I spent some of this week in the south
of Kyrgyzstan in the country’s second-largest city, Ош (‘Osh’), and
returned Saturday evening. I also wrapped up my classes last Tuesday, August
21. Monday evening I got some chocolate bars and made my Grammar, Reading, and
Conversation teachers some chocolate bark. I also created what turned out to be
essentially truffles. I even added a touch of maple syrup. Overall, a successful
and well-received small token of appreciation for their hard work.
Wednesday morning on the 22nd,
two friends – Elena and Luther – and I went to the bus station and found a cab to
Osh. When I say cab, I’m referring to cars you hire to travel long distances.
Otherwise, you get a long-distance marshrutka, which I usually use, but taxis
are much more comfortable and faster. We found a driver right quick and met a
student from Japan who was heading to Osh as well. While we waited for the car
to fill up, we talked to a nice man who had just retired from a career in the
Kyrgyz military. Once the car was full, we set off at about 08:30 for Osh; it is a
10-12 hour journey through several mountain passes and valleys and one
particularly famous hairpin-laden sector leads you through a 3km-long tunnel
and exits the other side.
It was one of those things that you hear is
incredible and you know and expect it to be a wondrously scenic drive… but of
course, the full realization of what is ahead cannot be envisioned until the
landscape changes before you from mountain landscape, through
desertified cliff-sides, back to green pastures via jiloos, around the Токтогул (‘Toktogul’) Reservoir, following
the Нарын (‘Naryn’) River as it snakes southwest through the country, and past
the three large dams which regulate the waterflow of the Naryn.
In short, a most impressive
and absurdly beautiful drive. Of course, having a bike to ride to Osh and
back would have been ideal..
We arrived at approximately 22:00 Wednesday
evening. Our driver was friendly enough, but he stopped randomly and suddenly –
including one stop where he simply jumped out of the Honda, shouted for some
tea, then laid down for a 20 minute nap beside a table. Of course, a rested
driver is better than a tired one.. We jumped in a local taxi after we arrived, and
about 3 minutes into the drive to where we were staying, it occurred to me that
I had forgotten my point-and-shoot (camera) in the Honda. I had it for four years
and it; like my beer-box sandals, it served me well.
The house we stayed at was courtesy
of a friend of Elena’s who is doing Ph.D. research in Kyrgyzstan. After some
slight difficulty with the keys, we were in the house which sprawled from the
entrance to a dining room, to a living area with couches, and included three
separate bedrooms. It was bloody perfect.
The city itself is quite small with two
main avenues running either side of a river which itself runs north-south
through the heart of the city. On Thursday we climbed Сулайман-Тоо (‘Sulayman-Too’)
which allegedly marks the grave of Sulayman, a prophet in the Qur’an. It also
has a small mosque at the peak which was built by Babur, the man who founded
the Mughal Dynasty in the 15th century. The top provides a panoramic
view of most of the city and is about the only thing to actually do in Osh
besides chill out or visit the main bazaar.
We also met a local girl, Aizada, through a
mutual friend who works at the bazaar at a stand selling traditional Kyrgyz
hats and attire – namely, kalpaks. Aizada showed us around the bazaar and how
she closes up before leading us to a park where she, Luther, and I went for a
ride on a Soviet-era ferris wheel. We had another great view of the city and a
nice evening chatting with her until we parted ways.
Friday was another day of relaxation for
Luther and I; Elena had meetings being the important Ph.D. researcher in the
group. Luther and I met with Aizada and hung out for the day, going to two
museums or relaxing in the shade otherwise. We had a nice dinner in the evening
and said our goodbyes.
We headed back Saturday morning and
embarked on the same drive, arriving in Bishkek at about 21:30. We headed
to our dorms and I went out to meet another friend to talk about the trip.
Osh is a nice city and I had a positive
experience there. As an academic – and simply as another traveler –
I’m aware of the past calamities in the city and am not ignorant to the
subtleties of the geo- and ethno-political nuances of Osh, most recently
amplified during the events in April 2010, and how these still lurk under the
surface of an otherwise peaceful, small city and Kyrgyzstan’s second largest.
The people were friendly towards us, we were not harassed by police, and were
generally well-received by everyone we talked to from taxi drivers, new
friends, and the landlord we rudely awoke on Wednesday evening after roaming
the neighbourhood looking for our house.
I see no point in not recommending going to this city; another’s experience may
differ quite greatly, but as we must all recognize, you may have the best or
worst of experiences at any time in any place.
As I have forgotten my camera and obviously
cannot display my own pictures, I have borrowed from friends. All credits for
photos in this post go to Elena and Luther.
