Back in town – after our short visit into nature – we made it for Karakol’s big sights – the Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Chinese Mosque – before – after a long day – arriving at our hotel.
Jeti-Öghüz
Gallery
This gallery contains 8 photos.
We reached Karakol around lunchtime; after a simple lunch we continued for Jeti-Öghüz canyon to see its red stone formations and – during a short hike (that I would clearly count as a short walk) – to get back into … Continue reading
to Karakol
We continued our circle around Lake Issyk-Köl this morning, now heading East towards Karakol. On the way we had several stops to take in the landscape, get some insight into Kyrgyz burial traditions and to visit the memorial of Nikolai Przewalski.
Resort Time
From Cholpon-Ata we continued to our hotel for the night. As it turned out, we were spending the night in a lake-side resort – complete with holiday homes, restaurant, bar and its own sand beach.
towards Lake Issyk-Köl
Gallery
This gallery contains 8 photos.
From Tokmok we continued to Lake Issyk-Köl, the world’s second-largest alpine lake (after Lake Titicaca). Obviously we had to get up … passing through the Ala-Too range and then along the lake front to make it to our first stop … Continue reading
Burana Tower & Tokmok
We continued from Rotfront for another nearby stop at the Burana Tower. The tower is basically – beside some stone piles around – what remains of the citadel of Balasagun. The tower seems to be the stump of a minaret.
From the tower we continued to the town of Tokmok – during Soviet times a center of military production – for a hearty lunch … before continuing towards lake Issyk-Köl.
Germans in Kyrgyzstan
We left Bishkek for our way up to Lake Issyk-Köl; on the way we stopped at Rotfront, a village in the Kyrgyz countryside originally settled by Germans – of which even today a minority remains.
The pastor was welcoming us at the cemetery – with him tea, coffee and cake – plus the opportunity to get some insight into the history of the village and some background on the living conditions during Soviet times and today.
For more background, check the wikipedia page on Rotfront; for photos of gone-by life in Rotfront, check the homepage of the Dutch photographer Wim Klerkx.
Bishkek
Gallery
This gallery contains 8 photos.
We returned to Bishkek from the National Park for a city tour. At the State Historical Museum a surprise was waiting for us – we were running straight into a performance of traditional Kyrgyz music.
A Glimpse of Ala-Archa NP
Gallery
This gallery contains 8 photos.
We made it into Kyrgyzstan by plane from Tashkent – entering the country was simple and straightforward. At the airport we were welcomed by our new guide and bus. After a quick detour to the hotel (and an unexpected late … Continue reading
Tashkent
We had a full day in Tashkent. In the morning we visited the German Protestant Church, to get some insight into Christian life in Uzbekistan. From here we made it into the backstreets of Tashkent and on to the mausoleum of Abu Bakr Kaffal Shoshi and the nearby Khast Imom Square with the museum housing the 7th century Osman Quaran. We made it back to the bus with a short stop at the Hazroti Imom Friday Mosque.
The afternoon was on ourselves – together with some follow travelers I ended up using the metro and making our way to Tashkent’s TV tower.
We even managed to get to the viewing platform – however due to whatever reasons, literally had to leave anything (including cameras) behind … so no photos from on top.
