Our visit to Bishkek was over, simply an overnight stay, as we have an early morning flight to Osh, the second largest city that lies in the southern part of Kyrgyzstan. We had been warned in our pre-trip literature that there would be a charge for any luggage that weighed more than 33 pounds.Furkat said not to worry, MIR would pay for any overage. Kudos to MIR! Our flight left at 8AM so we had to leave the hotel at 6AM. MIR arranged for us to have a boxed breakfast bag available when we left the hotel. The airport required two security checks. When entering the terminal you had to remove your shoes and put them on the X-ray belt with your luggage. Later on you went through another security check but you did not have to remove your shoes that time. Weird?
Dawn at 6AM in Bishkek.
Very little traffic at 6 AM.
Never saw a limo like this one!
Manas airport in Bishkek.
These gentlemen asked to have a picture taken with me.
Our regional jet ride to Osh.
The Osh airport.
Osh dates back to the 8th century BC. It was an important area for silk production and a key stop along the Silk Road. It lies on the edge of the Fergana Valley, an important agricultural area of Kyrgyzstan. It also is quite close to Uzbekistan, our next stop. The city of Osh has a population of 455,000 people, consisting mostly of Kyrgyz and Uzbeks.
Our first stop was a visit to Sulayman (also spelled Sulaiman) Sacred mountain, a holy Islam site where the prophet Sulayman is said to be buried. Sulayman is the Islamic story of King Solomon. It is also the site where Babur, a 14th century Muslim prophet who founded the Mughal Dynasty in India, came when he was 14 for forty days of fasting and meditation (called a chilla). The site is a UNESCO World Heritage site and historians think it might be the mid-point of the famed Silk Road. It is often visited by pilgrims from around the world. Indeed there were people there when we visited that morning.
All the trees have been painted to deter insects.
Some new apartments under construction.
A store we recognized!
Part of a large group of horse sculptures on the roadway.
They went through great pains to create these sculpted trees.
The Sulayman Sacred mountain site.
View of a mosque and the city of Osh from the monument.
A pilgrim visiting the sacred site.
From there we visited a local private (350 students) school in Osh where three students gave us a tour of their school (students gone already) and answered questions about their schooling. Their English was quite good. The most common language spoken in the country is Russian because of their past relationships.
The three students who led us on a tour of their school.
The library had books in Russian and English.
Blackboard in the math classroom.
The room where they hold group meetings and events.
A tour of the limited sports facilities at the school.
We had an earlier than normal lunch in a private home with a typical meal of multiple salads, bread, soup, a meat course and fruit. I was impressed with the quantity and quality of the vegetables and soup. It was something I did not expect to find in this part of the world.
Our home lunch.
Fresh strawberries, but Furkat suggested we not eat them here as we do not know how well they were washed.
This is a traditional Uzbek dish called “plov”. Made with rice and beef.
Cream filled horns for dessert. Usually we only get fruit.
After lunch we continued our journey. The border crossing went smoothly, taking only about 25 minutes and by 1 PM we were in Uzbekistan.
Welcome to Uzbekistan.
The flag of Uzbekistan.
A bit overloaded if you ask me,
Selling apricots and cherries along the highway.
Local bread for sale. It was very good.
Local ladies out shopping.
What you do when you cannot pick a single color for your house.
The yellow exposed piping is the natural gas lines! Supposedly they think it is safer to have them above ground where people will see (and avoid) them.
They do not follow normal rules for parking.
By 4PM we had arrived in the city of Fergana (also spelled Ferghana or Farg’ona) where we stayed in a “funky” 1950s hotel where the decor reminded me of my grandmother’s home. The water was hot and the AC worked so I had no complaints!
The only camels I have seen since arriving in Central Asia,
Charming series of courtyards outside the hotel.
Uzbekistan money. 100,000 is worth about $7.70 US dollars.
