Central Asia I: Bishkek--the Fashion Show

We traveled halfway round the world on October 7, 2021, rising in Salt Lake City, Utah, and sleeping in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  It was the trip of a lifetime--a private, three week tour of two of the five "Stans" in the former Soviet Union--Kyrgyztan and Uzbekistan.  The travel agency, MIR, planned this trip for Dave, our son Michael, and me.  Originally, we were part of a small group tour visiting all five "Stans," but once Covid hit and our options were limited to only two of the five countries, the other tour members opted out.  MIR gave us their best guides, since there were so few tours running, and added out-of-the-way spots to our tour that most foreign visitors don't get to see.  It was spectacular!

We began the tour in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, at the middle, northern edge of the map above.  We traveled east along the northern edge of one of the highest lakes in the world, Issy-Akul, to Karakol, on the eastern end of the lake.  Karakol is less than 100 miles, as the crow flies, from the border of China, but it is several hundred miles from Karakol to one of the few high mountain passes from Kyrgyzstan into the Xinjiang province of China.  We were in the back of beyond!  We returned to Bishkek along the southern shore of Issy-Akul.  

The highlight of our first day in Bishkek, October 8, was dinner and a "fashion show" at Supara, an elegant museum/restaurant.  Mike wore his new Kyrgis hat, made from wolf fur, with a wolf tail hanging down the back.  He will add it to his exotic hat collection at home.

The Supara complex includes a "hotel" made up of yurts.  Yurts are an important part of the Kyrgis culture.  The top of a yurt is even featured on the Kyrgis flag.  Although most Kyrgis now live in Western-style homes, yurts are still used as temporary shelters for sheepherders who take their herds into the mountainous summer pastures.  During our stay in Kyrgyzstan, we watched ranchers put up a yurt, and we visited a yurt maker who sells his yurts as far away a Dubai.

The Supara auditorium was shaped like a yurt.

Before dinner, we wandered the Supara museum, with exhibits of Kyrgis crafts.  Horses are as prominent as yurts in Kyrgis culture, and so many of the items were coverings for yurts or horses.

Kyrgyzstan was not Dave's first choice for a vacation, but he loved being with his son, Michael, and he had a good time sightseeing in spite of himself!

Our guide, Fahrod, was excellent.  He spoke fluent English and had spent several years as an exchange student in the U.S.--Texas, as I recall.

The "fashion show" at Supara began with a demonstration of winding the iconic women's headdress, or "elechek," onto a young girl.  First, the girl's hair was braided and wound around her head.

Then, yards and yards of white material were wound around her head and under her chin, forming the elaborate headdress.  We saw many women wearing elecheks in Kyrgyzstan, although most wore Western dress.

The Kyrgis are beautiful people who look, to me, quite Chinese.  In Uzbekistan, many of the people look Persian.  That's not surprising--Kyrgyzstan nestles against China and its neighbor, Uzbekistan, borders Iran.

This group of ladies paraded around the auditorium to show us their ethnic dress and their elecheks.  Again and again, MIR staged special programs for Dave, Mike, and me alone!  It was a luxury tour, and, if I had the means, I would take every tour MIR offered.  Most of their tours explore Russia, the former Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe.

We ate dinner in our own yurt.  This was our first taste of Kyrgis food, and it was luscious.

We enjoyed well-seasoned salads and unique breads all over Central Asia.  I thought, often, of how my mother's hair would stand on end at the very thought of eating raw vegetables in a less-developed country.  I got sick only once during our trip.  Our guides told us they knew where to take Westerners to keep them well.

Our dinner was accompanied by musicians playing traditional instruments--mostly variations of flutes, drums, and stringed instruments.  The music was hauntingly beautiful.

 

We stayed at the elegant Hyatt Regency.  All of our hotels were excellent, but most had "character," located within walled cities, as "homestays" in the countryside, or decorated in elaborate, Russian or ethnic style.  It felt very good, for just a night or two, to unwind in bland, Western luxury.

We were given the first day to rest and get over jet lag, but that was not our style.  Within an hour or two of checking into our hotel, after the long flight, we went exploring.  We spent an hour or more at the Bishkek art museum.

I spent most of my time searching the exhibit of Kyrgis paintings for common elements of culture.  Horses were a major theme.  It is in the Fergana Valley of Kyrgyzstan and neighboring Uzbekistan where Chinese emperors got their war horses.

Another common theme was mountains.  Kyrgyzstan is huge, but has only 6 million people.  Much of it is mountainous.  The major mountain range is the Tien Shan, just north of the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas.  There are a number of  20,000 foot high peaks among the Tien Shan.

The Russians ruled Kyrgyzstan for more than 100 years, and many of the paintings show Russian style clothes and Slavic people.  After independence in 1991, most of the Russians went home, but Kyrgyzstan still has a close relationship to Russia. It is also considered the most democratic of the five Stans.

And there were many paintings showing Chinese influence.  

After the museum, we visited GUM, a five story apartment store.  One whole story was devoted to Kyrgis crafts.  Although many Uzbeki crafts showed even greater artistry, we were tempted in Kyrgyzstan by felt-and-silk scarves, fur hats, embroidery repurposed from antique yurt covers, and Russian nesting dolls.