Adventures with Julia

Uganda

Map of Uganda

August 8, 2016

Our world has changed considerably. I am now sitting in our boma at Wildwaters Lodge near where the White Nile exits Lake Victoria. The sound is roaringly loud, but wonderful to my head. I cannot hear the tinnitus.

We arrived in Entebbe yesterday late afternoon. Had a smooth entry into Uganda until Mark’s bag did not appear on the carousel. He waited 30 minutes, then went to the bathroom. Upon returning from the bathroom, he suddenly spotted the bag sitting on the floor in the middle of the by then empty baggage claim area. Disaster averted. We departed the airport with our new driver, Dixon, in a Toyota Land Cruiser with Uganda Safari Company printed on the sides. Then we got the news that it would take 2.5 to 3 hours to drive to Jonathan Wright’s house where we planned to stay. The busy Sunday evening social traffic was so bad through Kampala that it took 3 full hours to get to Jonathan’s place near Mukono, a small town east of the city. We knew his house was in an isolated location. We just did not know how isolated. The dark, bumpy, dusty, tedious trip was, however, worth the trouble. His house is large, rambling and most appealing with stucco and heavy beam construction. It is in the middle of 1500 acres of forest with views from the veranda looking out at the city far in the distance.

He greeted us at the door at 10pm and made us each our first drink since arriving in Sudan. Scotch, of course. Then he escorted us directly to dinner on the veranda, where his staff had laid out a delicious family style meal. By now you must be wondering who is Jonathan Wright. We met him 14 years ago when he guided us on our first tour of Uganda. He was the owner of a small company called the Uganda Safari Company. At the end of the tour, he invited us to his house in Kampala where we had dinner with him, his wife Pamela and their 2 kids. Two years later, we were back in Uganda to revisit Scott and Carol Kellermann and spent a few days with Jonathan visiting a concession he had just secured to set up a game lodge at Kidepo in the northwest corner of the country. We camped there in a rustic cabin for a few nights and toured around with him checking the place out. It is now a successful game lodge. (That was the day we left Kidepo by small plane, flew back to Kampala, dropped Jonathan off and flew on to the tea plantation air strip, where we planned to meet Scott. Unfortunately, it was raining pretty hard and our inexperienced pilot crashed the plane on landing. No one was hurt, but the plane was totaled along with some tea plants.)

We have kept up with him be email over the years and wanted to reconnect on this trip. During the last 12 years, his business has grown considerably and he now has his hand in a number of activities, including the lodge we will visit in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest called The Clouds. Pamela and his now adult children, are in Canada, where she is from, so we did not get to see them. At midnight we called the evening quits and dropped into bed. The place is so quiet it reminds me of the Clarke Ranch.

Politically, he believes Museveni is a reasonable president as he is strong and keeps the country stable and safe even if he is a dictator. The county is growing at 5% a year, new roads are in the process of being built and people are happy to be working. When Jonathan first came to Uganda as a child, he remembers the population being around 5 Million. Today it is 35 Million.

This morning we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with Jonathan, walked around his grounds and talked until almost 1pm. Finally, we departed with Dixon on the two hour drive to this lodge. Jonathan planned this adventure for us and we had no idea what to expect. What a trip to drive and drive on bad dirt roads and finally stop in the middle of the forest.

Wildwaters Lodge arrival dock.

Canoe arriving to take us to Wildwaters Lodge

Then I got out of the car and heard the roar of a raging river, although I could not see it for the forest. We walked a short distance down some steps to a wood landing and there we were at the edge of the immense Nile River with a small boat being rowed to meet us. Asked I, are we really going to get in that little row boat to cross this river? Yes said Dixon. I gulped and happily put on the offered life vest. It was a bit precarious with us, our stuff, Dixon and two boat men in this canoe shaped row boat. However, we did not row across the river, but out to the edge of the current which propelled us a short distance to another wood landing on a small island. We were greeted by staff with the usual wash cloth and welcome drink and escorted along a series of elevated wooden walkways to the outdoor dining area, where we were given the welcome talk and served lunch.

The view of the Nile rapids from the dining room at Wildwaters.

Our boma or bungalow, one of 10, overlooks Nile River rapids near the river’s source, Lake Victoria. The river is immense and very loud. Mark informs me it is the largest river in the world, followed by the Amazon and the Yangtze. Our Mississippi is 4th.

The facility is in a jungle-like forest. Walking on the ground is nearly impossible, so there are elevated boardwalks from the bomas to the dining hall and the helipad, where those who can, arrive. As there is really no place to go, we hung out in the room, watched the rapids pass by our boma and read and wrote until dinner. We were in bed shortly after dinner. Lights out at 11pm when the generator is turned off.

Interior of our Wildwaters boom

August 9, 2016

Luxury in the wilderness occurred when we were delivered Cappuccino’s in our room at 7:30am. Not quite as luxurious as arriving by helicopter, but more than good enough.

After breakfast I plan to go fishing for Nile perch. More later.