We are leaving the lake region and headed to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, but will be doing some sightseeing along the way. Near the Baytur resort is a fairly new (2019) small museum called the Museum of Nomadic Civilizations where we made our first stop of the day. It was surprisingly very nice as it was compact with plenty of English postings so we could understand what we were seeing. The museum contains artifacts and displays that partain to the history and culture of the ancient Turkic and Altaic nomadic peoples. The displays range from clothing, jewelry, carpets tools weapons and even musical instruments. Everyone seemed to like our one hour visit.
Our route for the day. Next stop : Bishkek.
The museum of nomadic culture.
Turns out nomads did not use it much as it hindered their movement.
Firhad explaining how the yurts were designed and assembled.
How to move your home-nomad style.
Manas was a legendary hero and his poem was passed down from generation to generation. They had no written language.
These look an awfully like American Indian sun catchers.
Tepees in Uzbekistan? They were abandoned in favor of yurts.
Leather containers for carrying water.
Household utensils
Loom for making strapping for yurts.
What fashionable ladies wore.
Nomadic baby cradle.
Traditional male Uzbek hat. It is peaked because Uzbekistan is mountainous so people would know where you are from.
Local swing.
Creative teeter totter.
The color caught my eye.
Local “busker” trying to get tourists to pay to have picture taken with his golden eagle.
State of a nomad near the museum.
Our next stop was at the Burana Tower, one of the few remaining minarets/watchtowers on the old Silk Road. There was a 9th century town ( Balasagun) that surrounded the tower, but it has disappeared. The tower was built in the 11th century and was originally 45 m (148 ft) tall. A major earthquake in the 15th century destroyed the upper half of the tower and the resulting tower is now 25 m (82 ft) tall. Even so it is an imposing structure.
Modest house with an expensive fence and gate.
You own land, you build a fence, even though there is nothing to protect!
Furkat was good about having snacks as we rode. These are small chocolates.
Roadside onions.Agriculture is big here.
The housing is not as fancy or new.
Another roadside mosque.
Scenery is changing. The greenery is gone.
We are going up in elevation.
Someone spent a lot of time placing these rocks to create this.
Where has all the lush fields gone?
The Burana Tower, only half of its original height. It was built in the 11th century.
My artistic shot of the Burana tower.
More bal bals (ancient headstones) are here.
Artifacts from BC era!
Good written postings about the site.
Now that is a RV!
MIR seems to like to break up meals by offering some in private homes and today was our first such experience with that and it turned out to be a huge success as once the meal was done we were entertained by a local four piece musical group that played local music on traditional musical instruments. It was delightful. Leaving the home we got to interact with other (i.e.older) family members who were demonstrating making a major product of Kyrgyzstan-felt and its associated products. Of course there was an opportunity to buy some souvenirs if we so chose. I felt obligated to help the local economy by buying one of the homemade products.
We walked into a private home and was greeted with this spread! We soon learned it would be common.
Our hostess and her husband. Note the peaked hat he wears.
Multiple salads, breads, appetizers, fresh yogurt filled the table
A local beer seemed like the right thing to have. They typically cost $3-4.
The main course. I was surprised to see pasta!
We were surprised by a local group who entertained us with traditional music and songs while we ate.
Members played different instruments including a juice harp, a flute and something I had no idea what it was! They also sang.
A harpsichord.
I do not know what this instrument is.
Multi-generational family and friends working on making felt and felt products.
Suki (in blue) has a German mother and she learned that this grandmother had taught German in school for decades. They had quite a chat-in German!
The lady I bought an item from. It was different colors than the one she is holding.
Waving goodbye as we left.
We were off to a nearby field where we got to experience a local sporting event called “kupkari or ulak” which has existed in Central Asia since the days of Genghis Khan (13th Century). Teams of horsemen compete against each other by trying to pick up a goat carcass (weighing 30-40lbs) and tossing it into a bin at the end of the field. Think of it perhaps like polo but with a dead goat instead of a ball. It can be a fairly dangerous sport. You can learn more about the sport here:
Today two local teams put on an exhibition of the sport for us. It was quite a sight, something I have never seen before.
