Postcard from Bishkek

The Kumtor Gold Mine is an open-pit gold mining site in the Issyk Kul oblast, about 350 km (220 miles) southeast of the capital Bishkek and 80 km (50 mi) south of Lake Issyk-Kul, near the border with China.  It is said to be the seventh-largest gold deposit in the world and the world’s second highest […]

The Kyrgyz for gold is “Altyn”, which is also used as a boy’s name.  KyrgyzAltyn is the main, state run, company working in gold extraction.   The company was created out of the Kyrgyz branch of the Soviet-era body responsible for precious metals, Yuzhpolmetal,  In January 1993, President Akaev also brought the country’s mercury and antimony mines into […]

A couple of weeks ago I got a telephone call from David, another ex-pat, whose mother was visiting him in Bishkek for the first time.  He wanted to discuss where he could take her, what he could show her, … and, as I work in tourism, he thought I would be a good person to […]