August 9, 2016 – 12:05 am Categories: 2016 Aug-Sep: Dubai / Sudan / Uganda / Rwanda / Zambia / Malawi, Adventures | Post a comment

Back to Khartoum

Still August 6, 2016

Sufi dancer welcoming us.August 6, 2016 continued

The wild looking dancer put on a good show.

Yesterday afternoon, August 5, after a couple hours quiet time, Abdel and Mortada took us to see the Sufi Whirling Dervishes who dance and pray every Friday in front of the main Sufi mosque in Omdurman, the city across the river from Khartoum. We remember very exciting music and twirling by men in colorful full skirts on our first trip to Turkey 27 years ago and looked forward to seeing Sufi dancers again. The area around the mosque was packed with people full of anticipation. We joined hundreds of them, mostly men, gathered in a large circle in the courtyard of the mosque.

Sufi dancers chanting and swaying

Barefooted men and boys stepped into the circle and began to sway, then prance and twirl to the sound of drums and chanting. Most were wearing the traditional everyday garb of white jallabiahs. A few along had on more colorful outfits, including one wild looking man covered with rows and rows of large, heavy beads crossed over his shoulder, his hair in dreadlocks and his face oblivious to the crowd. As each chant ended more men entered the space and joined the movement, while the crowd around joined in the chant and swayed to the sound. We both took several photos and videos. Unfortunately I don’t know how or if it is even possible to attach a video to my blog. (If any of you know, please email us how.) This went on for an hour when I began to get bored and finally asked Abdel if it was going to get more interesting. When he told us it would continue the same, we decided we had had enough of the crowd and the scene and went back to the hotel to relax, have dinner and crash.

Today, Saturday the 6th, is our last full day in Sudan. We had a full day planned and headed out at 9am for Omdurman, which was the capital of Sudan long before Khartoum, to visit the Tomb of Mahdi, a charismatic religious leader who led the Sudanese against the British in 1886 to devastating defeat. Madhi had killed the British hero Charles Gordon several years earlier and the British General Kitchener, still angry about the death of his friend, took his revenge. Although there were 60,000 Sudanese troops and only 10,000 British, the British, armed with modern guns and cannons mowed down the Sudanese, who had only outdated spears, knives and shields. The result was a blood bath and a bit of an embarrassment to Britain. Madhi survived the battle, only to die 6 months later from malaria. Next door to the tomb is a very old museum where Madhi’s successor, Abdullah Khalifa, lived and worked from 1886 to 1898, when Kitchener had him and his sin killed. This was the beginning of the Anglo/Egyptian occupation, which lasted until 1956, when Sudan gained its independence. More recent history is interesting and complicated and too much for this blog. Google History of Sudan for more info.

After hearing the stories about these famous figures, we drove to the largest souk in Sudan to check it out. We were in it only about 45 minutes when we saw the light in the sky change to a dense reddish haze.

The red sky before the storm.

It was very eerie, but did not deter us from completing a purchase of some camel bone jewelry. We barely finished paying the merchant when we heard lightning, thunder and immediate heavy rain on the only partially covered roof of the souk. Then the lights went out and the whole souk shut down. Apparently exposed power lines next to corrugated roofing is a bad thing in the rain. We stayed put for about 30 minutes hoping the deluge would pass. Abdel finally reached our driver, who then managed to get the car within a block of where we were. At that point, we made a run for the car and got soaked in the process.

Can’t remember ever seeing so much rain at one time. Unfortunately, there are no storm drains in the old city and the water in the streets quickly reached 12 inches deep in low lying areas. I was glad again that we had our big, strong SUV.

So much for more shopping in the souk. We drove through many inundated streets to our lunch stop, a place called Al Housh, the courtyard. It was a big contemporary place with a huge skylight and made a great place to hang out, eat and listen to the rain. Abdel made good on his promise to buy us the traditional Sudanese meal called “Ful”, which included hot beans in broth (Mark and I are sure they are fave beans), mixed grill of lamb and chicken, grilled Nile Perch, hummus, a Greek style salad and the ever present bread. We enjoyed the food, which we tried, unsuccessfully, eating with one hand in the traditional Arabic way using bread as the scoop. The rain continued to pound on the roof. Fortunately, it abated by the time we were ready to leave. Our plan had been to see a wrestling match, but it was rained out, so we returned to the hotel to relax, happily, in our room. We have actually seen the Nile rise before our eyes during the week we have been in Sudan. Everyone says it will continue to raise for about 2 more weeks and then slowly subside. No-one expects serious flooding as happened in 1988.
August 7, 2016

Departure day. I am actually sorry to leave Sudan with its incredible landscapes and wonderful people. My concerns about terrorism and being heavily scrutinized were totally unfounded. I invite everyone to visit this lovely country, just not in July or August. We are now off to the airport for our onward journey to Uganda. Good wishes to all, especially our mothers, Kay and LaVonne.