The kids are carrying the goat carcass out onto the playing field.
Showing us the object of the game- picking up this real goat carcass and racing it over the “goal line”.
Managing to grab the goat carcass. Now to try to make an escape.
And a breakaway to toss the goat into a large container! GOAL!
By this time it was after 3:30 PM and we left for our destination for the night- Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, arriving there after 6 PM. Dinner was at the hotel, the Hyatt Regency (very nice) and early to be as we have an early morning flight to catch.
Some buildimgs seen as we enter Bishkek.
Fairly new Hyatt Regency here.
View of the park from my room.
I can see distant mountains also.
We had a local entrepreneur talk about business in Kyrgyzstan.
A tasty trout was the main course.
Their version of Apple,pie and ice cream.
Steps for the day: only 5498. There was a lot of bus riding.
Kyrgyzstan is a relatively small landlocked country (7 million population) surrounded by the Tian Shan and Pamir mountain ranges. Visually it is stunning! Although there are over 130 ethnic groups represented the vast majority are native Kyrgyks (78%) followed by Uzbeks (14%) and Russians (4%). Why so many ethnic groups? It turns out this area is on the main Silk Road trail so everyone passed through here at one time or another. Many stayed. The primary religions are Islam, followed by Russian Orthodox.
Trivia for the day: Kyrgyk is derived from a Turkic word meaning “we are 40” which is believed to refer to the 40 clans brought under a unified control by the ruler, Manas. The Persian suffix word -stan means “place of”. Now you know!
Our hotel is on lake Issyk-Kul, the 2nd largest high altitude lake (5280 ft) in the world (after Lake Titicaca in Bolivia). It is huge: 113 miles long, 37 miles wide with a maximum depth of 2192 ft. The water is somewhat saline but it does have fish. Supposedly there is no outlet to the lake. The water temperature does not get beyond 70 degrees in the summer so you have to be pretty hardy to swim in it. Even so this is a very popular summer resort area for people.
The elevation at Lake Issyk-kul..
The fancy Baytur Resort.
The hotel is about two blocks from the actual lake. Having awaken early I went for a walk before breakfast.
The huge outdoor pool at the resort.
Besides the hotel there are quite a few condos and single family homes in the resort complex.
There are several murals on buildings in the resort.
The beach and pier on Lake Issyk-Kul.
View from the pier.
Looking back at the mountain range behind the hotel.
Looking back at the hotel from the beach walkway.
One of several wall hangings displaying local dress in the hotel.
Breakfast sweets! Who can resist?
Interesting mix of breakfast items: stewed vegetables, pizza and shakshuka.
Our day began with a short boat ride on the lake. There was only one other active boat there, also full of tourists. Surprisingly there are not many boats on the lake at any time as the authorities dissuade their use to keep the area pristine.
A local mosque. Even though we see a lot of them we have not heard a call to prayer like you do in Muslim countries.
Had to laugh seeing how they close off roadways.
This is a stadium where the World Nomad Games competition was held three times.
Surprised to see such a large boat in the area.
The very small marina. Our boat was on the right. They do not encourage boating on the lake and tax boats heavily to limit them.
Leaving the small harbor.
Major mountains but fairly barren. We are only 35 miles from Almaty as the crow flies but there is no road through the mountains.
Group picture on our boat ride.
From there we drove to the nearby park where there are some 1200 petroglyphs that date back some 2500 years.
These massive doors/gates are on almost every home. They look expensive.
An open area museum that featured petroglyphs from the BCE era.
A very large pile of boulders left here from the last ice age.
Our local guide, Firhad, spoke excellent English and was a wealth of information about his country.
Thankfully there were plenty of signs telling us what is portrayed in the petroglyph.
The dark “coating” on the rocks is an oxide of manganese which allowed the ancient artists to carve their pictures on the rock.
Stone fencing.
Deer image.
