MAGIC OF THE FAR SIDE - Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

.....meanders along the southern coast of Issyk Kol......

Sal amongst the flowers, around Karakol

We visited Karakol during our first travels to Kyrgyzstan, and much of what we saw and experienced on this current trip was similar to back then. It's kind of why we returned, because we loved it so much the first time around. Without wanting to repeat ourselves, we also wanted to include some new experiences on this post.  Please look at our old blogs if you're interested in around Karakol town, or trips out from Karakol. There is a lot of information about transport, and details and background of places and events. And of course, lots of Richard's lovely photos.

Karakol's wooden Orthodox Cathedral

Interesting design of the wooden Dungan mosque in Karakol

We were pleased to find KBH Hostel, one of our favourite guesthouses in the region, remained pretty much as we remembered. A fantastic place to meet other travellers, it was known as the place for hikers to find new friends for walking the many treks around the Karakol valleys. Although we were travelling at a much slower pace than most of the other guests, we still greatly enjoyed the chin wags and positives vibes. 

Karakol town was brilliant for food, and we varied between trying local dishes in the nearby market, and purchasing goods from the supermarkets and cooking for ourselves in the hostel kitchen. There a few "specialities" from the Karakol region. Ganfan (rice with stir fried beef and vegetables), and ashlan-fu (cold, spicy noodle soup with herbs and vinegar) are dishes typical of the local Muslim Dungan people and come with the superb chilli accompaniment, laza.

Ganfan with laza and kompot (juice)

Cold ashlan-fu noodles

An attractive town surrounded by mountains, Karakol's real beauty lay a short distance away in the beautiful nature of the valleys and lakes. We spent many a day on short walks in gorgeous areas, following gushing rivers and sharing the dusty paths with sheep and horses. Some days we caught a bus as far up a valley as we could and walked in different directions, loving the rural countryside and being so ensconced in nature. As we stayed in Karakol, the days became warmer, and the snow on the mountains started to melt. The weather was unpredictable- most days sunny and warm, but also some heavy rain, extreme wind and clouds. 

A walk along the Karakol River 

Pausing at a lovely spot, around Karakol

Rural scenes, around Karakol

Last of the snow melting on the Karakol mountains

Delicate flower on a valley walk

Crossing a bridge, Arashan Valley

Ramshackle rest spot, Arashan Valley

What a poser, Ak Suu Valley

Boys on horses, Ak Suu Valley

Beautiful river rest spot, Ak Suu Valley

A slightly scary crossing, Arashan Valley

Village scene, around Karakol

A trip to Pristan, a ex-Soviet naval base on the shores of Issyk Kol was an easy trundle on a local marshrutka. Some of the abandoned buildings from wealthier times were now completely open, and we were free to explore, just having to mind the huge holes in the floors and take our chances on aging stairs and ceilings. The old theatre was the best, with the entire entertainment space now accessible, but so dark, taking pictures of the amazing atmospheric location was difficult. Wandering around the quaint village we watched the ducks and a local guy fishing, and admired the productive backyards with their vegie patches and small orchards. Lastly, we walked to the "beach", a patch of grass and some sand on the lake, where a handful of brave youngsters were swimming. We can imagine during the summer, this place would be packed and noisy, but maybe quite pleasant. 

Dark and abandoned theatre, Pristan

Decrepit columns, Pristan

Front room completely open for poking around, Pristan

Once imposing exterior of old theatre, Pristan

Bar or disco?

Sheep on Pristan hillside

Bucolic village scene, Pristan

Typical Pristan house

Tucked away amongst the creepers, Pristan house

Pristan beach, near Karakol

Funny short video of ducks trying to swim against the current in Pristan

Karakol town had a charming personality, and it was pleasant to amble through different streets visiting the few sights and seeing how people lived in such a far flung town. The highlight of Karakol town was the handsome old Russian "gingerbread" houses, with their ornate wooden exteriors.