August 7, 2016 – 1:44 am Categories: 2016 Aug-Sep: Dubai / Sudan / Uganda / Rwanda / Zambia / Malawi, Adventures | Comments (3)

Through the desert to Meroe

Friday August 5, 2016

What a couple of hot desert days we have had. Early yesterday morning while it was cooler than very hot, we drove a half hour to the ancient cemetery of Nuri (slightly east of Karima on the map) to see 22 crumbling Egyptian style pyramids dating from 664 BC, when the most powerful of all the Pharaohs, Taharqa, was buried there. He was powerful for having enlarged his territory more than any other pharaoh. As in Egypt they had 45 degree angles. Unlike Egypt, they were only 30 meters high. We walked around the historically interesting, but photographically boring cemetary. So here is a photo of the bakery we stopped at for some fresh, hot bread.

Bakery near Nari cemetary. Typical Sudanese bread.

Then we drove back to the Rest House, ate a late breakfast and said good bye to the staff, who had treated us very well under trying conditions. Not only was the air hot, humid and murky even in the evenings, the AC struggled to make anything remotely cool, the cold water came out so hot we had no relief even in the shower and the internet hot spot they let us use was only intermittent at best.

Nubian style entrance to the Nubian Rest House we called home for three nights.

Feeling uncertain but game about our coming camping experience, we headed southeast from Karima through the Bayuda Desert eventually crossing the Nile and turning south to Meroe (pronounced Mer-O-A). About 2.5 hours into the 5 hour drive on good 2 lane highway, Mortada suddenly veered off the road onto the sand and drove about a mile to a nomad encampment.

Nomadic encampment

Abdel was quite pleased to introduce us to the residents with whom he has become good friends. Several women were hanging out in the shade of their temporary structure, while the men were out with their camel herd. I will include photos of the structure as it is impossible to describe, being made with tree limbs, sticks, cardboard and anything that would allow airflow without letting in sun. The space included several single bed frames for sitting and lounging as well as sleeping. I saw toothbrushes sticking out of the rafters and large cloth bags hanging from the walls most likely containing clothes, bedding and personal affects. Another structures included a permanent brick building used as a kitchen, a empty lean to affair used for corralling animals at night and another temporary dwelling where the grandmother had her own space that was more enclosed and dark.

Medina, the lady in charge

It was a delight to meet the lady of the camp, Madina, her pregnant 18 year old daughter, Umbala, whose wedding Abdel attended nine months ago and her 15 year old daughter, Dawa, who is engaged to a cousin she will marry when she is 18. Then we met Madina’s elderly mother, also called Madina, a cousin named Thuria and a mid wife staying with them until the baby, due any day, is born, They were so warm and welcoming that we chatted and laughed with them for a good hour.

Medina’s daughter demonstrating the smoke bath.

We learned more about the smoke bath I mentioned earlier with the Hassan family. Two of the women demonstrated their smoke bath, which occupies a corner of the space, for us by starting a fire with acacia wood in the round pit. When it gets smoking, they wrap fabric around themselves, sit over the hole and let the smoke seep into their pours. How it cleans them I have no idea. However, they all have beautiful smooth skin. We took many photos and they had fun laughing at pictures of themselves. They were as curious about us as we were about them. Abdel told us that in spite of living a nomadic lifestyle, they are not poor.

Dawa, the 15 year old daughter and her cousin Thuria.

They choose to live this way. Periodically, they move back and forth between camps. As we departed, we left them some of the large mangos we had been given by an elderly man at the Rest House. They seemed pleased with the gift.

Back on the highway, we pulled off again when we spotted a good sized watering hole crowded with camels, goats and sheep. It was quite a sight. I wonder if some of those animals belong to Madina’s family.

While driving, we chatted about a variety of topics. Mark learned that 72% of the population is literate (81% men and 63% women) and the average number of years spent in school is 4. Education is not free to anyone, but the public schools are not very expensive. Unfortunately, they are not very good either. Abdel sends his three girls to private schools.

Weddings are a very expensive 4-day affair in Sudan. There may be as many as 1000 guests at an average wedding. The ceremony and attendant parties are paid for by both sets of parents. The bride’s parents also buy the furnishings for whatever dwelling the couple will inhabit and the groom provides the dwelling. With 3 daughters, Abdel will have to make a lot of money.

Saudi Arabia and Sudan are the only two countries that have Sharia Law. Most Arab countries have a mix of Sharia and civil Law. In Saudi Arabia the Law is is very strictly enforced, which is why Abdel believes the US should not be friendly with that country. Sudan did not have Sharia Law until Bashir instituted it in the 90’s. The Sudanese are more liberal in their application of the law as it is not compatible with their culture, according to Abdel. He believes Bashir does not enforce it more severely because of the attitude of the people and International pressure. Still, under Sharia Law, women are repressed. They have no freedom or human rights.

The Meroe Pyramids.