Deer with large antlers.
Mountain Goat
Two deer.
Ancient Turkic Sculpture
These are called bal bal in this culture.
This group of Asian people were performing a dance routine. Not sure why.
It was then on to the Semenov gorge (also known as the Kyrchyn Gorge) where we stopped at a local yurt for lunch. We were told we would have to remove our shoes and sit on the floor. I was a bit skeptical about being served a “local” lunch; however we sat down to a simply marvelous lunch that featured local caught grilled trout and a variety of salads and locally made bread. Best meal of the trip so far!
Scenery near the yurt.
A yurt in the middle of nowhere where we will be having lunch.
She is barbecuing locally caught trout!
We had to take off our shoes to enter the yurt.
The luncheon setup. There are always several different salads to share. Unfortunately we had to sit on the floor which is not easy for many of us.
Our fabulous BBQ luncheon of local trout!
Our luncheon group. It was a great meal.
The view of the ceiling and structure of the yurt. It can be assembled in about three hours!
After lunch we went on a short “hike” ( I would label it as a walk) in the gorge. The gorge was a lush green with snow capped mountains in the background. The area reminded me of Colorado.
A modern day yurt.
The scenery in the gorge.
Reminded me of Colorado.
A family lives deep in the gorge. I believe they offer horseback rides.
People learn to ride at a young age.
Another selfie at a beautiful location.
Our “hike” was along the road we came in on.
A local lady who let us take her picture.
The last activity of the day was an encounter with a local “burkutchu”, an golden eagle hunter who brought his birds and gave us a lengthy demonstration of how these magnificent birds are trained to hunt. This form of hunting has been used here for thousands of years. It was a fascinating experience.
A local golden eagle trainer. He has done this over 25 years.
The training gear. This is a fox skin.
Take a look at those claws!
He rode off a distance with the eagle. His assistant, on another horse, began dragging the decoy on the ground. The eagle was released and flew at and landed (hard) on the decoy.
The eagle is trained to stay with
the prey until his master comes.
He is rewarded with food.
Old eagle eyes!
He also brought a much smaller hunter-a falcon.
A picture of the hooded falcon.
A falcon kills by slamming into its prey. It is trained to hit a moving decoy held by the trainer.
Got it!
His reward is some fresh meat.
We each had a chance to hold the golden eagle which weighs about 8 lbs.
We were back at the hotel a little after 5 PM after spending a great day exploring this lovely area. Most of us felt this was the best day of the trip so far.
The type of road we had to deal with today in this part of the country. It slowed us down.
Not all rest stops had western toilets.
I liked the color of the windows!
Another cemetery we passed in this rather remote area.
Furkat says the yellow is from a winter cover crop.
Dinner was a buffet at the hotel; there was nothing worth taking a photo of.
Steps for the day: 9382.
May 5, 2025: On Our Way to Kyrgyzstan, the Next “Stan” on Our List!
We are headed to Kyrgyzstan today but will be sightseeing as we go, with our first stop to explore an area called Charyn Canyon, which is sometimes referred to as the “little brother of the Grand Canyon”. We will see how true that may be. Charyn Canyon is about 200 km east of Almaty, so it is closer to the Chinese border( ~480 km). The canyon itself is about 154 km (96 miles) long. It was 84 degrees when we arrived but luckily there was a good breeze so the temperature was not a problem. Once there we were given the opportunity to take one of two trails in the area. The first was a 1 km trail along the top of the canyon to two viewpoints. The second option was a trail down to the bottom of the canyon which was longer and had more elevation to deal with. Everyone chose the leisurely walk.
The beautiful mountains outside .almaty.
I did not recognize this vehicle. Could it be Chinese? We saw quite a few cars we could not identify. On the other hand there were a ton of Kia and Hyundai vehilces on the road.
The gas station where there was a prayer room.
Furkat bought some local snacks to share on the bus.
Charyn Canyon National Park.
A description of the area we are visiting.
