Bishkek: A Warm Farewell to Central Asia

The final stop on my tour of Central Asia was Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. And after the chilly days in Issyk Kul, it was pleasant and warm for our last days before heading home.

Where am I now?

But I’ll start with the story of why I’m hanging out at the Grand Cevahir Hotel in Istanbul.

When I booked my flight home, I had about a six-hour layover in Istanbul. The flight from Bishkek arrived around 1pm, and my flight to Mexico City was supposed to depart in the early evening and arrive in Mexico City very early in the morning (like 3am). I then had a 6am flight to Guadalajara, arriving at 7:30.

But about a week ago I got a message from Turkish Airlines. My flight was canceled!

When I rebooked, the only option was a 2am departure, arriving in Mexico City at 7am. This turned my six-hour layover into thirteen hours. And it meant I had to change my flight from MEX to GDL. The only later flight departs tomorrow at 4pm. So I also have a nine-hour layover there! Instead of getting home around 8am, it’ll be after 6pm.

Turkish Airlines offers a hotel room to travelers with long layovers. It’s a bit of a rigamarole and required me to go through passport control and officially enter the country. Then they brought me by van to this very nice 5‑start hotel nearly an hour’s drive from the airport. It seems to be in the downtown business district of Istanbul, not near anyplace I’d want to go spend time. Why they took me so far is a mystery.

And what’s also a mystery is why they wouldn’t give me a suite in the Business Class lounge at the airport. They have rooms there with a bed and a desk. I asked about getting a suite there, but they are reserved for travelers with up to a nine-hour layover. Surely this can’t be as cost effective as letting me stay there. And it’s more tiring for me.

Anyway, being in this hotel is better than the other available options, so I’ll stop complaining. I had a great trip, and I’m lucky to be able to travel, and sometimes things don’t go according to plan, but you just make the best of it.

From Issyk Kul to Bishkek

We left Issyk Kul on Tuesday morning for the 260 km drive to Bishkek, and we made a few stops along the way.

Muslim Cemetery

I’m not clear about the reason for the mounds or the fences.

Burana Tower

This is an 11th-century minaret; the mosque it was associated with has not survived, and the full height of the minaret was also destroyed. It was originally about twice as high.

This was the site of the city of Balasagun, the capital of the Karakhanid state, which existed from the 10th to the 12th centuries.

Also at the site were a number of balbals, or Kurgan stelae. These are anthropomorphic stone carvings, probably made as memorials to honor the dead.

He seems to be holding a cup in one hand and a knife in the other.

The balbals are not actually from this location; they were brought and assembled here.

Horse Games

Probably the most interesting part of the drive to Bishkek was the chance to watch a demonstration of horse games. These games are a big part of the culture of Central Asia; later this year Issyk Kul will be hosting the 6th World Nomad Games, and these competitions are a big part of it. (The golden eagle competitions we saw demo’d in Issyk Kul are also part of the World Nomad Games.)

In Tiyin Enmei, riders at a full gallop try to pick up objects from the ground.

In Kok Buru, the riders on two teams try to pick up a goat carcass and carry it to the opposing team’s goal at either end of the field. The carcass is very heavy (like around 40 kg) and they struggle to lift it and carry it, but both teams did manage to score some goals.

After the demo, the horses were very sweaty and breathing heavily. I’m not sure I liked this. But it was a fascinating look at a local tradition that is a significant aspect of Kyrgyz (as well as Kazakh) culture. And in fact, something like 90 countries are participating in this year’s Nomad Games.

The horse behind me was wet and panting hot breath on me.

Bishkek tour

We got to Bishkek late in the afternoon and Yura took us on a short orientation walk. Then on Wednesday we had a city tour with Elizabeth, a new guide. (Our previous local guide for Kyrgyzstan, Emir, was a very sweet fellow but utterly unqualified to serve as a tour guide. Plus he struggled with English. Yura tried to help him, but it just didn’t work out, so we got Elizabeth for our last two days.)

A little about Elizabeth

Elizabeth is Russian. She lives in Bishkek, but she was born in Russia, and she still has abiding affection for Russia (though she told us repeatedly how much she loves Kyrgyzstan).

Kyrgyzstan, it turns out, also loves Russia. Of all the countries we visited, it is by far the most Russia-friendly. It is the only one that has Russian as an official language.

Elizabeth had no trouble expressing love and affection for the past Communist leaders of Kyrgyzstan. She is, in fact, a PhD candidate in history and is writing her dissertation about the first such leader. She was also was at ease talking about the good things Joseph Stalin did. Though she did admit he wasn’t such a good guy.

Some sights in Bishkek

Bishkek is a nice city, maybe my favorite of the three capital cities and one former capital city we visited in Central Asia. Our tour took us past some interesting monuments and pretty parks.

National Historical Museum of the Kyrgyz Republic, built in 1984 in Soviet-era Brutalist style. It used to be called the Lenin Museum, and a statue of Lenin stood in front.

That statue still stands, but it is now behind the museum.

Monument to Manas. He is the national hero of Kyrgyzstan. He’s also fictional. He’s the subject of *The Epic of Manas*, the longest poem ever written.

Marx and Engels. A statue of Stalin used to be here.

Victory Square, inaugurated in 1985 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
The structure was designed to resemble the supports of a traditional Kyrgyz yurt.

A lot of schoolchildren were gathered at Victory Square dressed in Soviet paraphernalia (red stars and hammer-and-sickle insignia). I smiled at them and gave them a “thumbs-up,” and some of them saluted back for the picture. But notice how serious they all look. No smiles!

Kyrgyz traditional music

That night at dinner we enjoyed a performance by a group called Uluu Koch (“The Great Migration”). Their music paid tribute to the nomadic history of the Kyrgyz people. It was, for me, the best traditional music-making we got to experience during the trip.

This piece is an excerpt from The Epic of Manas. The singer said he can sing 30 minutes of the poem. Elizabeth told us there are exactly two people in Kyrgyzstan who have memorized the entire epic.

Ala Archa

On Thursday, our last day, we visited Ala Archa National Park, where we did a short hike and enjoyed some spectacular scenery of the Tian Shan mountains. At the top of the page is the view we enjoyed as we were heading out of Bishkek toward the park.

You can find all these and more photos from Bishkek and surroundings in my photo album.