The time flew by and we were soon in Meroe, driving through the sand to the major pyramid site in Sudan. The late afternoon light was just about perfect so we jumped out of the car and walked up a gentle sand hill to the pyramids, snapping away. These are the typical 30 meter, 72 degree Kushite style we saw in Jebel Barkal only younger. There are 2 sites fairly close together. The north, which we were looking at, contains about 60 pyramids dating from 400BC to 400AD and the south, which contains 6 that are still standing from 800BC. There are about 100 in Meroe and 130 total in Sudan. The smaller size allowed the pyramids to be constructed quicker and easier than the ones in Egypt. Another difference from Egyptian tombs where the deceased is placed inside the pyramid, is that tomb chambers were dug directly into the rock below with the pyramid erected above.

Once the king was buried, the entrance, which was a distance away from the pyramid, was covered up and hidden. There was a prayer chapel attached to the outside of each pyramid. Sadly, every pyramid was decapitated in 1834 by an Italian gold seeker named Ferlini. Preservation of antiquities was not yet important. Anyway, it was a lovely sight in the fading light. A few of the pyramids were reconstructed to look as they might have when new.

About a mile away on another hill was our outdoor home for the night, the Italian operated Meroe Tented Camp. As it is off season and the place is closed to guests, we were permitted to sleep outdoors on the veranda under the stars and to use a bathroom facility complete with coolish running water. Yeah! Although not quite as hot or humid as the days before, the air was still a hot breeze and we were sticky and sweaty. The shower felt great even though we had no room to cool off and got sticky again. We were fed a very nice dinner on the terrace by the Italian chef in residence. Hopefully the staff enjoyed the copious left overs. By then it was dark with no moon so we laid on top of our beds with no covers in hopes of cooling off and getting some sleep. Eventually, we drifted off with the breeze slowly cooling down. At least it kept any possible bugs away. Although we were both up several times during the night, we did get some sleep. I enjoyed the stars and the long lightening show in the south. It was so far away we could not hear any thunder. Sometime during the night I pulled a sheet over me and eventually the blanket. By 5am, it was warm already and time to get up to catch my camel ride to the pyramids to be there for sunrise. Mark road in the car. He says he’s been there, done that. I say any opportunity to ride a camel is a good one. I keep trying to improve my riding skills. Am not learning very fast.

August 6, 2016

The camel ride was pleasant but and sunrise was unimpressive. The sand is so fine it is like talcum powder and golden and is easily blown into waves. So pretty. I hate to disturb the patterns.

Breakfast was served on the veranda in the shade looking out at the vast desert. These are moments in places we have visited in Africa I treasure. The breeze has not stopped since we arrived at the camp. It is like being in our room at the Rest House with two fans running full blast. It helps keep us less sweaty, but we are still sticky and take showers again before loading up. We managed our night of camping pretty well. Would have enjoyed a second night if not for the heat.

Back on the road headed for Khartoum, we experienced much heavier traffic on the tired main highway where many double 18-wheelers travel to and from Port Sudan in the northeast. The Sudanese version of truck stops are frequent and we stopped at one for coffee and tea. I got some snaps of friendly travelers having coffee too. We have not yet had one unpleasant experience with Sudanese people.

Finally, we made it back to the Corinthia Hotel with a cool, sand free room with a great view of both Nile rivers and functioning internet and WiFi. Am able to send blogs and deal with email. We have about 2.5 hours to work and rest before heading out to see the Sudanese version of Sufi Whirling Dervishes.

August 6, 2016 – 11:19 am Categories: 2016 Aug-Sep: Dubai / Sudan / Uganda / Rwanda / Zambia / Malawi, Adventures | Comments (5)

Visiting Old Dongala

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Back in the SUV at 7:30am, we drive an hour and a half south and then north following the Nile as it changes course to the remains of Old Dongala, the medieval Christian kingdom of Makuria, which flourished from the 7th to the 14th centuries. Set on a hill overlooking the east bank of the river, it controlled a large stretch of river activity. The land was agriculturally rich, the city walled and easily defended and trade, both river and desert was easily controlled. Although most of the city is long since ruined and abandoned, we visited the site to see the remains of a few Coptic churches, including a cathedral called the Church of the Granite Columns, which had been pilfered from ancient Egyptian temples; the sprawling remains of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, which is being unearthed by a Polish archeological team; and a nearby 18th century Sufi cemetery, complete with its own style of “pyramids”.

19th century Sufi cemetery at Old Dongala

Christian missionaries sent to Africa by the Roman queen Theodora, according to Abdel, established churches and monasteries along the Nile and made Coptic Christianity the dominant religion among the Nubians from Aswan to the confluence of the Nile for 600 years until Islam took hold in the 1500’s.

I really liked the hill top setting and view of the Nile, and thought the ruined churches and monastery were mildly interesting. More captivating were the Sufi pyramids, of which there are a dozen or so that are shaped like bee hives and made of mud bricks. Already a few have collapsed and surely the rest will in time. They are built over the graves of Sufi leaders, have a low arched doorway and can be entered. I entered two. One had only lumpy dirt and empty offering bowels inside and the other had two elevated tombs covered in green cloth. Both of them smelled stale and musty. Mark thought they stank. Abdel told us the bodies of Sufi’s are laid on their right side facing Maka. This is an active cemetery with hundreds of mostly unmarked graves. The most recent marked one we saw was dated 2015. Abdel thinks Sufi’s are good muslims as they are not militant and are not strict followers of Sharia law.