There is the shorter, less elevation trail versus the longer, steeper trail in the canyon bottom. You can guess which one we chose.
Even though it says Almaty this is the elevation at the canyon.
The start of the hike along the canyon rim.
Seeing how far down the canyon walk is I am glad we did not choose to do that route!
Another selfie attempt.
A wildflower managing to grow in this rocky environment.
Age of the rocks in the area.
Not sure why this piece of metal is here. We used it as a photo op.
That is Suki, a fellow traveler who walked the upper trail with me.
I returned to the parking lot at the assigned time to find our “picnic” lunch laid out under a pergola. It felt good sitting for awhile and the sandwiches were freshly made. All was well!
Our picnic lunch.
What the area could look like if you were here at the right time!
Refreshed and fed we began our long drive to Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan which included our first border crossing-from Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan. We were warned to make sure we took no pictures anywhere near the border. The border crossing procedure goes as follows. You stop and get your luggage off the bus. You walk through the Kazakh border where first a guard checks your passport. You then go into an office where the Kazakh passport people “check you out” of the country with a picture and a passport stamp. Another guard checks your passport as you exit the country. Next you walk some distance in the neutral no-man’s land between borders and check in at Kyrgyzk border where a guard looks at your passport and I assume looks for the exit passport stamp from the previous country. You then proceed into a building to check in with the Kyrgyzk immigration people who also take your photo and stamp your passport. You are then free to walk across the border where another army personnel checks your passport to make sure you were cleared by immigration. There is a lot of looking at your passport! Depending on how many people are trying to get through the timing to do all this can vary greatly. In this case we were fairly lucky and we cleared the border in about 35 minutes. And once we crossed the border we were met with a new bus and a local guide, Firhad, who happened to have studied a year at U of Texas. His English was excellent and he turned out to be a wealth of knowledge about his country, Kyrgyzstan. He would be with us the entire time we are in Kyrgyzstan. We boarded our new ride and continued our journey.
The driving process always includes regular scheduled “happy stops” along the way to stretch our legs and visit the local bathrooms, which so far have been fairly decent, but we were warned some might not be western style toilets and the ladies always knew to carry tissue with them. Most are at gas stations so we had a chance to grab some snacks if we chose. We did have an unusual one this trip as we pulled up to what appeared to be a commercial business and it turned out to be a school dedicated to sports training. They were gracious and allowed us to use their bathrooms.
Crossing the Charyn River.
The scenery is changing.
A school that trains students to be athletes. We stopped and asked if we could use their bathrooms!
In this village it is a custom to leave open your gate as an invite to whoever comes by to stop in. Closed gate, do not bother to knock.
Small villages have small markets.
Moving higher in elevation.
The first yurts we saw.
One of many small churches we saw along the highway.
One of several roadside cemeteries we passed. The headstones are plain-a Muslim tradition.
Once in Kyrgyzstan we noticed a change in the landscape. It was more mountainous (90% of the country are mountains) and evergreen trees. The highest peak is over 23,000 feet. It was really lovely and several of our fellow travelers remarked on how pretty it was. From the semi-mountainous area we next entered what is called the “greenlands” which was obviously agricultural, and again very pretty. By the way the government owns all the land but people can be granted long term leases to build a home or start an agricultural endeavor, or simply plant a family garden.
The bus that picked us up on the Kyrgyzstan side of the border. It was new, clean and spacious.
Beautiful mountain vistas as we entered Kyrgyzstan.
Pine trees showing up.
Moving cattle to new pastures higher in the mountains. We had to be cautious as they sometimes crossed the road.
Also horses!
A small rural village.
Suddenly we are in green farmland they call “the grasslands”.
Very crudely made fencing on many properties.
There was major road upgrades being made as we worked our way to the lake, resulting in us bouncing along on unpaved roads for over 50 miles! The ride was not bad but it did slow us down, so we did not arrive at our hotel (Baytur Resort & Spa) until 6:30PM, later than expected. The good news was that it is a very new hotel right on the lake and we will be spending two nights here.
