Thursday 30th May

This morning was the chance to have a look around Karakol. Firstly it was a stop at the Russian Orthodox Church. This was a wooden structure built about 150 years ago but after the Russian revolution in 1917

people were not allowed to worship freely anymore. The church was then used as a gymnasium for sport by the Russians. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the local people took their church back and have managed to restore it.

It was then onto the Dungan mosque. The Dungans had arrived here from China and once settled wanted their own place of worship. A Chinese architect was asked to design the building which he did and it has the look of a pagoda. It took 3 years for all the pieces to be assembled, like a jigsaw and then it was erected in 3 months with no nails being used!

Then onto the bazaar for a walk around. First piece of advice was to watch your bags! We could soon see why. The gap between the stalls, which were metal constructions, some using old shipping containers, was only wide enough for 2 people and there was a gully in the centre of the broken up concrete pathway for water drainage.

The stalls sold just about anything you could want. Clothes, household and electrical goods, spices, meat, fruit and vegetables, snacks, bicycle parts, diy stuff. It was an absolute maze and without our guide finding our way out could have been a problem!

Our long drives and walks have been opportunities to learn more of the Kyrgyz culture and way of life.

In about 2014 it was decided in Kyrgyzstan to organise a Nomad games. The sports would be typical of those from a nomadic background, archery of various types, wrestling, shooting and kokboru, a game played on horseback but with a difference!  Instead of using a ball like polo, a goat is slaughtered and then decapitated. The guts are all taken out and then the stomach is sewn up. The legs are left on as these are useful for grabbing hold of.  The idea of the game is to get the goat through the goal posts, or if you are from Kazakhstan,into a painted circle.

Bride kidnapping was part of that culture until fairly recently and possibly still happens in rural areas although it is now illegal. With independence and the growth of the internet life in Kyrgyzstan is changing fast.

Back on the road and onto the yurt camp on the southern shore of Lake Issyk Kul.

Unfortunately it was spitting with rain when we arrived and the clouds were dark and heavy over the mountains. We quickly deposited our cases in our yurts - not shared as we were led to believe! - then straight to the yurt that was our dining area.

What we are learning as the standard meal, was dished up. Salad, followed by soup, and then a main course, roasted vegetables with mashed potato, which is perhaps a little unusual! It was all served with bread, fresh from the oven, doughnuts and tea.

After lunch we all took a stroll down to the lake before having some down time for the rest of the afternoon. By this time the rain clouds had cleared and there was blue sky and sunshine😊

This encouraged Geoff to head back to the lake to see if he could manage a swim. The shore line is very rocky and slopes only very gradually so getting into the water was a challenge as was then finding anywhere to actually swim. It was deep enough to lay down in the water but that was it. Apparently it was refreshing!!!

We sat outside our yurt in the sunshine with a cup of tea, listening to all the birds singing and looking again at those snow capped mountains in the distance. We haven’t tired of the sight of them.

The end of another day!