By 10:30 we were too hot to care about anything except getting back into the Air Conditioned SUV. Such relief. As we cooled down we headed for our planned visit with a Nubian family in their village called Gadar. Hassan, the master of the house greeted us at the entrance to their walled and whitewashed courtyard. He introduced us to his wife, Zakia, and his daughter Rashida. Look closely and you will notice three vertical scars on Zakia’s cheeks. These represent her specific tribe. The practice has been abandoned in recent years as “out of fashion”. Friendly, easy going people, they showed us around their whole property, which consisted of several one roomed buildings all opening onto the courtyard in what we learned is the Nubian style. All the walls are painted every year; white outside with blue floral patterns added for accent and red and turquoise inside.

One room had a 12 inch round hole in the floor that the women use as a smoke house to steam themselves, as they cannot get enough water to bathe. They wrap themselves in a large blanket and stand over the smoking hole, which is filled with burning acacia wood. Somehow this makes their skin soft and clean. I did notice that both women have lovely smooth skin and no odor, so it must do the job. They offered us tea, but I declined. Mark drank it and seems ok, so maybe I will the next time any is offered. Then we had our picnic lunch at a table alone in one of their rooms. That felt strange to me, but Abdel insists we eat by ourselves. Apparently Sudanese use their hands to eat by scooping up the food with bread. I guess he did not want fork and knife eaters to mix with hand eaters. Hmmm.

Hassan and Zakia’s lovely daughter, Rashida, who is 21 and married with an 18 month old son.

We took several photos of the family and their home and finally bid them good bye. It was a very nice experience. As we left the village we stopped by a secondary school to photograph the high school parking lot – a herd of tethered donkeys.

Then we drove back to Karima. Hot and tired, we hardly talked. I deleted bad images from my phone and enjoyed the scenery. We made one photo stop at a water rest area. Both of us have noticed large ceramic pots of water set up inside open shelters along the road side every where we go and wondered what they were for. Abdel explained that they were placed there and kept full by people who lived nearby as a hospitable gesture. We stopped at one that had customers and had a friendly exchange with them as well as getting a few images.

A roadside rest stop offering free water.

A typical roadside rest stop offering free water.

PS We survived the desert and are back in Khartoum with clean hot and cold water, constant AC, a bright room with windows and reliable internet. Hope to send more news soon.

August 5, 2016 – 5:41 am Categories: 2016 Aug-Sep: Dubai / Sudan / Uganda / Rwanda / Zambia / Malawi, Adventures | Comments (2)

Jebel Barkal, the Holy Mountain of Amun

August 2, 2016 Karima

No one can tell us the temperature, but we know it is unbearably hot and humid. Our room is a thick walled, brick domed space that retains heat like an oven. We have commandeered 2 fans which, running non stop, keep us somewhat comfortable. The AC unit in nearly useless. Now that we have been here 24 hours, the room is cooling down a little….or maybe we are just getting used to the conditions. Our 22 room motel style Rest House wrapped around a pleasant garden would be an enjoyable outdoor experience if it were any time between October and March. Now, only a meager staff is here and we are the only unlucky guests. With sleeping pills and laying on top of the bed with no covering and the fans blowing, we were able to sleep.

Jebel Barkal, the home of the god Amun

This morning we were up at 5:30 to meet Abdel and climb Jebel Barkal (“holy mountain” in Arabic), a large limestone butte next to our hotel, to watch the sunrise from the top. It is considered holy and believed to be the home of the god Amun, the “Throne of two lands”, Egypt and Nubia. The mountain, with some imagination, is shaped like a pharaoh’s crown including the double headed cobra. We did the hike. The air was not too hot and the hike up took about 20 minutes, but the sky was overcast, so we saw no sunrise. We could see the town of Karima, our Rest House, the Temple of Amun and remains of an ancient palace. The best part of the climb was the slide down the sandy side of the mountain. Mortada was waiting for us at the bottom to take us back to the Rest House for breakfast.

Then we headed for the nearby Tangasi Tuesday Souk, specializing in animals, particularly goats, sheep and camels. Mostly, groups of men stand around talking. I was the only woman in sight. An hour in the climbing heat was enough. Am sure it would have been interesting if we could speak Arabic. Mark acted like he knew about the price of beef in the states.

Back in the car and preferring it to the outdoors, we drove to the royal Kushite cemetery called El Kurru. We were able to enter only one tomb, that of a Kushite king of the 25th Dynasty, Tamwetamani, who died in 653BC. The tomb chamber, at the bottom of a long wide staircase, is empty, but the wall paintings are still beautiful and very accessible, unlike tombs in the Valley of the Kings. The cemetery guardian, willingly opened the tomb for us.

