel milk and derived products to be traded in Europe (it took ten years to enact the legislation).

This filming is a research project.  They aim to find out whether it could support the nomadic communities that have been forced to settle and farm because of global warming and increased populations; to discover cheese-eating communities and if they don’t exist in a country – to find out why.

As part of the project the film crew will be visiting 12 countries across both Asia (Afghanistan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Tajikistan) and Africa, (Egypt, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Western Sahara) over three months.  It seems to me there are some countries missing from this list – for example, what about Saudi Arabia?  It’s probably a stereotype, but I grew up with Peter O’Toole playing Lawrence of Arabia and somehow camels and Arabs seem to go together.

This film is a project of the “What Took You So Long Foundation”, which is a team of documentary makers, dedicated to filming grassroots NGOs, untold stories, and unsung heroes in some of the more remote corners of the globe. Their films are screened all over the world in order to bring these messages to as many influential movers as possible.

Last year they organized an expedition across Africa which explored a variety of stories, and as well as the Camel cheese expedition, this year they also have one crossing through one of the world’s most culturally diverse and least explored countries – Papua New Guinea.

If anyone is interested, then can I suggest that you go and have a look at their pages on http://whattookyousolong.org/.  “What took you so long” also have a Facebook page and one on YouTube.

There’s also a promotional video for the Camel Cheese expedition on http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/353808285/what-took-you-so-long-to-find-camel-cheese – yes, they are looking for sponsorship … anything from USD1 to, well, you name it … and, yes, I have signed up!

The wolf has a bad reputation throughout the world.  In modern times, this is probably due in part to the prevalence of Werewolf stories and films.

There are a number of species of wolves found throughout the Republic, and their reputation is no better here than elsewhere – especially as they seen as a distinct threat to livestock. In just one year, it is claimed that wolves in the Naryn province alone were responsible for killing almost 16000 animals, (4000 horses, 4000 cows and 8000 sheep and goats) with a value of 70,400,000 soms, (about 1.75 million US dollars at that time), whereas in the same period thieves were responsible for stealing just 342 animals worth 1.4 millions soms (about 33,000 US dollars).  As a result, a bounty is paid to hunters for killing wolves and there is a planned program for culling the animals.  Even domestic dogs have fallen prey to eager hunters.

There is a large wolf dwelling in the western part of Kyrgyzstan, which grows to 40-50kg in weight, one and a half-meters in length and a height of eighty centimetres.  A smaller desert wolf is found in the plains.

Wolves prefer open spaces, copses, precipices, hills, and ravines. They live in packs which can be quite large, although individual pairs can be encountered.  It is estimated that are about 4-5000 wolves in Kyrgyzstan – some have even been observed close to Bishkek.

They have strong family ties and couples form life-long pairings. A litter is usually born in April/May and can number 5-6 cubs that stay with the parents until they reach adulthood. They can make their lairs in a variety of places: in caves, under tree roots, even taking over burrows of other animals.  Every family has its own hunting area, with marked boundaries.

Unlike wolves of the plains, which wander over a large geographical area, mountain wolves are attached to a place, roaming over a comparatively small area – following wild and domestic animals.

In the wild, wolves feed on a large quantity of birds, small animals, (marmot, hare, field-voles, mice, and hamsters).

The novel “The place of the Skull” by Chinghiz Aitmatov has as one of it’s intertwined storylines the fate of one family of wolves which migrates from the plains of Kazakhstan to the mountains around Lake Issyk Kul.  One of the novel’s heroes exhibits an unusual empathy towards the family and their struggle to survive.

There are several different types of birds of prey found in the Kyrgyz Republic: eagles, vultures, hawks, bustards and so forth. The largest is the Golden Eagle – Berkut.

The wings of a young Golden Eagle tend to be light coloured with a dark line along the edge – an older eagle will have a white tail – and the rest of the plumage is a blackish-brown.  It takes it’s name from the golden feathers at the back of the head.

The Grave Eagle has a longer tail and wider wings, with a darker colour than the Golden Eagle, and light spots on its shoulders.

The Steppe Eagle are usually brown, but young ones are a lighter colour – and exhibit a range of different shades.

Although expert hunters, eagles are not opposed to eating carrion.

Their eerie are usually to be found on the top of cliffs, although sometimes they can be found in the summit of large fir trees – especially in the case of Grave Eagles.

Eagles have a special place in Kyrgyz traditional culture and Hunting with Eagles was an important skill which is still practiced today.

