Following the first post on the basics, and one on Kazakhstan's strange capital, and search for identity, let's take a closer look at some places in Central Asia.
Our trip began in Almaty, where we spent a few days to explore the city and its surroundings. This included the Big Almaty Lake, which is the main source of drinking water for the city and usually looks turquoise, but was unfortunately half-hidden in clouds and all grey when we arrived; a vist to Kok Tobe, a hill with a fun fair just next to the city, where I watched the world's loneliest kid going in circles in a bumper car on an empty track; the parks and pedestrian zones of the city; a tour through the Green Bazaar, or Zelionyj Bazar, where you can buy anything from socks to horse meat.
A special shoutout also goes to the kebab food truck with the surprisingly German name, which was part of an equally surprising techno party in the mountains outside of Almaty:
Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country and has borders with five nations: Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The sheer vastness of the region and our limited time there meant we had to focus on a few corners, and look for adequate transportation. In our case it was Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and a driver with a SUV, who we organized through the website Indy Guide.
Here are some of the main stops of the itinerary we picked for the days on the road:
Burana Tower (Kyrgyzstan)
Less than an hour from Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek by car, Burana tower stands 25 meters tall in the otherwise flat landscape around it. It is the only visible building left of of the ancient city of Balasagun, and used to be almost twice as high before an earthquake brought it down in the 15th century. A steep winding stairway inside the tower leads you to the top where you can have a look at the surroundings with the Tian Shan mountains in the background. Nearby, numerous Balbals - carved stone stelaes - are scattered on a field. They are ancient gravestones left by the nomadic tribes which used to roam around Central Asia. They were not all found here, but brought to this site in recent times, and they certainly add to the overall atmosphere of the place. A few of the balbals are holding a glass of wine - those are thought to represent members of the Nestorians, a group of early Christians who also lived in the region.
Lake Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan)
Covering 6,236 square kilometres and surrounded by mountains, lake Isyyk-Kul is a unique sight. It is the second-largest mountain lake in the world behind Lake Titicaca and reaches 668 metres (2,192 ft) in depth. We stayed at the northern shore, in Cholpon Ata, in a guest house close to the water. There are numerous beaches and the weather was sunny enough to relax and stroll through the sand in flip-flops - not what I had originally expected on trip to a landlocked country. The town itself is not exactly pretty and has seen better days, but there is a historic site I would recommend: a huge field just outside the town adorned with glacial rocks, where you can find petroglyphs - ancient stone carvings depicting various animals, which date back to the 8th century B.C.
Due to their mobile lifestyle, ancient nomad cultures have not left an awful lot for historians, so the petroglyphs offer a rare glimpse into their past. When it comes to history, I prefer such sites over items behind glass in a museum, so I quite enjoyed the walk on the field. One way to get to the site leads over the runway of an abandoned airfield, with the mountains in front of you and the shoreline of the lake in your back. Walking in the quiet afternoon hours you could feel like being on the set of some post-apocalyptic movie, had it not been for the youth of the region occasionally racing on the vast airfield with their cars and motorbikes.
Bonus: the vegetable market and the Lenin statue at the edge of the town.
Charyn Canyon (Kazakhstan)
After long hours on the road through the endless steppe the landscape gradually changed. On our way from Kyrgyzstan we drove by Black Canyon (third photo below), and finally arrived at Charyn Canyon. The location is in the southeast of the country, closer to China than to Almaty. It is probably safe to assume that in any other country this spectacular destination would be crowded with tourists. That is not to say it is completely empty: there are various tour companies, and even white-water rafting and canoeing are on offer. We were on a bit of a tight schedule, otherwise I would have loved to go on some hikes and visit all different canyons in the area.
Lake Kaindy (Kazakhstan)
After hours in the SUV to we arrived in the village of Saty in Southern Kazakhstan, where we dropped our bags at the little guest house. We were the only guests, but the house was still quite crowded in the evening, as half the town came by to sit on the terrace to connect to the WiFi.
From Saty it is barely 15km to Lake Kaindy, but it is a bit of a rough ride through the mountains - the lake is about 2,000 metres above sea level in the Tian Shan mountains - and does require a 4x4 car. The driver barely spoke a word and focused on the road, as he masterfully steered us through and around a number of small streams and obstacles.
From the parking lot near a clearing with yurts, it was another hike to get to the river. Once we arrived the sight rewarded us for the journey. Lake Kaindy in Southern Kazakhstan with its ghostly sunken forest is a surreal place. It was created when an earthquake in 1911 triggered a landslide which formed a natural dam. The trees have been submerged since, but have been preserved by the cold water. We did not swim or dive there, but check out some of the underwater images on Google, it is quite the sight!
Although we had to rush back after a while due to the worsening weather, the lake was a definite highlight of the trip and yet another amazing place hidden in the vastness of the country.
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