Naryn

22 jUNE 2012

Last night I stayed in an apartment in the suburbs.

The landlady owned the apartment on the other side of the landing and I was invited there for breakfast. I walked into a room with two tables ladened with fresh fruit, dried fruit and delicious jams. It looked like a banquet was about to begin, but this is just Krygic culture ie. to always have a table full of  snacks for guests.The land lady made the most amazing curd pancakes for breakfast to be eaten with the freshly made black currant jam. I shared breakfast with seven Austrian professors who were running a workshop at the town's university on animal grazing techniques. They agreed that they were sure they were learning more from the local delegates.

Today, I headed off to visit Tash Rabat, a caravanserai partly hidden in the hillside. No one knows for sure the true origin of this building but it definitely had political and trading importance for the silk road to justify the investment of labour required for its construction. All around it's location were yurts and animals, as shepherds and their families  had moved into the valley for the summer. I went hiking in the mountains around this place ... Another great location.

Driving back to Naryn along the highway between China and Kyrgyzstan, you were made very aware of the amount a trucks and their cargo traveling through from Kashgar over the Torugart pass to Bishkek. The road is just a dust track in parts as most is under construction. There is a major joint venture going on between the two countries to make this into a tarmaced dual carriage way. In the meantime the locals find it really weird that female Chinese workers are part of the workforce and watch in awe as additional trucks are brought in to help haul the huge Chinese trucks over the passes.