A friend of mine, Paul, had another phrase which he would use in similar circumstances: “The things you see when you haven’t a gun!”

I think I prefer Paul’s version, and although I don’t say it very say it very often, I have been known to use it here in Kyrgyzstan, which usually leads to trying to explain what it means.  I might, however, change it to, “The things you see when you haven’t a camera!”

Things like:

The “cowboy” on horseback, rounding up a stray steer:

This is one of my first memories of Central Asia.  It was back in 1994 when I first came here, on a holiday.  My friend, Tony, had been back and forth to Kyrgyzstan on various donor projects following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and had bored all of us back in London, regaling us with enthusiastic accounts of the “paradise” that he had discovered, and had persuaded me that it was worth the effort to come and have a look.  We had spent a few days in Moscow, before catching the connecting flight … to Almaty.  (In those days there were no direct flights from London to Bishkek.)

We arrived in the early hours of the morning and staggered out from the airport to be met by the taxi that his friends in Bishkek had arranged for us, a luxurious “Moskvitch” that looked as if it would fall apart as soon as it hit a pothole, and we sat back, exhausted, for the three hour drive to Bishkek.  I watched as we drove round the outskirts of Almaty and headed West through rolling countryside … which soon emerged into long straight stretches with the mountains rising to our left, and the vast vast Kazakh steppe stretching out to our right.  At the side of the road was, what seemed to be, a never ending line of trees separating the asphalt road from the cultivated grassland.  It was just like the scenes you see in photos and films of the American Midwest, I thought to myself, just before I fell asleep.

I woke about two hours later, startled at the sight of a youth on horseback, frantically whipping the flanks of the animal with a horsewhip as he urged it through the trees and onto the road after a cow, or calf, which had wandered off where it had no business to go.  Perhaps I really had ended up in America, in the Wild West, I thought to myself as I came to my senses and gathered my thoughts.

Oh, how I wish I had had my camera to hand.

The night sky on the road from Bishkek to Almaty, or above Lake Son Kul, and Over a meteorite shower in the night sky over Ala Archa:

Another occasion on that first trip that sticks in mind wouldn’t have made a very good photograph, because it was a view of the the night sky, and the little pinpricks of light would not have shown up on the image without a special camera, lens and film.  It was whilst we were the return trip to Almaty to catch the flight home.

During the Soviet period, the border was basically just an administrative one.  On one side was the Kazakh SSR and the other the Kyrgyz SSR – both of which were constituent republics of the same country – the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR.  Although in 1994 it had become an International border with border crossing points, passport control and Customs procedures, the crossing was very simple, virtually free of any formality.  We just drove up to the border and they waved us through.  That doesn’t mean, however, that our passports weren’t checked … on the contrary.  There were several points on the journey where the vehicle was stopped by the GAI – the State Auto Inspection, or Traffic Police – who asked for our passports and looked us over.  Coming from Britain, this struck me as quite odd, and to be honest, unnerved me a little.

After crossing the border, which is only about 30 kilometers from the Bishkek city center, the road wound its way as it climbed to the Kordai Pass, 1233 meters above sea level.  The meandering road was clear as it was summer, but I was told that in winter, when it is covered in snow and ice, it can be quite dangerous.  The derelict ruins of cars and buses at the roadside gave ample evidence of this.

After crossing the pass we descended to one of the GAI check posts and what seemed to be an endless straight road running along the foot of the mountain range … mountains to the right of us and endless steppe to the left.  Not that we could really see much as it was pitch black dark … no lights on the road, only distant lights to indicate some village or settlement either on the slopes to our left or way out on the steppe to our left.

Our driver, Sergei, was a former helicopter pilot.  After a couple of hours, Sergei stopped the car and asked for a “smoking break”.  It seems as if everyone here smokes, although that’s not true, but certainly a lot of people do.  The thought of a four hour car journey without a “puff” can be quite a strain for some people.  At least he did the professional thing and stopped rather than smoking at the wheel.  It was probably time for a break anyway and a rest would help his concentration, so we were more than willing.  We had a flask of hot coffee with us and drank a cup … and then stood and took in the scene: the darkness, the silence and the night sky.

I don’t think I had ever seen anything quite like it before.  It was a cloudless night and there seemed to so many stars … much more than I had seen at home, and they seemed closer, and brighter.  Of course, there was “light pollution” – no streetlights or neon signs to interfere with the view.   It was almost a mystical experience.  I stood there and counted off the constellations that I could recognize.