Loving the blue shutters, old Russian house in Karakol

This one needed a bit of love, Karakol

Berries, Karakol

This beauty was next door to our hostel, Karakol

Many of the old Russian houses had these porches, Karakol

Our way to Karakol along Issyk Kol's southern route

Flowers galore, landscape around Karakol

As previously talked about, Richard was extremely enamoured with the Sunday animal market in Karakol. On our last visit, we dropped in twice- the chilly September mornings creating a fantastic atmosphere. This time, Rich again visited twice- once with new friends from the hostel and once solo. Being summer, the light and ambience was not quite as wonderful as before, but he still enjoyed taking pictures, drinking shots of early morning vodka, and hanging out with some local guys who spoke English. We are creating a special animal market blog, so there will be pictures galore there........

Frisky horses for sale, Karakol animal market

Another done deal, Karakol animal market

........next up, a special report on Kyrgyzstan's animal markets.......

BIG BUMS AND EARLY MORNING VODKA SHOTS - Karakol town, Kyrgyzstan

.....previously our trip along the south coast of Issyk-Kol.......

We left behind the huge Issyk-Kol and the agriculture of the villages along the south side, and ventured further east into the mountains. We ended up in the medium sized, likeable town of Karakol, surrounded by mountains, with cute little Russian-era houses, plenty of eating options and day trips aplenty- a perfect fit for us! We also found the best hostel of the trip (along with Topchan Hostel in Tashkent), after a huge tour around almost every accommodation option to exist in Karakol. Karakol based Hostel was a super clean, friendly, quiet, light and airy and spacious place, with plenty of bathrooms and hot water, and we immediately felt at home. After traveling at a cracking pace (for us) for so long in Central Asia, we realized we felt a bit tired, and began to slow right down here where we felt so comfortable. We used the hostel and Karakol as a base for about three weeks, coming and going to various points around the town. Nights in between were spent chatting and sampling local drinks with the mostly hiking-obsessed crowds staying there.

Handsome little boy, Karakol

Karakol had a different feel to other towns we visited in Central Asia. Although it is Muslim, it has a sizeable Orthodox Christian population and several churches, including the wooden Holy Trinity cathedral, apparently built without nails. The mosque built by the Dungan population and looking like a Nepalese/Sikkimese Buddhist temple was quite a contrast. The Dungan people, along with the Uyghurs were driven from China in the 1800s where they persecuted and settled in Kyrgyzstan.

Unusual Dungan Mosque, Karakol

Robed up for the mosque, Karakol

Reading some history, Karakol Cathedral

Cloudy day at Karakol Cathedral 

An interesting aspect of Kyrgyz life was religion. On the surface, things seemed the same as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan- the people were officially Muslim, but many didn't practice or follow the beliefs or practices. But then we realized that every village and town had at least one mosque, if not more, and we heard the call to prayer every day. Unfortunately, they were without exception the worst, most unmelodious, down-beat, unenthusiastic, dirge-like call to prayers we have ever heard in any country. It was depressing!!

Most mosques in Kyrgyzstan look very similar

The Ak-Tilek bazaar was again another interesting market, and made a perfect people watching vantage point. The shipping containers used for shops and sometimes houses in all the areas we visited in Kyrgyzstan were simple and ingenious. We had what must be the best strawberries we've ever tasted from this market- this trip has really made us realize how tasteless mass produced fruit and vegetables are in Europe, and to a lesser extent in Australia. We have a high tolerance for meat markets, often visiting them in South-east Asia, and finding them an interesting contrast to Western supermarkets. However, the ever present smell of lamb fat permeated the meat section of the Ak-Tilek market so strongly, and the meat for sale was so unappetizing, Sal couldn't even bring herself to enter.

The shipping containers when the market was closed......

And when it's open, Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Stall holder, bazaar, Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Seller and customer, bazaar, Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Waiting for business, bazaar, Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Bike repair man, bazaar, Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Chilli seller, bazaar, Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

School uniforms, Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

A funny day was had when we tried to reach the village of Jergalan, which we thought was about 45 minutes away, but turned out to be a two hour trip. We were very surprised to be bustled onto a marshrutka leaving immediately from the bus station, and thought ourselves very lucky. After 20 minutes we arrived at what the driver informed us was our destination. After getting most of our money back from him (scoundrel!), we wandered off the road to find ourselves at yet another bloody sanatorium.....called Jergalan! We made the most of the day looking around the quite lovely wooded grounds of the sanatorium and lake, as well as a nearby valley with a picture perfect deserted little village, but we never found out what delights Jergalan village held!

