Issyk-Kul Lake has attracted romantics and treasure hunters for many years. According to some sources, there may be up to 200 treasures at the bottom of the lake. Additionally, there are many legends about cities that sank in Issyk-Kul and about the true burial site of Genghis Khan in the waters of this amazing lake.
Our compatriot Zamirbek Nurov, who has been living in the USA since 2010, listed 44 facts about "Chicago Kyrgyz." He shared his post with "Azattyk."
Recently, my father gave me a ride from Karakol to Bishkek. On the way back, he decided to stop by the western bus station to find clients for Karakol. He found one guy from Ak-Suu village and three tourists from Portugal, whom taxi drivers wanted to overcharge. The Portuguese wanted to visit the Burana Tower to see the place, and my father immediately agreed to take them there, as he himself had not seen the tower yet. After that, they went to Issyk-Kul. The Portuguese wanted to stay in
British photographer Stephen Graham traveled through Central Asia in the early 20th century — he dedicated several months to studying the traditions of the nomadic peoples of Kyrgyzstan. Photographer Stephen Graham published a book about his journey through Central Asia in 1916 — in 1914, he left Vladikavkaz for the territories of modern Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.
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On a February evening in 1961, we took off from Sheremetyevo Airport on a "Super Constellation" plane of Air India and landed in Delhi's Palam port in the morning. From there, a Dutch KLM plane transferred us to the Santa Cruz airport in Bombay. Finally, in Madras, we switched to a "Viscount" of Air Ceylon.
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur in the evening. The airport is a true metropolis, consisting of an arrival city and a departure city, connected by high-speed trains. All services operate smoothly and very quickly. There are no customs officers or border guards. The Malaysian capital sprawls where palm groves and reed huts flourished just a few decades ago. Now it is a dynamically developing multi-million metropolis, for which one day is not enough to explore. We have only fourteen hours to spare.
We arrived in Puerto Princesa by plane from Manila. The runway, flat as a table and paved with concrete, was trapped in low, wet clouds. In a convulsion, the plane broke through the rain clouds, thudded onto the runway, bounced a couple of times, and, slowing down, docked at the parking area. There is no actual airport building here. Instead, there is a canopy under which we sheltered from the tropical downpour and collected our luggage. The western Philippine province of Palawan consists of
We flew from Cebu to Boracay by plane. There was cloud cover, firstly. Secondly, the windows of the portholes were all streaked and cracked. So, we couldn't take any aerial photos. It's a pity, as very beautiful views opened up in the gaps of the clouds, which soon disappeared into the unknown. The islands floating beneath us were wrapped in a light green coral corset. Sometimes, even the tiny island was torn apart by an internal lagoon. The magical flight in the blue-green space
The airport in Manila is as crowded as an anthill. There are a huge number of flights. The Philippines is an archipelago of islands. Ten of them are the largest, where eighty percent of the population lives. The most convenient way to travel between the islands is by air. Planes continuously take off from here in all directions. Air routes, following a complex scheme through the islands, return to Manila. For example, you cannot fly directly from Bohol to Cebu or, say, from Cebu to Palawan. In
It is very hot and stuffy on the plane, and outside the window, it is deep night. We are flying east towards the dawn. Time flows very slowly. Ten hours of flight seem like an eternity. Finally, the plane jolted and, changing its usual position, began to descend. The passengers stirred. Outside the window, in the crimson hues of sunrise, there is nothing but two oceans - the sky and the Pacific. We are flying to the Philippines, a country of seven thousand one hundred tropical islands located
Since childhood, the Amazon has been my dream. In the boyish imagination, it was a paradise filled with parrots, bright colors, and spaces overflowing with exotic fruits, scents, and enchanting sounds. And now we are heading to South America. Our route: Almaty, Amsterdam, the exotic island of Bonaire off the coast of Venezuela, the Ecuadorian port of Guayaquil, the capital of Peru - Lima, and finally, Iquitos - a city in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. Twenty-four hours of pure flight.