I have the same feeling twice since then – once in Ala Archa, in the mountains outside Bishkek one August night when I watched the Perseid meteor shower up by Ala Archa and another summer night up at Lake Son Kul.

Kyrgyzstan, being a land of mountains, (over 90% of the country is considered mountainous), there are plenty of viewpoints which offer spectacular Mountain Landscapes:

One of my favourite memories is of an excursion, a day out, which we took from Naryn a few years ago.  We decided to take a trip to the television transmission tower, about 20 kilometers to the West of the town, high up on the ridge above the town.  The tower is visible from the town, but is actually quite difficult to reach, but it was worth it as we were provided with fantastic views over the town.

Also near to to Naryn, a few hours away, it can make for a pleasant day trip, or be visited en route to or from Bishkek, is Lake Son Kul.  The lake lies in hollow in a treeless, high mountain plateau ringed by mountains which rise above it like a crown.  There are four roads to the lake from the surrounding valleys, like the four corners of a square: one to the North East passing the Kara Keche coal mine; another to the North West down to Sary Bulak and Kochkor; a third, to the South East, towards Naryn, is called thirty three popugai, after the twists and turns of the serpentine road that approaches the plateau and the last crosses the Kurtka pass to the South West, and down to Baetova and Kazarman.  On one occasion we drove over the pass to descend to the Naryn River below and a storm broke out which sent us scurrying to the vehicles in order to keep dry … but which also uprooted trees, one of which narrowly missed us when it fell across the road just after we had passed it as we drove down the narrow valley.

Another landscape I recall was taking the road from Kazarman to Djalal Abad.  The road passes over two high passes and is quite wild in places … narrow and “unmade” – no asphalt.  As we hit the pass, Andrei, the driver brought the vehicle to a halt … we had a flat tyre.  As he set about to change the wheel, the rest of us set out to explore.  I had my camera with me, but it wasn’t much use as we were high in the clouds … the mist enveloping all around us.  Mike, one of our guests, went up to and over the crest and I set off to follow.  When I got to the summit, I took a deep breath when I saw that he had descended twenty or thirty meters down what must have been a seventy or eight slope over a deep, deep drop.

It was here that we also saw a silhouette in the distance which looked like the “Hound of the Baskervilles”, lying calmly on the slopes, looking down the valley.  As we came closer in order to investigate, it looked first this way, then that, but didn’t stir from its spot.  It looked like a wolf, but was probably just a shepherd’s dog, and as the mist swirled around us we decided that caution was the better part of valour and to beat a hasty retreat … just in case … anyway, Andrei had probably repaired the vehicle and it was time to move on .

Although animals provide numerous opportunities for photography, even if you do have a camera to hand, usually the photographs are not that successful.  Unlike this particular hound, instead of sitting quietly, posing whilst you get into position for the perfect shot, they tend to move suddenly … to run away, or look the other way.

For example, once again without a camera, I witnessed a pair of wolves running along the side of a river: On another journey out from Bishkek, we drove towards Lake Issuk Kul.  The road passes through a gorge, Boom Gorge, ( it’s pronounce Bo-om, not boom, and said quickly so that the two syllables merge together, and means “Shoestring Gorge”, in English).  at one pointy the road runs parallel to the river and the driver slowed to a halt pointing down to the river bed, where the two animals were prancing along the riverbank.

There are wolves in Kyrgyzstan, and they often get blamed for taking sheep in the high mountain meadows, or jailoo.  To see them this low and close to human habitation, is very rare and I felt very privileged to have witnessed their playful antics.

Another experience involving the rich and diverse wildlife of Kyrgyzstan which I will long remember … and always regret the fact that my camera was not to hand … involved an eagle riding the airstreams:

On one occasion I was driving back to Bishkek from one of my monthly visits up to the guesthouse in Naryn.  We had some guests with us so we decided to make a detour to one of the local beauty spots, Lake Son Kul.  Having had a picnic lunch by the side of lake, we climbed back into the minibus and headed off to the pass, to descend back down to the main road and head off home.  As we crested the pass, the drive hit the brakes and stopped the vehicle., pointing to the right, down into the narrow valley that rose up to the pass.

