On Top of the World

We are now in Naryn and the scenery is spectacular. Here are a bunch of photos from today's outing.

The only camels we've seen in the semi-wild.

This rock formation reminds me of the trolls in Icelandic folklore. 

At this point we're only about 15km from the border with China. Their "contributions" are quite evident here.

Lots of horses in this area.

Our first yak sightings.

A dapper gentleman in his traditional hat.

Religion is not very important in this area - which was formerly nomadic. There is one mosque in the town of Naryn.

University of Central Asia, sponsored by the Aga Khan. About 700 students graduate per year. The programs offered are IT, Communications and Marketing.

A Chinese project. Tian Shan means "Celestial Sky:

Our drive here yesterday was full of wonderful things. I had asked our tour guide if there is a version if buzkashi here, and he secretly arranged for a group of local men to demonstrate their skills. I wish I knew how to post video.

These hilarious signs were at our lunch stop.

We watched a demonstration of shyrdak, a method for making felted carpets/ wallhangings for inside a yurt. This was one of the main things I wanted to learn while I was here. I'm ready to give it a try when I get home. 

I fell in love with this puppy. I even dreamt about it last night. 

This is a very ugly fake yurt encampment being created by a travel company. 

We went in this building which was part of a caravanserai on the Silk Road. It was cold in there, so I stood in the only patch of sunlight. My friend who took the photo said it looks like "The Rapture". 

Tomorrow we are leaving for Lake Yssyk Kul, where we are going to help assemble a yurt. We are going to sleep in yurts tomorrow night. I hope they are real yurts, and not ugly ones like we saw today. 

Bishkek, Kyrgystan

Tuesday was a blurr of travel. First a bus ride to the border. It was very hot when we arrived, and we had to schlep our bags over uneven terrain to officially exit Uzbekistan and get our passports stamped. More rough terrain in no man's land to get stamped into Kyrgyzstan. Two smaller coaster buses met us on the other side, and drove us to Osh for lunch. 

Perhaps this is the only camel caravan we'll see. 

I was surprised that Osh is another big modern city, with a mostly middle class population. 

I seemed strange that in Uzbekistan, stop signs were in English. Here they also say STOP, but in the Cyrillic alphabet.

After lunch we drove to the airport, to fly to Bishkek. The view out the window was fabulous. Check out these mountain ridges. In spots I could even make out trails in the snow.

Now we're in Bishkek, another big modern city. I've had enough cities. This is a statue of Lenin. Here, as in Uzbekistan, they have mixed feelings about the Soviet period, also more positive than negative. It is remembered fondly as a time of plenty.

We saw these little girls picking bouquets of dandelions in the park. It reminded me of the many dandelion bouquets I received as a primary school teacher.

I lagged behind the group to sing a couple of simple English songs to the kids, but I soon got hustled to join our group. I've decided that I am definitely not a group tour kind of a person. I think I might have already said that. 

These kids were posing for a class photo. Those are traditional Kyrgyz felted wool hats the boys are wearing. 

Men playing backgammon, a popular game here.

A felted and embroidered wallhanging from the Soviet period. 

Lots of construction everywhere in Bishkek. 

I thought these were statues, but they are young soldiers on guard. 

We watched the changing of the guard. It was quite impressive seeing these soldiers goose stepping a whole city block.

The town is celebrating 100 years of police service. 

There are lots of statues. This one is supposed to depict pushing away the dark past to make way for the bright future. 

A random sample of people in Bishkek. I'm still surprised that everyone seems modern and middle class. 

Fabulous wool, ready for felting, at the market today. 

And this morning we are off to Naryn, to visit a women's felting coop. 

Margilon, Uzbekistan

Our airbus from Khiva, back to Tashkent, to avoid the long, boring drive across the desert a second time. 

A "thermal energy" plant. Uzbekistan gets 85% of its power this way, from coal, oil, and gas. They have a bit of hydro power and solar.

A roadside stop to get freshly made spinach somsas. 

They even have a movable tandoori oven for cooking, which you can see on the lower right.

Getting closer to the mountains that we are going to cross.

Finally in the mountains, on a busy highway, but only an opportunity to take photos from the bus window.

Another stop for bread. There was a string of bread makers all along this stretch of highway. Patir is the name of this kind of bread.

Stork nests.

A high point for me was chatting with this group of school kids. I asked if they knew any English songs, and one girl bravely sang a short song about the four seasons. Then they wanted me to sing. I sang "In a Cabin in the Woods" and taught them the actions. I was loving the experience, but I got hustled off to join our group.

One of the 3 vans wouldn't start after visiting the palace. No one had cables, so our previous bus driver was called to help out.

At the pottery studio of a famous potter. His son demonstrated throwing a vase.

Then we saw the painting process.

I loved this large pottery ball, but it seemed too impractical a purchase.

Check out the size of this water filter.

This is the famous potter.

Pomegranates are a common motif for embroidery, and vases. 

Our current accommodations are at "Ikat House", home of a famous ikat designer.

This is silk velvet ikat - an incredibly arduous process.

At a market.

This young man, Muhammad, gave a presentation about the ikat process and we all tie dyed a silk scarf. 

A little bit of block printing is still done, but it is not common. 

I'm missing nature, and I thought this palm was beautiful.

Another madrasa with workshops. Here is a metal workshop. This motif is often seen in top of mosques. 

More beautiful bread, decorated with seeds.

Another market.

Drumsticks in a drumstick cooler, naturally.

More bread.

A lovely mix of dried fruits.

Back to our accommodations. This spectacle fixture is outside my room.

More ikat preparation. They are preparing to tie the warp threads in bundles for dyeing.

An ikat weaving factory. As with the silk carpet weaving, the work conditions seem comfortable, and the weavers, almost totally women, seem very happy. It is repetitive work, but a lot of work is like that.

Another step in ikat preparation.

These men are putting the fine threads through the reed.

Weaving silk velvet. Metal rods are put through the warp every 3 passes of the weft. Every few inches the raised bump is sliced through with a razor, to form the pile of the velvet.

A few women have a child with them.

Another ikat dyeing workshop.

A variety of ikats.

More women who asked to be photographed with us. The woman on my left is 53 and the one on my right is 35. 

Another incredible lunch.

Spinning silk, directly from the cocoons.

In this ikat weaving factory, this man recognized me. I bought an ikat jacket from him at the market yesterday. 

And that's it for Margilon. We are leaving tomorrow to drive across the border to Kyrgyzstan, a whole new experience.