The bus to Puno departed at eight in the morning. The morning bad weather, curling like a gray ribbon, turned into a road. Hiding from the bright rays of the sun, it slithered through the valley to the southeast. The mountains branch out here into three wide ridges. And behind the eastern slopes of the Andes, at the source of the Amazon, hides the highest lake in the world, Titicaca. It is almost ten hours of travel to get there. The road runs across a highland plain, called Altiplano by the
The legend of the Golden Garden is one of the most famous in Peru. Various Spanish sources unanimously assert that the garden described in the legend actually existed and rightfully earned the title of a golden wonder of the world. The garden once adorned the capital of the Inca Empire - the city of Cusco. The Incas called themselves the sons of the Sun, of which gold was considered the symbol. Everything that the inhabitants of the Empire of the Sun observed around them was reproduced in this
It was winter. February was unusually warm, with rain falling so lightly that it was hardly felt. Almost at midnight, we left Bishkek. The night fog, settled in the lowlands, was hiding from the morning frost. “Is winter really over?” I wondered, looking out the night window. Surely, gathering its strength, it will return. But it will be without us. Our winter will remain here, as we are flying to South America and will return only in a month, when the slopes of the Baytik hills will be
The symbol and calling card of Cape Town is considered to be Table Mountain. I read somewhere that from the ocean side, on a clear day, sailors can see Table Mountain from a distance of 100 kilometers from the shore. Whether this is true, I do not know, but the first thing I saw as I flew into Cape Town was Table Mountain. I recognized its characteristic silhouette. And that meant that in a few minutes the plane would land in Cape Town - the romantic city of my youthful dreams. Cape Town
The weather was magnificent. The road, like a red arrow, cut through the jungle. It sped towards the banks of the Zambezi River, where the border control point between Botswana and Zambia was located. After crossing the imaginary border, we boarded boats and, pushing off from the dock, sailed towards the opposite shore. The boat was tossed and lifted by the waves. However, everything was according to the fairway. Soon we docked on the shore of Zambia. There were no customs or border guards,
At ten thirty, our mini-plane landed, and we were flying over the Kalahari once again. From this small height, the desert looked like an endless ocean. I would never have thought that the Kalahari was so beautiful. The flat and completely level surface was covered with golden-green blankets of savanna, through which the red patterns of sand dunes and light blue lakes emerged. The plane flew at an altitude of no more than 500 meters above the ground, avoiding powerful rain clouds. It was very
The morning is clear and transparent, filled with freshness, sharply revealing the curves of Johannesburg's contours that were invisible just yesterday. Today we are flying to Botswana and then to the Kalahari. The car is ready. Gray — our driver — is hurrying us, explaining the urgency by the possibility of hitting traffic and being late for the flight. We say goodbye to Shelly and Charlie — the owners of the guesthouse where we spent, or rather, flew through, two amazing days. Their
In February, winter arrived. Bishkek was buried in snow and frozen by the cold. It was night. The streets, illuminated by the dim light of scattered street lamps, were deserted. The world was under the rule of a financial crisis. In Kyrgyzstan, the crisis felt uncomfortable due to the lack of finances. There was unrest in our hearts, but we still went. We went because we had long dreamed of South Africa. Visas, program adjustments, plane tickets... - how much effort! How much money has already
As the party was set in motion, called dawn, the sun, breaking away from the surface of the ocean, floated through the sky like a balloon. Our driver Mansur, having dropped us off at the pier, went to look for parking. Life was bustling in the port of Bandar Abbas - Iran's main maritime port. Women, sitting under colorful hijabs, sorted fish, while seagulls circled above them. Arabs in long white shirts hurried to the pier, where a long queue had formed for tickets to the steamboat that
In the evening, when we arrived and settled into the Isfahan hotel, a girl called our room and, in the purest Russian language, informed us that she was our guide and asked us to be ready for a city tour at eight in the morning the next day. To our surprise and joy, our guide turned out to be our fellow countrywoman - Aida from Bishkek. At 19, she married an Iranian and has been living in Isfahan for almost 20 years now. To jump ahead, I will say that Aida turned out to be the kindest woman
The Capital of the Ancient World: Persepolis There are countries on earth that cannot be measured by the area of their territory or the number of their population. These are civilization countries, whose cultural heritage is so great that it belongs to all humanity. One of them is Iran, or Persia, as this country was called until 1932. You can read hundreds of books about the history of Persia, watch films and websites, listen to eyewitnesses and travelers. And still, it will not be enough to