There we could see a magnificent eagle, still with white feathers, which suggests winter plumage, or that it was a young fledgling.  It’s wings didn’t move … not a flap … as it glided on the thermals, rising gently and steadily towards the pass.  Seemingly totally unaware of us observers sitting dumfounded and gaping through the open car windows as it passed within about thirty meters of us, up and over the pass.

I have seen several eagles here in Kyrgyzstan.  One May I say hundreds one day, flying high over Issyk Kul, but I never seen any in the wild as close as this.  Even holding an eagle during a demonstration of traditional Eagle hunting by a local Berkutchi was little in comparison to the astonishment and emotions that I experienced on this occasion.

The natural environment provided another memorable moment, when I was once visiting a cafe in the foothills overlooking the city, and witnessed a Lightning storm over Bishkek: The climate in Kyrgyzstan is “continental” which can mean very hot summers and very cold winters.  Each valley creates its own microclimate which varies according to altitude and can mean that it is possible to experience all four seasons in the space of a single day.  Sometimes in summer, it can be very hot and sultry and we can get quite dramatic thunderstorms.  On one occasion I went with some friends to the Panorama Cafe in the foothills overlooking the southern suburbs of the city, which obviously gets its name from the panoramic view over the city that it offers.

As the evening wore on, we sat eating our shashlik and drinking vodka, (the others were drinking vodka, I don’t really like it and only drink it when I “have” to, for example at a wedding or birthday party, when there isn’t any alternative), it started to get dark, but not as a result of night drawing in, … rather as a result of gathering black, threatening, cumulo nimbus storm clouds.

Suddenly there was a tremendous crash like a cannon going off about 10 meters away and the sky became unbearably bright.  A thunderstorm.  We sat there for about an hour watching as the sky lit up with bolt after dolt of lightning, silhouetting the cityscape beneath us.  Eventually, the thunderclaps grew further and further apart, and the storm was over.

Not all the surprising sights are drawn from the natural world … I remember, for example, when I saw what must be one of the world’s largest flags flying above the Ala Too Square in Bishkek for the first time:  The main square in Bishkek, (Ala Too Square) is home to a number of landmarks.  The square is bisected by one the city’s main streets, Chui Avenue, along which parades are sometimes held, overseen by dignitaries who stand on a podium at the foot of the Erkindik monument … the Kyrgyz “Statue of Liberty” – Erkindik in Kyrgyz means “Freedom”.  The huge marble cube behind this, in the northern half of the square, is the State Historical Museum.  To the West of the podium is the state flagpole with an honour guard standing to attention beneath it during the daytime and which sports a huge Kyrgyz flag.   When there is no wind, the flag hangs limply, but when there is a breeze then it wafts to and fro.

In June, 2009, I happened to go to a meeting on the other side of town and as I walked back to my office after the meeting was over, I could clearly see the flag.  I noticed, however, that the flag was very bright and colourful, at that point it was brand new, … it also seemed to be quite large.  At first I thought this was because it was much nearer than it really was … perhaps it was on the Ministry of Culture building …  at that point in time I hadn’t really noticed the new State flagpole which had only recently replaced a much more modest one and I didn’t know anything about a new flag.  As I drew closer and closer, I kept expecting to draw level with the flag but, just as the summit always seems to retreat into the distance as crest yet another ridge, I didn’t seem to get any closer.  Finally, I entered the square and took a deep breath as I took in the scene.

The flagpole measures some 45 meters high and the flag itself has an area of 150 square meters.  It needed 22 soldiers to unfold it and carry it to the flagpole when it is raised.

Perhaps one of the funniest sights I saw was the film cameraman running from the horses, (and it almost tragic sight as well – humour is like that, isn’t it? … one person’s amusement comes at the expense of another’s discomfort):

This was on an occasion when a German film crew had asked if we could arrange some traditional Horse Games in a village on their route.  Everything was going and they were, so they said, getting some fantastic footage, as the cameraman wandered fearlessly around the participants wrestling over a sheep’s carcass in a demonstration of Kok Buro.  Everything was going well until we came to an example of Kyz Kumai, or “Chase the Girl”.  In olden days, this would form part of the wedding ritual.  According to the rules the “bride” was entitled to a head start on her horse and then the “bridegroom” set out in pursuit.  The idea was to catch up with her, and steal a kiss, thus proving his love and right to marry her.  Being at a disadvantage, with the slower horse because she has been give the best “racer”, he sometimes failed to catch up with his fiancée, and so she would set about him with her kamchi – horsewhip.