The very large Issyk-kul lake.
I saw fellow travelers having one of these at a happy stop so I had to try it.
My room at the Baytur Resort. It was nice!
A funky bathroom with sliding glass walls on two sides. Kind of a weird setup.
Steps for the day: 9764, mainly due to the hike at Charyn Canyon.
It is expected to be sunny and 77 today as we tour the highlights of Almaty. We leave at 9AM and it should be a busy day. Our first stop was at Liberty Square to see the Independence monument and display of important milestone events in Kazakhstan history.
Large 50 passenger buses. So with 16 tour people we have plenty of room to move about.
Independence monument, celebrating the independence of Kazakhstan. it is 28 meters high.
Put your hand on the book and make a wish. Looks like many people have.
Metal sculpture portraying the early history of Kazakhstan. It is one of a series of such sculptures that portray significant events in the country’s history.
This scene portrays events when Russia was involved.
There are a lot of electric scooters all over the city. No evidence of electric bikes.
Then it was on to the Central State Museum where there are exhibits that detail the development of Kazakhstan and its people. A main attraction was a visit to heavily guarded “Gold Room” which houses gold objects from as far back as 800BCE. Needless to say we were closely watched so we would not attempt to take pictures of the gold jewelry and artifacts on display there. We did have some time to view other exhibits that describe the life and culture of the people who live here. One of the other important exhibits was the “Golden Man” a warrior’s armor made of 4000 gold pieces. That we were able to photograph.
Entrance to the Central State Museum.
We saw these same yellow markings in Japan. They are there to assist blind people.
The lobby area of the history museum.
The golden man wearing 4000 pieces of gold.
What the inside of a yurt might look like.
Display of armor and weapons.
These ornaments are designed to portray elements of your life.
Now those are some pair of boots.
What a fashionable lady might wear.
A wedding. The tall hat is tradition.
Wedding attire. The tall hat would contain precious stones as sort of a dowry.
Children’s clothes.
Weaving demonstration.
Onward we traveled to Kok-Tobe, a 3500 foot hill that is reached by an aerial tramway where a sort of amusement park is located. It does provide a great view of the city and surroundings; however, today there was a bit of haze in the area which limited the view.
The Kok-Tobe gondola lift.
Altitidue at the top of the lift.
Each gondola can hold 8 people. The ride is less than 10 minutes.
Upside down fun house.
There is a ferry wheel and many other activities for families to enjoy while here.
Powered kiddie cars for rent. Pretty creative designs. They are very popular.
City view of Almaty. Unfortunately it was hazy today.
The distant mountains.
Another mountain view.
From there we traveled to the outskirts of Almaty to see an exhibit of traditional Kazakh falconry, listen to a musical performance of Kazakh music played on traditional Kazakh instruments and have a authentic Kazakh style lunch.
The trainer with his first animal-a tiny owl.
The smallest owl in the owl family. He was about 8-10 inches long. Cute as all get out.
The biggest member of the owl family. He startled.us when he flew in as we did not know he was coming.
Look at the wing span on the large owl.
Making an entry with a golden eagle, the primary hunting bird in central Asia.
A golden eagle, the star of the show.
The golden eagle in flight.
This is a griffon, a member of the vulture family. I had never seen one before.
A turkey vulture.
After the animal show in walked a small ensemble of musicians wearing authentic costumes with musical instruments used in this part of the world. They proceeded to give us a short musical concert of traditional Kazakh music.
The ensemble who entertained us with local music played on local instruments.
Svetlana showing us the “dombra”, a two stringed mandolin type instrument.
A stringed instrument played like a violin but held on your lap.
This is a button accordion. I played a piano accordion where the right hand played on a piano like keyboard.
A yurt where the luncheon was waiting for us.
L to R: plate of beef and noodles (tasty), dumplings filled with beef (also tasty), salad, local small bread rolls, salmon rollups, and a pizza like bread.
