Silk Road - 27 May 2009 - On the Road in Kyrgyzstan

As usual I awoke before the wake-up call. My two blouses and slacks were dry and I folded them away, but my panties and socks were still damp. I left them on the shower and towel rods. I hope that the maintenance people assuming they have them don’t decide to do something about them.

Breakfast was not bad. They had a form of oatmeal which I liked. We took off on the road heading to Karakol. The first stop was at one of the mosque that the Saudis built about ten years ago. They have quite a few of them throughout the country. Apparently the Kyrgyz are not very devout Moslems as they were only converted a hundred years or so ago. They still follow the “old” ways.

Before the Russians came around 1850, there were no cities or villages around Lake Issyk-kul. They have found some villages dating back to around the 5^th Century BCE to the 5^th Century CE, but they are under water. At this point in time no one knows why. We stopped to look at a Moslem cemetery. Here they are more elaborate than in other countries that I’ve seen. We passed some Scithian Burial Mounds which date back to about 500 BCE. These burial mounds would have been for warriors and have already been robbed of anything of monetary value. We stopped at the tomb of Balbay, who was a warrior who found against the Khanate around 1850. He invited the Russians in to assist. We also saw cannabis growing wild by the side of the road. We stopped for a bio break. The woman went up the hill and the men down. It was much cleaner than a lot of the bathrooms that we have encountered.

Mosque built by the Saudis
Russian House
Moslem Cemetery with significant monuments
More monuments in Moslem Cemetery
Monuments in Moslem Cemetery
Monument in Moslem Cemetery
Sithian Burial Mound
Tomb of Balbay
Another old monument in Moslem Cemetery
Scenery - Note snow covered mountains