Well, true to his style, the cameraman stood in the meadow as the two riders galloped their horses to him … In theory, they should have passed to one side of him, but the lead horse had other ideas … and headed straight for him … causing him to jump about two feet in the air and three feet to the side before turning and running off.

Undaunted, he said, “Let’s try again ,,, but this time, make sure the horses pass to the side of me …”.  OK, no problem the locals assured us … but the horses had different ideas and I think that the cameraman jumped even higher and further than on the previous run.

Undaunted, he was about to say “Let’s try again …”, when the Director butted in and said … “I think that will do … it’s an expensive camera – and we don’t have a spare.”

As it happens, the footage was spectacular and has, I believe, been used several times in different programmes.

I wish, however, that I had been able to get the action shot from the sidelines.

Then, there was the occasion when I saw a row of boys, sunbathing in the middle of the road:  It was in the afternoon of a hot summers’ day … We were making my way back to Bishkek when the driver started to apply brakes.  Like most good drivers, he was keeping his eyes open and, thinking 10, 20 or 30 seconds ahead, looking for potential hazards ahead.  He had seen something in the road, and as we approached he slowed down.  It was just as well, because lying across the carriageway was a row of six or eight young boys, soaking up the sun.  As we got closer, he sounded the horn, and you could see heads pop up and look around … realizing that there was a vehicle coming they got up, one by one and ran to the side of the road … it was then that we noticed that they  were “starkers”, naked, without a stitch on.

I am not sure what was the most surprising thing … the fact that they were there at all, lying in the middle of the road … a fairly busy major road … or the fact that they had no clothes on, not even pants or swimming trunks.  There is a very strong  tradition here against any form of nudity … so even if they had swimming in the nearby stream, I would have expected them to have at least been wearing shorts, or underpants.

My favourite “I’ve got a bloody hell” moment, however, must been the time I saw a London Routemaster Bus, a bright red double decker, driving along the street in Bishkek:   I had been to a meeting and was walking back to my office and came to a set crossroads with a set of traffic lights.  As I waited for the lights to change, so that I could cross to the other side of the street, I looked around and saw this bright red London Routemaster bus with the destination board displaying “Westminster”.  I wanted to flag it down and point out that it was heading in the wrong direction – East rather than West.

One occasion when I did have my camera with me … well, almost … was the sighting of the  Hummingbird Hawkmoth. I had gone up to Issyk Kul for a weekend conference and because I was coming from Naryn, and not Bishkek, I arrived to the resort where it was being held earlier than everyone else.  I checked in, unpacked and decided to kill some time whilst I was waiting by going for a walk in the grounds.  It was a bright spring day and I walked along the side of the flower beds taking in the colours and smells, and watching the bees and butterflies flitter from flower to flower, bloom to bloom.  Suddenly, I stopped short … I couldn’t believe my eyes.  Normally the butterflies landed on a flower and opened their wings and seemed to bask in the sunshine, the bees landed on the blooms, hustling and bustling, this way and that, collecting pollen for their hives, with never a still moment.

There in front of me, however, was a tiny insect, (well, not that tiny, about two or three centimeters long), but it wasn’t its size that attracted my attention – it was what it was doing.  It didn’t land on the plants, but hovered in front of them, and projected a proboscis into first one bloom and then another.  It looked like the action of a humming bird.  Now I know that some humming birds are very small … but this seemed to be far too small – so I took another, closer, look and confirmed that it really was an insect.

I had never seen anything like this before, although I have subsequently learned it is not exactly a rare species.  As I said, I did have my camera with me … but not in my hands, so I ran back to my room to get it … when I returned, the insect was no longer to be seen … I hunted up and down the flower bed … and then, yes, there it was … I raise the camera and took a photo … or tried to … whhrrr, whhrrr … was all I could hear, there was no click of the shutter.  The batteries were dead.  Yes, I did have a spare set … back in the room.  I ran back and got them.  Once again the pesky insect had flown on to another sport and I was left to search up and down the flowerbeds once more … Yes, there it was.  I snapped a picture … it was out of focus. I took another … got it .. but it was too blurred … the wings were moving too fast,  Eventually, several shots later I got a clear copy … and then some more.

When I got back to Bishkek I searched the internet and found similar photos … and a description.  As I said, its not a particularly rare species, but I felt really pleased that I had seen it … an insect that acted like a bird.

“Well,” I thought to myself, “I’ve got a bloody hell! … The things you see when you haven’t a gun!”