Postcard from Bishkek

Friday started quietly.  Although the sun was shining when I went down to the office at six, it wasn’t particularly warm.  That didn’t put the crowds off, however, as they gathered early in the morning, creating traffic chaos.  On the way back from the hotel after a meeting I discovered one road clogged with cars […]

“Holy Fire!” It sounds like something Robin might say to Batman in the 1960’s TV programme.  In fact it’s more serious than that, to the Orthodox faithful.  Indeed, to them it represents a miracle.

There was an announcement last week that today, April 29th, (Dehn Goroda), the fountains in Bishkek would be turned on once more following their winter shutdown. Since ancient times fountains have been used to decorate cities.  In early times water would cascade under the force of gravity form mountain springs and descend to the towns […]

Today sees the British Royal Wedding in Westminster Abbey between Prince William and Kate Middleton.  Even here in Kyrgyzstan it has been difficult to miss all the hype, (there is an awful lot of coverage about the event in the international media and on the internet), although, to be honest, there has not been that […]

According to the Flagcounter statistics, we have just passed 5000 visitors from 132 different countries to the site since the counter was installed last September … with 11420 individual page views. I know that’s not a lot by  some standards … there are many sites that get far more ‘hits’, but it is still a milestone […]

The name of Ella Maillart may not be one of those that immediately springs to mind either when thinking of Kyrgyzstan, explorers or travellers.  Her story, however, is quite extraordinary. In the 1930’s she undertook a journey through Soviet Turkestan, (though parts of present day Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan), writing a book about her experiences: “Turkestan […]

Tuesday saw the monthly open meeting of the International Business Council, (IBC).  This onbe was sponsored by the OSCE, (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), office in Bishkek and was entitled “Fighting Corruption: Importance of Preventive Measures”. As well as opening speeches from the Chairman of IBC, the Ambassador of the OSCE to Kyrgyzstan […]

Apparently, there’s been some controversy in the British press about the possibility of Gordon Brown taking over as Chairman of the IMF, (International Monetary Fund), with David Cameron saying that he is not convinced that it’s a good idea.  He feels that although Gordon Brown has plenty of experience as Chancellor of the Exchequer, (the […]

This might seem like an odd topic to choose for a postcard, but as Benjamin Franklin observed: “There are only things certain in life, Death and Taxes.”  There is no denying the fact that death, (and having to come to terms with loss of a loved one), is a fact of life, (no pun intended), […]

Every year, World Malaria Day is celebrated on April 25th.  The idea behind the day is to recognize the global efforts to combat and control this deadly disease. Malaria is a serious disease that is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected female mosquito.  which usually bite sometime between dusk and dawn.