Last week I posted the detailed reports from Slava on the situation currently unraveling in Kyrgyzstan. This post takes from those reports and adds in my personal experiences in Kyrgyzstan when I visited in 2007.
“Did you hear about Kyrgyzstan?” was the message that came across Skype from Slava Koshelev in Moscow. It was April 7, 2010 and almost three years since my time in Kyrgyzstan. Slava was the Kyrgyz tour operator that took me there. Since I met him, he had moved to Russia and was helping his company expand and find more tourists from Russia to explore the wonders of Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia.
Slava forwarded me a link to a video that showed images of the violent demonstrations that had taken place earlier that day and that were still ongoing. Crowds of angry protesters overpowering riot police. Armoured personnel carriers in the streets and live rounds being fired at the growing crowds. It would not be many days later that Slava would return home to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan where some of the most intense rioting occurred. His business, and friends back home required his attention.
***
It was late September 2007 and the trek to Saimaluu Tash would start the following morning. Slava and I had already covered considerable ground by car on seasonal roads from Djalal Abad just to reach Kazarman, and the rock carvings were still a day’s hike up into the mountains.
We woke early, and drove from Kazarman over rough tracks to the launching point of the days hike – a honey farmer’s house at the start of the trail. His farm sat on a small groomed plot of land in amongst the surrounding mountains known as Tian Shan or the Celestial Mountains.
We set out, and began hiking. I quickly shed a few layers of clothing. First my hat, then one of my long sleeve shirts, then my gloves as our body temperatures rose with our effort steadily increasing.
The route was upstream along a sharply graded yet gently flowing creek that found its way through a narrow slit between the high mountain walls. Our path was littered with rocks; presumably dragged down from higher heights by glaciers of time long past. We were headed high into the Celestial Mountains in search of the ‘decorated’ stones, rock carvings known as Saimaluu Tash and perhaps Kyrgyzstan’s most sacred place.
***
The devastation to the capital Bishkek and elsewhere in the country was massive. Both in physical damage and in the political repercussions that ensued. There were many burned out cars still lying in the street in the days that followed the riots. Many government offices destroyed or looted. President Bakiyev had fled the capital and was soon to leave the country with his family – maybe never to return. Hundreds of protesters, and police had been killed, or injured.
It was a few years earlier in 2005 that the Tulip Revolution saw popular protests across the country which resulted in Mr. Bakiyev coming to power in the first place – a hope for real democracy and future prosperity. It is now similar problems and continued dissatisfaction that led to his overthrow and the undoing of the revolution.
Slava made his way to Bishkek, relieved to find his business still intact, and his friends and family safe. Though saddened to see his city and country in such a state, he remained positive. When I asked him about the current state of things in his cities days after his first Skype message, he had this to say…
things here are getting back to normal … well, near to normal:
Shops are opening … well some shops: those that weren’t totally destroyed …
Banks are open for business as normal … well, some banks that is, because five, that have connections with President [Bakiyev]’s family have taken under special administration
Schools and Universities are operating as usual …well, as far as I am aware, all the schools are working, although some classes are denuded as some parents have kept their children at home while they see how things develop
The current situation is still fluid. The interim government certainly has not brought the country back to any stable place yet, and the future remains uncertain.
photo of boy infront of burnt out cars by Ilya Varlamov
***
As the hours passed, our ascent continued, and our legs grew tired. With temperatures dropping incrementally with every meter higher we climbed into the mountains, the layers of clothes we were taking off earlier, were now one by one being put back on.
It was late September and it was reaching the end of the season that allowed access to Saimaluu Tash. Anytime now there would be an accumulation of snow that would stay most of the year at these altitudes.
About four hours into our journey, the walls that lined our route opened up to a grassy, rock strewn plateau. A large field, still sharply sloped, but distinctly different terrain from the previous hours we spent to get there. But after such a physical effort to reach it, the plateau was somewhat anti-climatic. A field of jagged boulders scattered across the morraine.
After spending some time catching my breath and upon closer inspection I saw the significance of this place. I slowly settled into this sacred pocket of land high in the mountains, far from civilization, and conflict.
***
I asked Slava shortly after the April 7th riots about what his thoughts are for the future of tourism in his country.
Those of us working in tourism are worried, of course, about the effect that all of this will have on the up-coming season.
The big “clean-up” continues and the detritus remaining after the rioting and looting had been cleared away within days – … well, most of it. The city still bears signs of the damage incurred.
So, life goes on …
I am quite looking forward to getting back to dealing with run-of-the-mill everyday matters and making a dent on the pile of papers that has built up on my desk over the last ten days,
***
As I wandered around the area, I started seeing them, the petroglyphs; beautiful, ancient rock carvings of antelope, sun gods, hunting scenes and more. Carved into volcanic stone, there are estimated to be over 11,000 pieces of ancient art scattered here.
Art from not just one time period, but from as far back as (the earliest estimates) 3000 BC up until the Middle Ages. The Bradt Travel Guide for Kyrgyzstan (1st edition, 2007) eloquently describes the spiritual significance of the place.
The Bronze Age tradition of marking this sacred spot with rock drawings was continued by subsequent settlers in the region and one of the most fascinating things about the site is not just the sheer extent of the galleries, or the large number of petroglyphs, but the millennia-long continuity of the site as a place of spiritual activity.
We descended the mountain and ended at the old man’s humble honey farm and as part of the community based approach that Kyrgyzstan takes to tourism we were invited into his home. He served us tea, and offered us some bread, some honey of course and other snacks – much needed fuel as our supplies from the day were depleted.
***
It might be some time before people will be able to travel to Kyrgyzstan and see sites like Saimaluu Tash, but the opportunity for more tourism is certainly there. There are certainly reasons to be positive. Saimaluu Tash is one of many memorable experiences I had while in Kyrgyzstan. It is a place I hope to be able to return to and explore further.
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