The Bleating of the Sheep

6/24/07
I left Bishkek and drove up to Lake Issyk-Köl (which means Issyk Lake, so that’s somewhat redundant on my part). The roads leave much to be desired. But the drivers are much better than in Uzbekistan. For example, in Uzbekistan there are four lane roads (two in each direction), but drivers prefer the left hand lane. Nobody drives in the right lane. Which means that when the pass a car they cross over into oncoming traffic rather than stay on their side of the road, which can make for a harrowing drive. My driver here also drives like a snail, which I suppose is better than my Uzbek driver who drove like a madman (including getting us into an accident). But still, a bit faster would be nicer. Oh, and did I mention that he is constantly looking at the scenery and cannot talk to someone without looking at them!!!

After an early start I spent Sunday morning at the live animal bazaar. It starts at 5am and goes until 10am. I caught the tail end. Lots of hay, horses, cows, and sheep. Sheep ranged anywhere from $30 to $100 and some horses fetched $1000. My guide told me that they are more expensive now, but when August and September roll around the prices drop because people need to sell their livestock to buy school supplies and clothing for the children. I met a young Russian girl who spoke some English and she suggested that I buy her cow and bring it back in my suitcase. I met a young Kyrgyz guy (prob around 18-20) who spoke near perfect English. He’s studying it and hopes to continue at the university in Bishkek and then get on an exchange program to the US where his friend is studying. It’s his dream to live in the US. It’s actually refreshing how positive everyone here is about the States, not necessarily the reaction one gets in other corners of the globe. Anyhow, I found a sheep in the bazaar that was black and white and looks strikingly like the sheep I imagine my new black and white wool hat to have come from. So I asked its owner if I could buy it and try to sell it myself and return it to him if I didn’t succeed. He agreed and there I was, the white American, saying “Koi satalat” which (I hope) translates into “sheep for sale.” I got a lot of laughs and a lot of people to come over, but none wanted to buy Shepl (that’s what I named him). So after about 10 minutes, I returned him to his original owner. And gave him a little money for what amounted to a short-term rental.

Next up on my Sunday morning excursions around the city of Karakol was a visit to the Russian Orthodox Church. It’s build out of wood and looks like an amazing log cabin with bell towers. It’s quite beautiful from the outside. There were services going on inside so I just stood at the doorway and peeked in. Everyone was standing and the hardwood floors. The women all had their heads covered with handkerchiefs and while the population was mostly older women, there were quite a few children running around and some young people as well. The priest stood toward the front in the middle and was chanting and then periodically what sounded like an all female choir would join in. Really nice chanting. There were also a few Kyrgyz in the church and one of the altar boys was Kyrgyz. At one point the priest sprayed/threw/dispersed water on to the crowd. Very interesting and I really liked the music. What was also interesting was just how Russian these Russians looked, more so than the ones in Moscow. They were blonder and whiter and sort of stereotypically Russian looking. I guess they never really intermarried with the local population. A lot of Russians have left Kyrgyzstan since independence. Not so much because of discrimination, but more so because they were the educated ones and they could get paid more in Russia. This (and that young educated English speakers are looking to leave to America) is a source of major brain drain in Kyrgyzstan and is really hurting their economic growth.

Next stop was a Dungan Mosque. Dungans are ethnically Chinese Muslims (as opposed to Uighurs who are Turkic peoples living in China and are also Muslim). They fled China in the late 19th century and live in eastern Kyrgyzstan. The mosque looked more like a Chinese pagoda and less like a mosque. Everything inside, from the wood panels painted to even the carpet design, seemed more Chinese than Muslim. The minaret too!

Issyk-Köl is really beautiful. Nestled between the mountains at just under 2000m it is the second highest lake in the world. It’s almost 200k wide and it never freezes in the winter. The north shore was home to many Russian summer resorts, most of which are now rotting. Just north of the north shore is the border with Kazakhstan (a.k.a. Boratistan) and mountains. The south shore nestles the Tien Shan mountains and is where I plan on spending more of my time. The lake was also home to Soviet military research centers. I believe (although I’m not 100% certain) that this was where they would test submarines and do navy R&D. The streets of Karakol are lined with Cossack built cottages, some of which are still in very good condition. And then there are some newer two storey houses built by the wealthy. Also in Karakol today are lots of cars loaded up with sheep and cows, presumably coming from the animal bazaar.

People here in this region of Kyrgyzstan seem to subsist on farming and for the most part this is done on a very small individual family scale. I’m thinking back to my oral exams now and how I was asked about the efficiency of small vs. big farms. The answer was that contrary to economies of scale model, smaller individual owned farms are more productive. Let’s hope that’s the case here. I have to say that all the fruit and vegetables I’ve had here and in this region have been excellent. On the sides of the street there are children selling cherries and they neatly wrap the stems around a metal hanger and lace the stems all around and its about two feet long. A lot of cherries. For some reason my driver thinks I need all of them.

I watched the sunset around Issyk-Köl. Both the water and the sky seemed to fuse together into this pale purple color. And out on the horizon there was a light blue belt. Years ago my oldest nephew would have told me that was the equator; after all, isn’t that what it looks like on a globe? I think he knows better now (hi Mo, I hope you’re enjoying reading). Then where the sun was setting there were orange, red, and yellow rays of light shining upwards from behind the mountains, really spectacular colors. And the mountains looked purple (I thought purple mountains majesty was reserved for the US, but I guess not).

I’m staying not too far away from Karakol in a valley south east of Issyk-Köl in a place called Jeti Oghuz (I have no idea how to properly spell it). Jeti Oghuz means seven bulls, and that’s because that in this red sandstone canyon there are 10 large protruding rocks (apparently there used to be seven and hence the name). The seven/ten bulls are just outside my window (and a short little hike). I’m going to climb up there probably in two days (tomorrow I’m riding horses up in the mountains). On the drive to Jeti Oghuz I passed this giant red rock split down the middle. They call it broken heart, and I guess it looks like heart torn into two pieces. This red rock is beautiful especially as the sun changes positions and it changes color. I’m going to get up early (hopefully) to watch the sun rise. Speaking of sunrise, they seriously need to consider changing time zones here. The sun comes up at 4, and by 6 it’s already in the sky and by 8 it’s overhead.

One last thing neat thing that I’ve seen up here are these petroglyphs (stone drawings). There is this field full of huge stones that are mostly formed in circles and probably formed some sort of temple or home. The drawings are mostly of gazelles and other animals. These drawings all date between 500 BCE to 100 CE and some are of better quality than others. There are also paintings on some stones and then these carved pieces of white stone that have human faces on them. All I have to say is that the people who made them using whatever crude instruments they had can certainly draw better than I can ever hope to.