Foto: Yurts on the shore of Lake Issyk Kul (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
Kyrgyzstan - The center of Karakol feels much more like a village. Yet the city has 75,000 inhabitants. The sights are all concentrated around the main road running through the town. I walk to the Chinese mosque. The entirely wooden mosque strongly resembles a Buddhist pagoda—except that it lacks Buddha statues inside. The wooden mosque is in poor condition and is in desperate need of restoration. The equally wooden cathedral of Karakol looks much better maintained. I’m impressed by the beauty of this cathedral. The church is a Russian Orthodox church. As I enter, singing can be heard. A service is about to begin. The singing makes the church interior feel even more magnificent. Near the church, I visit two old wooden merchant houses. I estimate the houses to be around two hundred years old. They were once used by wealthy Russian merchants. A girl at one of the houses explains to me that there are now two offices located inside. She points out the poor maintenance of the house but also says that a renovation is financially out of reach.
AlaToo in Bishkek
Kyrgyzstan - In the evening, I take a walk through Bishkek. Bishkek is a spacious city with large squares, wide boulevards, and expansive parks. It is often called the greenest capital in the world—and I immediately understand why. I pass by crumbling Soviet apartment ...
Overnight stay in a yurt
Kyrgyzstan - On the western side of the lake, the road turns off. In the small village, we are already expected. A car drives ahead of us into the mountains. Just outside the village, I pass a landfill and a cemetery. Then the dirt road leads deeper into the valley. ...
Solomons Throne in Osh
Kyrgyzstan - We use the afternoon to explore Osh. First, we visit the Lenin Monument. Osh is home to the largest Lenin statue in Kyrgyzstan. Then we drive on to the Suleiman-Too Rocks, also known as the Throne of Solomon. It is said that the Prophet Mohammed once ...