Naryn to Cholpon Ata - September 11, 2007

September 11, 2007

On the sixth anniversary of the WTC terrorist attack we were thinking about our country, family and friends, and concerned that something might happen. Late that night we were relieved that no bad news came our way.

We left Naryn this morning heading toward Cholpon-Ata on Issyk-Kul Lake. Naryn means “sunny” in Mongolian and it’s one of the poorest areas of Kyrgyzstan. It’s called the Siberia of Kyrgyzstan with very cold temperatures in the winter and a short growing season in the summer. Ulan explained how the US State Department has provided consulting and financial services to Kyrgyzstan to seed small business enterprises as a way to help jump start this emerging economy. This is much as the same as we saw in Mongolia during our 2004 visit when we met representatives from the State Department doing consulting work there.

During Soviet times, most of the mosques were destroyed, and since their independence in 1991, most have been rebuilt by the Saudis but without madrassas for teaching. Before the fall of the Soviet Union, the Muslims had to worship at home behind closed curtains.

We drove through the Dolon Pass in beautiful weather, but were told that in the winter it can be rainy or snowy. We drove by heavy duty grading machinery parked along the roadside which was being used to smooth the road surface. I’d hate to see, or worse, feel, what the road was like before it was graded. The road was rough and created so much dust that we even had it suspended INSIDE our closed bus. We stopped at an overlook for a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains, and opened windows and doors to air out the bus.

Ulan suggested we walk down the hillside and the bus would meet us on the road at the next switchback. The walk began as a steep, rock strewn hill with a beautiful view of distant mountains and the valley below. So there was Tamara, gingerly picking her way through and down the mountainside in black-sequined flip-flops with Garry calling her twinkle toes since everyone else was wearing hiking shoes. Rich pointed out that Sherpa’s in the Everest region wear flip-flops. Eventually the hill leveled out to a rocky plain where some horses and cows were grazing. We had to jump over a few small streams, avoid the horse apples and barking dogs before reaching the road and hopping back onto the bus.

One of the most interesting stops for the day was at lunchtime. There was a handicraft store in the small village which included a museum of traditional clothing and decorative needlework. Some of us donned items like hats and heavy fox coats to pose for photos. More exciting was the adjoining room where there were items for sale crafted by women throughout the village. There were many different wall hangings, purses, dolls, slippers, etc. Some of the wall hangings had additional meaning with 100 year old squares of tapestry used as a focal point. Additional quilting surrounding the center included blue portions symbolizing water, green areas for the grass of Kyrgyzstan, triangular pieces represented talismans or amulets, orange sections indicating the sun and its rays. Several such works were purchased by our group increasing the coffers of the village women. I was fascinated to see an older woman, probably the store manager, use a ledger book where each item had been entered along with the suggested price. She then crossed out the asking price and entered the actual selling price. It was all very organized. In a nearby yurt, they served us an excellent lunch of noodles, soup, a rice dish and bread. During this stop in the village I saw only one man, and he was carrying water; otherwise, the women ran the operation. If the same approach could be practiced in Pakistan, things might improve there.

On the road after lunch we passed Orto-Tokoy, a very large man-made lake that provides water to irrigate crops in the region during the summer months. The lake was quite low as we passed at this time in mid-September. A few more miles down the road we reached the tip of Lake Issyk-Kul and went east along its north shore. Measuring 105 miles by 43 miles and a depth of 2,300 feet, this is the second largest alpine lake in the world behind Lake Titicaca on the border between Bolivia and Peru. Issyk-Kul means “warm lake” because it never freezes due to its great depth, salinity and some geothermal activity. There are approximately eighty rivers that flow in and none that flow out. Our guide explained that during the Russian time, this lake was a military test site for torpedoes. He went on to say that today it is supported by UNESCO as a protected biosphere, and construction along the coast is strictly regulated. However, it looks like Issyk-Kul will become a very popular vacation spot for the region. Russian investors are now constructing an International Airport north of the lake while on the coast, there are some old resorts as well as new construction of tourist cottages and hotels.

Cholpon-Ata is viewed as the resort center of the lake and we are staying at the Aurora Hotel, considered to one of the finest in the area since the Russian presidents have stayed here. But don’t get too excited; it’s not anywhere close to being the Burj. Actually it is rather plain, very dated and deteriorating quite a bit, but the grounds are beautiful and it has the lake view. A few hundred yards away there is a new hotel complex that opened last June, and some of its buildings are still under construction.

We changed into our swimsuits and strolled down a wide walkway towards Lake Issyk-Kul’s beach. The sand is reddish-brown and very granular. Dipping one toe into the water, we decided that it wasn’t too cold and at least some of us headed in up to our necks. Naturally a water battle began and before you knew it, one person who did not want to get wet, was soaked. We dried off and headed down to a ship that we noticed nearby which it turned out to be a bar/restaurant. We had a Czech beer and a Carlsburg beer while enjoying a beautiful view of the lake and snow capped mountains beyond the opposite shore. Finally, we returned to the hotel for dinner. Russian cuisine and service, to be kind, is unremarkable.

Goodnight comrades,

Garry, Rich and Tamara

Captions: 1) Issyk-Kul Lake 2) Old village woman showing handiwork 3) The trio before heading down to road 4) Lunch in a yurt 5) Young woman explaining symbols in wall hanging