Painting of the last black Nubian Pharaoh in his burial chamber at El Kurru

Painting of the last black Nubian Pharaoh in his burial chamber at El Kurt

Tamwetamani was the sixth and last of the black Kushite kings. In the outer chamber he is painted with dark red skin wearing the kushite cap with the royal cobra and being led to his burial. In the inner chamber he is flanked by the protective goddesses Isis and Nepthys. The ceilings are painted with blue stars. The hieroglyphics are also colorful and clear. He was the nephew of a more famous king, Taharqa, who is mentioned in the bible and expanded the territory of Kush from the confluence of the Nile to Lebanon, Palestine and all of Egypt. He later lost Egypt in battle with the Assyrians. We walked around looking at the collapsed remains of other tombs until we got too hot.

Last stop before lunch was a petrified forest. We got out of the car for only a few minutes to have a look at a couple of huge stone logs. One petrified log is as good as another, I say. We reached sneaked a tiny piece of wood-stone. Shhhh!

Back in our room at 2pm, we cooled down and napped as we are still recovering from jet lag. At 4:30 we were awakened by thunder and rain. I looked out the door to see a dark, dusty sky with wind and bursts of rain. Very strange. Supposedly it never rains here. Regardless, at 5pm we went out again to see the Temples of Amon and his consort, Mut at the base of Jebel Barkal on the opposite side of the butte from the Rest House. Fortunately, the rain stopped. Not much left of Amun’s place, which is considered holy by both Nubians and Egyptians, who both added to the temple over time. There were parts of columns standing and the platform upon which stood Amon’s statue. Nearby was the small temple to Mut. Much more interesting, it was built, as a womb, into the mountain, directly under the phallic pinnacle of Amun’s mountain. Bes, a protector of women in childbirth, guards the entrance to the tomb. As it was inside the mountain, the chamber, although empty, had retained its lovely base relief images. Again the work was all Egyptian in style.

On the west side of Jebel Barkal, is a collection of intact 3rd century BC, Nubian pyramids, the best preserved in Sudan, we are told. They are steeper (72 degrees) and much smaller than Egyptian Pyramids (45 degrees). If the weather was clear, they would make a nice photograph.

By dinnertime, the air had actually cooled down a bit and we were able to sit on the veranda. Would have been close to perfect if we could have had a real drink.

Now Mark is asleep, as I write. Unfortunately we have lost our internet connection and are unable to access the blog, let alone download photos or send anything to you. The staff think it is the rainy weather causing the internet failure. (This message was sent 2 days later. Our internet access is intermittent at best.)

August 3, 2016 – 9:49 pm Categories: 2016 Aug-Sep: Dubai / Sudan / Uganda / Rwanda / Zambia / Malawi, Adventures | Comments (3)

Getting to the Nubian Rest House, Sudan

August 1, 2016 Nubian Rest House, Karima, Sudan

To find where we are, look for Karima on the Sudan map I sent. Start at Khartoum and follow a road that goes north west of the city to Abu Dom. Then bear right and left at the next junction. It is very close to that junction. It is set amidst several dotted ruins we will be visiting.

We drove 5 hours through the desert to see the Nubian pyramids in the area and explore Jabel Barkal, the holy mountain of the old Egyptian and Nubian pharaohs adjacent to the Rest House. We have done well with the heat until now as all the buildings and our car have had great AC. Now the heat is oppressive and the AC in our room is almost inactive. Fortunately we have a fan, but that is not very satisfying. Hopefully it will cool off in the evening and we will manage to sleep. I keep reminding myself that we chose to come to Sudan during the hottest part of the year. It is no surprise that we are the only guests in the place. To keep myself from going nuts, I will try to concentrate on my writing. After all it is 4:30, the hottest part of the day and will cool down for dinner at 7:30pm. Inshallah!

The drive here was interesting and monotonous at the same time. Five hours of flat, desert landscape dotted with acacia trees and shrubs and interrupted occasionally by volcanic hills that sprouted from the sand, while we sped along on a very nice and nearly straight tarmac tollroad with almost no traffic, was the monotonous part. The interesting part was the observations we made along the way and the discussion we had with our guide, Abdel.

Mark didn’t pay any attention to the power lines marching along side the highway for the first 1.5 hours until the poles suddenly had no wire stringing them together, which he brought to our attention. After another hour the poles disappeared too and we had a pleasant interval with nothing man made in our sights. Eventually, the poles and power reappeared along with increasing civilization. During the earlier segment we saw numerous privately owned agricultural projects with lush green produce, chicken factories and an egg laying factory. In addition to the farmers, there are many herders with their mud hut dwellings along with their collections of goats, camels, donkeys and dogs. Nomads don’t tend to look prosperous, but compared to the condition of the animals further along the road, these looked pretty good. When we began to get back into civilization around hour 4, Mark commented on the number of dead animals he saw and I noticed how skinny the erect ones looked. We saw no more prosperous farms, just lots of mud hut houses and walled yards, many of which looked abandoned.

