Mazar-Terek
It is better not to appear here with bad intentions. The retribution will be swift and cruel. No one who has violated the unwritten law established by the higher powers of Mazar-Terek will escape it. Since time immemorial, the spirits Ak-Taylak and Ak-Aziz that dwell here have guarded the holy abode, which stretches across a paradise corner in one of the mountain valleys on the southern shore of Issyk-Kul.
The village of Ak-Terek in the Jeti-Oguz district lies far below. It is unique in itself. It was founded by a woman — the wise Sherbet-ene. Around it is a rich collection of archaeological monuments, with burial mounds everywhere - a reminder of the nomadic tribes. Here and there, rock paintings miraculously preserved from the 6th to 3rd centuries BC can be found. There are also ruins of medieval settlements, indicating the sedentary lifestyle of the population during that troubled time. The inhabitants of those settlements were close to and understood Zoroastrian dogmas: worship of fire, earth, springs, trees, stones, inhabited by good and evil spirits.
Evidently, a curse was placed on Mazar-Terek in that ancient time, which is still vigilantly guarded from uninvited guests by the merciless spirits known to the people as Ak-Taylak and Ak-Aziz. Everyone tries to avoid their domain - the poplar forest. And God forbid, to break even a twig there.
Centuries-old traditions were strictly observed until the revolution. The communists who appeared in this sacred land declared the mazar a testament to the ignorance of the faithful. And at that time, superstitions were fought with the harshest measures. One of the chairmen of the collective farm "Ulguluu-Jash" led a group of communists and decided to personally debunk the beliefs of the ancestors in the omnipotence of the otherworldly forces. A barbaric clearing was cut through the untouched poplar kingdom in Mazar-Terek. Retribution came immediately. A few days later, the red chairman burned in the fire of an incurable fever. His like-minded supporters suffered in their own ways. Some lost their homes to fire, others had wives who gave birth to children with Down syndrome, and others lost their livestock overnight. In the following years, mysterious deaths befell other atheists who encroached upon the sacred. Since then, few local residents dared to take the desperate step of desecrating the shrine.
Pilgrims come here from everywhere. Some saw Mazar in a dream, beckoning and calling to them. Others travel hundreds of kilometers in hopes of securing the support of powerful forces, to be marked by God's grace. Others are driven by chronic illnesses that even seasoned healers cannot overcome.
In the vicinity of Mazar-Terek, through the stone thickness, about a dozen crystal springs break through to the sun.
The oldest of them - Jety-Bulak (Seven Springs) was discovered at the beginning of the last century by the local seer, healer Kalypa-ene. Each of the silver springs had its own purpose. One helped with bone pain, another miraculously cured skin diseases, and the third was indispensable for headaches.
Local resident Omurbek Janbolotov recalls how his parents took him, a sickly boy, to Kalypa-ene. She would smoke the spring with the smoke of a reed candle until a white frog, which appeared from nowhere, surfaced in the water. And she cured the boy of a whole bouquet of diseases.
The local seer is now of advanced age. She is no longer able to help people. And her holy springs are slowly being choked by green duckweed.
Recently, a young man from a neighboring district appeared in the sacred forest. For a long time, he was troubled by a source, overgrown with boulders, calling to him. The newcomer wandered in the mountains for several days. A dream revealed signs, and the coveted spring was found. But who will now invite the white frog to the surface?
Visiting pilgrims are disciplined people. They do not break twigs, carefully clean up their trash, and do not muddy the water in the stream. However, driven by need, local villagers have begun to frequent the forbidden forest again. Not at all to pay tribute to their ancestors and observe ancient traditions. The youth and middle-aged people occasionally dare to commit sacrilegious acts. Early in the morning or under the cover of darkness, they will cut down a tree or two. They hope that perhaps it will bring them good fortune.
But it was not to be! The residents of Ak-Terek will tell you dozens of stories about how evil was punished.
Poachers brought upon themselves and their loved ones terrible diseases, a series of misfortunes, and inexplicable deaths.
The forest in the lowland appeared quite unexpectedly. Its silvery transparency resembles a mirage in the desert. It is not large - the poplars occupy an area of about a third of a hectare, divided into several plots. Everything around is imbued with some kind of raspberry-scented freshness. The discomfort caused by swarms of snakes, frightening at the approach to the destination, dissipates. There are no reptiles under the poplars - as if a taboo extends to them as well. Mazar has an astonishingly bright aura.
All the photos taken in the forest turn out beautifully. However, negative images of Mazar itself on film turn out to be spoiled by light columns, as if bursting from the ground. Some kind of mysticism. Or perhaps an anomalous zone?
The locals, with a mysterious air, will surely tell every newcomer a duck story. Allegedly, one of their fellow villagers began to raise ducks. And when autumn came time for preparations, he discovered that the insides of the feathered creatures were covered with a substantial layer of... pure gold. A city dentist who learned about the living treasure bought the waterfowl flock from the villager in exchange for a foreign car.