We entered Lebanon from the north via the coastal road leading to Tripoli. After nearly three hours of hustle, we finally broke free from the surroundings of the Syrian-Kivan border checkpoints. And here it is, Lebanon — green from the lush spring grass and blue from the sea and skies. Our first desire was to see the famous Lebanese cedars. Look at the flag of Lebanon, and you will see the cedar, which has become the symbol of the country. What grows in the expanses of Siberia, to be frank, is
Maaloula is nestled in a picturesque gorge in the middle of the eastern slopes of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, at an altitude of 1500 to 1650 meters above sea level. Today, the village of Maaloula has no more than five thousand residents and several dozen churches clinging directly to the sheer cliffs. Everything here is unusual and very picturesque. Steep carved steps, like hanging threads, connect the terraces of the streets. Houses with flat roofs and balconies overhanging the cliffs,
- You absolutely must visit Syria! - insisted Damir. - I’ve traveled quite a bit, but there is no land better than Syria on our planet... I met Damir Akmanov a couple of years ago. An interesting person, a patron, the Kyrgyz Tretyakov. An art connoisseur, entrepreneur, he has his own business in Syria. But most importantly, he is a good guy. Damir's stories and assurances did their job, and the "Syria virus" settled in my soul. We discussed the program in general terms with
We are in Ankara - the capital of Turkey. It is October, and it has been raining for the second day in a row. We are very unlucky, - says Alexander Antonovich Kolesnikov, the first secretary of the Russian embassy in Turkey. He previously worked at the Russian embassy in Bishkek. A man of many talents and aspirations, he quickly surrounded himself with friends, among whom I found myself. Kolesnikov is originally from St. Petersburg, a career diplomat, a remarkable historian, and a Turkologist.
I have been to Istanbul more than once. And I always caught myself thinking that I absolutely do not know the city. Trying to correct this feeling, with the help of guidebooks and guides, I discovered new pages for myself each time. Thus, gradually immersing myself in the Istanbul theme, its past, I made an unexpected discovery. Istanbul, with its numerous skyward-reaching mosques and the noise of bazaars, began to expand in time; it no longer seemed to me to be Istanbul. Through the Muslim
The village of Pilipets is the future of skiing holidays in Ukraine and a true natural gem of the Carpathians. We realized this as we continued to explore the village's infrastructure.
And so our latest trip to the Carpathians has come to an end. The snowy winter Carpathians are beautiful. Only here, on the snow-covered peaks of the Carpathian Mountains, did we feel the full grandeur of Ukrainian nature. This is the state of soul that we have been searching for so long, and we found it only here - among the mountains.
The first time I visited Istanbul was about fifteen years ago. I was flying to Cairo. The "layover" was such that we spent a whole day in Istanbul. The Georgian airline, which values its image, provided us with a hotel and a city tour. That was when I first saw Istanbul. A huge city: bazaars, mosques, ruins of ancient fortresses and castles... The guide told stories about the sultans, their feats, harems, and the riches of Turkish lands. We also went to the Bosphorus, crossing to the
Many countries and corners of the Earth entice tourists with their beauty and captivating stories. The endless wealth of the world cannot be fully known or seen even in a lifetime. But there are places that one must visit. Where spirituality intertwines with history, where comfort borders on the pristine nature, where not only the soul but also the body is healed, where a person, finding themselves, discovers a whole world. This is the Promised Land — Israel. The kingdom of the ancient Jews
We left Amman early in the morning. The road rushed towards the day to the Jordan River. The cold desert wind gradually gave way to warm currents rising from the green valley. The first thing I felt upon seeing the river was disappointment. In my imagination, the Jordan was a powerful stream with wide open banks. Here, in fact, there was hardly a river at all - just a bushy valley with a small stream and the huge King Hussein Bridge, which we were to cross into Israel. Then there were long
The city of Petra is the most famous landmark in Jordan. It is called the "home of eternity." And perhaps not without reason. The Victorian traveler and poet Dean Burgon wrote lines about Petra that are still quoted today: "Show me another place so beautiful in the eastern land, comparable to this pink-red city, as ancient as the world." Petra is a true wonder of the world, being the most impressive work of antiquity. The buildings carved from the rocks and constructed from
Since childhood, I have loved traveling. I was born in Aravan - a picturesque village in the south of Kyrgyzstan, among hills, rocky mountains, and cotton fields. In May, the hills were covered with a colorful carpet of grass and wildflowers. It was the most beautiful time of the year. A small river flowed through the village. In spring, when the snow melted in the mountains, it turned into a raging torrent. A furious mix of water, clay, and sand leaped onto the stone-lined banks. The river