Before reaching Karima, we made 2 stops. The first was about 2 hours out. Mortada, our driver, suddenly turned off the road and drove into the desert to a shade tree about a mile from the road and declared a rest stop. We all went for short walks and relieved ourselves. I was surprised at how firm the sand was. Our second stop was for lunch at a gas station/restaurant at hour 4, the first one we saw all day. Abdel set up a picnic in the place complete with tablecloth, silverware, plates and a variety of dishes. Aside from the miserably hot breeze blowing around the place, we enjoyed a safe and pleasant meal. During the last hour, I think Mortada poured on the coals. We seemed to fly over the road. Soon, he drove abruptly off the road onto the sand again and stopped at an ornate doorway, which we learned was the Nubian style entrance to our lodging for the next three nights.

Welcome to the Nubian Rest House. I was really looking forward to a nice air conditioned space, but that did not happen. The lobby is an indoor outdoor affair and the heat was oppressive. We went to our room as soon as we finished our welcome drinks. Thankfully, they were cold. The AC in the room really struggles against the heat outdoors. There is a fan to augment the AC, and it is making the difference between tolerable and miserable. Oops! Remember I chose this experience. 😦 🙂

Slowly, my body is cooling down and, while Mark snores away, I remember the conversation Abdel and I had while on the road. Some facts: The 35 million Sudanese population is composed of hundreds of nomadic tribes. The government says there are 5 million living in Khartoum, but Abdel believes there are many more than that due to immigration from Darfur and other war torn areas. According to the UN estimate, 300,000+ have been killed in the war and up to 3 Million have been displaced. The conflict began in 2003 when a government supported militia recruited from local Arab tribes, called Janjaweed, began killing thousands of civilians under the direction of the government. The violence is considered a genocide because it is racially based. ( A genocide is the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political or cultural group.) It is also the motivation for the sanctions the US continues to place on Sudan, even though they hurt the people rather than the government.
It is believed that Bashir started the killing spree by hiring Arab tribes to fight. Gradually the fighting became so fierce that people did not know who was on whose side. Neighbors began to kill their neighbors. The government is believed to have sent some fighters to South Sudan to stir up the people there. Since fighting broke out in December between government and rebel forces, more than 1 million have fled their homes. Am about to tell you way more than I know, so I will stop. Look up more info if you are interested.

Getting off that topic, I learned there are 5 environments in Sudan: Savannah (fertile ground with 10 months rain),
low Savannah (with 4 months rain),
Semi-desert, Desert (there are 3 of these) and the
Red Sea coast. Today we drove through the semi-desert area.

Other bits Abdel shared:
Sudan means “The Black” in Arabic,
Nubia means ‘Land of the Gold” in ancient Egyptian, and
Ethiopian means “People with Black Faces” in Greek.

Now for the history buffs in the crowd. Sudan (Nubia) began about 2500 BC with the Nubian capital of Kerma, north of Dongola that lasted until 1500BC. This culture, which adopted the Egyptian civilization and religions, overlaps the pharaonic period including the pyramids in Giza. The Egyptians occupied Nubia from 1500BC to 1070BC. About 900BC the Cushites, a group of Nubians, drove the Egyptians north and set up their capital in Napata, very near Jabel Barkal, where we are hiking early in the morning. That period lasted until 400BC when the Meiotic Period began and lasted until 400AD. The Christian Period began in 400AD with the conversion of Cushites and Nubians from Egyptian religions to Christianity by missionaries and lasted until the Islamists infiltrated the people and converted them to Muslim in the 1500’s. The Islamist Period came to an abrupt end when the Ottomans occupied Nubia (Sudan) in 1821. In 1877 an Englishman named Chalice Gordon was hired by Egypt to be the governor of the territory. He was very popular and became a hero when he was killed during an attack of the Islamic Mahdists in 1885. Only 6 months later, Mahdi himself died of malaria and the new leader, Abdulaha, continued to spread Islam until 1898. In that year, the Brutish, under Kirchner fought Abdulaha and the Madhists in the last traditional British conflict, the Battle of Karari. Their superior guns and weapons, slaughtered the Islamic Arabs, who had only swords and knives. Kirchner moved the capital from Omdurman, where it had been since Mahdi was in power to Khartoum, where it remains. Sure hope I got this right. I expect those of you in the know to correct me where needed.
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August 1, 2016 – 12:44 pm Categories: 2016 Aug-Sep: Dubai / Sudan / Uganda / Rwanda / Zambia / Malawi, Adventures | Comments (5)