Taking a rest in the street, Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Enjoying her ice cream, Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Pristan village was the nearest lakeside place to Karakol, and in the past had been a popular place for Russian holiday houses, as well as an old Soviet naval base, which once tested torpedoes and submarines. There are also rumours of officially sanctioned mass opium and marijuana fields in the area before the 1970s. We took a marshrutka full of happy, joking locals to the village, and found an appealing, yet decrepit, ghost town with shabby, falling down Russian-style houses, and concrete walls and buildings (including locked underground bunkers). Some constructions were quite characterful, and Rich had a poke around in a few where the windows were broken and came across an old cinema, and in another place, a man actually living in the ruins.

Ruined old building, Pristan, Kyrgyzstan

Nice patterns in outbuilding door, Pristan, Kyrgyzstan

Rusty old Navy ship, Pristan, Kyrgyzstan

A glimpse into a Pristan home

Someone was actually living upstairs in this one, Pristan, Kyrgyzstan

On our last day in Karakol, we were lucky to catch the opening of a new USAID funded Riverside Park (although US$100,000 could have been better spent elsewhere, in our humble opinion). It was a fun day, mainly for locals really, with loads of entertainment on the little stage from dancing troupes, instrumentalists and singers, heaps of food from the various ethnic groups here (much of it free to try), little stalls selling handmade products and some demonstrations of handicrafts. It really brought to light the Russian influence in Karakol, with large numbers of Slavic looking people visible amongst the more Asian faces. We also tried to the famous Dungan dish from Karakol, ashlyanfu, that everyone is always banging on about, and found it to be a tasty cold noodle dish, but nothing particularly special.

Local dancers, Riverside festival, Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Dancer, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Getting ready to perform, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Sizing up the competition, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan  

Happy with their performance, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Unusual girl, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Dungan's fan dance, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Old style head dress, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Russian dancer, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Old woman in elechek- the larger the windings the higher her status

A diverse showcase of dancers from Karakol

Rich and his mates, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Free ice cream!! Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Friendly man at a stall, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Child with beautiful eyes, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Watching the show, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Little cutie, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Listening to the singing, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Sweet home made dolls for sale, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

Some regional food on offer, Riverside festival Karakol, Kyrgyzstan 

The average ashlyanfu  

After enjoying our first banya so much at a private home, we were keen to have a go at the public version. Chickening out of the group experience, we asked our host at the hostel to organize a session at her local banya, and hired the room for an hour- just for the two of us. It was a grander space that the first banya we had had, with three rooms- one for undressing, one for bathing with hot water, and one for the actual sauna. A relaxing and calming hour was had, after which we were sweating buckets and glad to get out into the cool night air!

Oooh!! Banya, Karakol

Other worthwhile sights in Karakol were the Regional Museum, which, as well as the usual stuffed animals and non-English labelled exhibits, had a fascinating photo display by the remarkable Swiss adventurer/photographer/sports person Ella Maillart, with a glimpse into a rarely seen Central Asian world from the 1930s, and to a lesser degree, Pushkin Park (really only because Sal has developed an obsession with Central Asian Ferris wheels!)

Great view from ferris wheel, Karakol

Scene from Karakol streets

So many Russian houses, Karakol

Awwww! Karakol

We found it hard to walk past a sweet little window like this one! Karakol

The buying and selling at Karakol's weekly animal market was a must see for us. It's the biggest in the country, and we felt it worth the early morning and getting slightly soiled by cow shit to experience the hustle and bustle of such a unique place. As well as sheep, goats, cattle, horses and the odd dog for sale, it was actually the people doing the selling that captivated us (although those big bummed sheep are pretty cool!). It was a drizzly morning, and probably the coldest we had been up till that time, and we kind of understood the many locals milling around the vodka stands, even though it was early morning. Rich felt he wanted to join in and partook in a particularly warming shot from a vendor (just to fit in, of course!).
*Warning: There are way too many photos in this section- it is really hard to choose just a few!!

Seven am!! Karakol animal market, Kyrgyzstan

....trips out and around Karakol......