A plate of beef tongue and horse meat. The tongue was tender, the horse meat was tough!
Local beer to wash it all down!
Yes, it is a real boar’s head.
Late in the afternoon we went back to the city to visit the large Panfilov Park to view some war memorials and the famous wood Ascension (also called Zenkov) Russian Orthodox Cathedral, built in the 1907 without the use of nails! I must admit it was pretty spectacular.
Some of the new modern commercial buildings in Almaty.
More new construction in Almaty.
Theater for opera and ballet.
The Park of 28 Panfilov Guardsmen,a large park de dotted to the memory of a Soviet regiment who defended Moscow against the Germans in 1941.
These electric carts, driven by little kids, were all over the park! You had to watch to avoid being hit.
The 1907 Ascension Cathedral in the park.
The main altar of the church.
Stain glass windows create a serene atmosphere.
One of several receptacles where people can place votive candles.
This caught my eye as it is made with pearls and beads.
Near the cathedral are several war memorials, dedicated to those lost in various wars over the decades. The most important one is dedicated to the 28 soldiers of the Panfilov regiment that thwarted an attack on Moscow by the Germans in November, 1941.
The memorial to the Panfilov soldiers who defended Moscow against the Germans in 1941.
Eternal flame honoring the war dead.
The visit to the park ended with a brief stop at a small museum dedicated to musical instruments, with a special emphasis on the popular Kazakh two -stringed instrument called the “dombra”.
Early versions of the dombra.
I am a softie when it comes to accordions.
Instruments from other countries. In this case India.
More modern versions of the dombra.
The final stop was at the local bazaar called the “Green Market” which sports a green roof and happens to be open on Sundays. It is mostly a food market although there is a section where all sorts of clothing items are sold.
Dried fruits of every type imaginable.
Fruits, much of which are imported.
The meat area. Note each aisle features a meat.
All sorts of salads to take home.
Sure looked good!
Attached to food market is a mall loaded with small shops selling all sorts of clothing.
We stopped at a local chocolate factory and I bought this bar.it turns out to be similar to our Snickers bar.
We returned to the hotel late in the day and because of the late lunch most people skipped dinner, including myself. Tomorrow we leave on our fairly long overland trip the next “stan” on the list: Kyrgyzstan.
During the day we learned a variety of information about the area.
-There are 16 mosques in the city but they are not very obvious. Islam is the major religion but I never heard a call for prayer. There are 17 different religions.
-It can be hot in the summer, often reaching 30-35 degrees C, sometimes even 40 degrees. And winters can bring temperatures of -15 to -20 degreees C.
-Kazakhstan is one of few countries that has snow leopards. They are protected and it is estimated there are about 850 living in the mountains.They live about 3000 meters!
-Earthquakes and slides can be a problem for Almaty.
-Swetlana said the most expensive housing apartments cost $4000/sq meter ($400/sq ft) which is expensive for here.
Steps for the day: 12,397. No wonder I was tired at the end of the day!
We arrived in Almaty as the sun arose in this modern metropolitan city. 3:40 AM landing in Almaty! We were met, as promised by a MIR representative. Svetlana will be our local host while in Almaty. It is 5AM at the airport and there were bands and music waiting for some arriving people. It was pretty rowdy, but in a happy way.
We were met, as promised by a MIR representative. Svetlana will be our local host while in Almaty.
It is 5AM at the airport and there were bands and music waiting for some arriving people. It was pretty rowdy, but in a happy way..
Wow. The view as you leave the airport!
A welcome sign outside the airport.
The elevation of Almaty.
Almaty lies at the foothills of the Zaili Alatau mountains in the Tien Shan range. It is quite a sight.
Notice the smaller hills in front of the mountains. They almost look like they were mowed.
The Halyk Arena Ice Palace.
Very large shopping center on our 30 minute drive to the city center and our hotel.
Do not know what this is but it sure catches your eye.
This older building seems out of place in the city.
Lots of tree lines streets. My immediate reaction was this is a very clean, green city!
Our hotel, the Dostyk Hotel.
My large modern room.
The lobby of the Dostyk Hotel in Almaty.
A bit of trivia: Kazakhstan is the largest totally landlocked country in the world. By land mass it is the 9th largest country. The total population is about 22-25 million people so the population density is one of the lowest in the world.
Almaty was an oasis on the old Silk Road and was originally called Almatu. It was destroyed in 1211 by the Mongols (probably Genghis Khan). Almaty’s name means “the place with apples” and scientists believe this might be where apples originated. Almaty dominates the local region’s economy because of its oil, gas, iron and silver. It was part of the Soviet Union until its breakup in 1991. Ethnic Kazakhs make up 71.3 percent of the population and ethnic Russians are 14.6 percent. The majority of the people are Muslim.
Almaty is the largest city in Kazakhstan with a population of over two million people. It was the capital of Kazakhstan until 1997 when the capital was moved to Astana. It is a very cosmopolitan city and still the center for culture, economy, commerce and finance. It’s elevation is 2300-3000 feet. Almaty actually made a bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics and the city is considered an international hub for winter sports.
After check in at the hotel we were free for the day as it was felt that most people needed to catch up on their missed sleep. We agreed to meet our tour leader, Furkat Pulatov, at 5 PM to kick off our formal tour.
I had breakfast, showered, worked on this blog, took a short nap and went for an afternoon walk in the area. It was 70 degrees and a beautiful sunny day in Almaty. Svetlana said yesterday it rained all day and snowed in the mountains. What a difference a day makes!
Observations of my walk: the city is very clean; I saw no garbage anywhere. There is greenery everywhere. There are pedestrian-only walkways lined with trees. There are electric scooters everywhere. Cars are new and clean and they drive on the right side of the road. And they do honk their horns, unlike Japan! It seems to be a modern, dynamic city.
One of several young ladies in local attire waiting for the arrival of some government guests. I used google translate to speak briefly with her. Most people speak Russian although there is a Kazak language.
Musicians awaiting the guest arrival. Wish I could have heard them play as an accordion was part of the group.
Our 5 star hotel, Dostyk.
One the the many pedestrian walkways in the city.
A mural seen on my walk.
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At 5PM all travelers gathered for a short meeting with our team leader, Furkat Pulatov, who briefed us on some of the details and logistics of the trip. Our group has 16 members (all from the USA) and I am one of four singles (3 men, 1 lady). There are two ladies who travel together and the rest are couples.
Having a local beer while waiting for our group meeting.
Furkat Pulatov, from Uzbekistan, is our tour leader for the trip. There will also be local guides in the individual countries.
For dinner I joined a health care couple (from Seattle) and a gentlemen from the Bay Area and walked to a recommended nearby restaurant that featured food and wine from the country of Georgia. It was such a pleasant evening we dined outside, but surprisingly by the time we finished it was a bit nippy (altitude?). By the way the food was spectacular and modestly priced.
Part of Caspian University which focuses on medicine.
Lighted fountain with a Starbucks behind it. Coffee is becoming more popular in Almaty.
Another mural, but the trees block part of it.
Daredzhani Georgian restaurant.
Homey interior in the restaurant. We were offered a table outside which we chose.
The small kitchen where the magic happens.
The menu and arrows pointing to the dishes ( traditional Georgian dishes) we had. They were excellent! Luckily they had English menus and our server spoke a bit of English.
Adjarian. Sort of a pizza with an egg and cheese mixture. It is a popular Georgian appetizer.
These are khinkali. This version is stuffed with chicken, mushrooms and cream sauce. Reminded me of Asian dumplings but these are much thicker. Marvelous! The cost:$7.38.
Tomorrow Svetlana will lead us on a tour of the local sights and highlights of Almaty. Our tour begins!
Steps for the day: 7918. I expect that number will climb as the tour proceeds.