The City of Khartoum, Sudan

July 31, 2016 – Khartoum, Sudan

Our trip from Dubai to Khartoum went smoothly until we arrived at the Khartoum airport. Even though Khartoum is the capital of Sudan, there is no taxiway. Our pilot had to back taxi on the runway and the plane came to a stop a good distance from the terminal. Several busses pulled up and we got on the one marked VIP Lounge, as advised by our travel agent, Absolute Travel. We went to a lounge with only a few people present and sat there with our new guide, Abdelmoneim, for over 2 hours while our papers and bags were sorted out. Although there were plans to update the airport several years ago, it had not been done. There is no efficient method to offload the bags or go through each persons papers and passports. This was our initial experience of Sudan under Field Marshal Omer Al Bashir’s 27 year old dictatorship. According to Abdel, Bashir has done nothing to help the country since his successful coup in 1989. Abdel was 21 when Bashir took over. He remembers better conditions and a period of democracy from 1985-89. He does not like Bashir, but believes that even if Bashir died today, there is so much entrenched cronyism and corruption that the new ruler will be no improvement. Even though the US continues to impose sanctions, only the population gets hurt.

We soon begin to discovered the depth of Abdel’s comments. The roads in the city are narrow and full of pot holes. There are way too many cars for the existing infrastructure and trash is everywhere as no one picks it up. Fortunately, our hotel, the Corinthia, is privately owned and seems to function reasonably well. Our room is clean and pleasant, if a bit stark and modernistic. We had a late dinner in our hotel overlooking the Blue Nile River in flood stage, which is normal for this time of the year. Then to bed.

Today, Sunday, I went to a nearby church, St Mathew’s Cathedral, for what I thought was the English Mass at 8am only to learn the English Mass is the next one immediately following the 8am service. So I went back to the hotel and had breakfast with Mark and headed out again at 9am. Got there in time to have communion with the 8am group and listen to some wonderful harmonic singing. There were about 100 people in attendance. After they left, a few people trickled in and the English service began. This time the singing was all male voices with rich baritone harmonies. Lovely. However, I was disappointed by the speech of the lectors and the priest. I could understand only a few words, not enough to get the gist of the readings. The homily, as far as I could tell, was about putting Jesus first in your life, rather than money. The main difference in this service from ours is the offertory. We send a basket around for people to make a donation. Here the basket is put on a chair at the foot of the altar and people go up at random to put money in it. This way everyone can see who is giving and who is not.

After church, I went back to the hotel and changed out of my long skirt and long sleeved blouse into pants and a shot sleeved blouse. The temp was climbing and the air sticky.

Abdel and our driver, Martada, drove us a short distance to the National Museum, which contains the reconstructed remains of Egyptian temples relocated from areas now flooded by Lake Nassar. We were able to see three temples dating between 1500Bc to 1070BC in protective shelters on the museum grounds. Very much like the temples and carvings we have seen in Egypt. Some still had their coloring intact. When we tried to go inside to see the more precious artifacts, we were stopped, because the power line had been cut while some work is being done. It may or may not open any time soon. Abdel says we will try again when we return to Khartoum in a few days. Inshallah! as they say here.

We drove to the confluence of the White and Blue Nile Rivers at the tip of Tutti Island.

Due to the high water level, we could not go for a planned boat ride, but we could see where and how the two rivers merge. We found three men fishing for Nile perch. They seemed happy they had caught a small one. We could just make out the difference in color of the two rivers. The Blue is filled with brown silt and the White with sand.

Driving around town and through the densely populated narrow, potholed, dirt streets of the village on Tutti Island would have been painful if we had needed to get anywhere timely. As it was we were content to watch the sights and people moving about, while Martada picked our way along in our air conditioned Toyota SUV.

Lunch was a boring affair in one of those tourist stops guides use to insure their guest do not get sick. We don’t complain because we surely don’t want to get sick. We stopped at the Khartoum Mall, a rather sorry affair with dirty doors and sparse stores, but it was air conditioned and had a store that sells prepaid phone cards, which Mark wanted to buy so we could make calls home.

In mid afternoon, we were dropped off at the Corinthia to relax the rest of the day. As it is so hot out, the streets are smelly and noisy, and the city is not particularly appealing even though we are right on the Blue Nile, we are happy to stay in the room, nap a bit and write this missive.

As a point of reflection, the people we have encountered are friendly, helpful and pleasant. One Ethiopian gentleman told us he has homes here, Dubai and Addis Abba and this is the city where he feels most safe and comfortable. We have seen no trouble or police force. With all the traffic, drivers are generally patient with each other. The concern I had about coming to this country has evaporated. Like most everywhere we go in the world, people here want to get along and be happy.

Dinner was at a Lebanese restaurant called Assasa. Pretty good food. As liquor is forbidden in Sudan, we are exploring different drinks. Last night we had a non-alcoholic beer that was quite tasty. Tonight we had a lemon mint drink that was very satisfying.

Now I hope to get a photo or two added and this post sent. Hope it works. THe WiFi here is slow compared to Dubai, but probably better then we will have the next several days.

July 31, 2016 – 9:04 pm Categories: 2016 Aug-Sep: Dubai / Sudan / Uganda / Rwanda / Zambia / Malawi, Adventures | Comments (5)

Dubai, Part 2

July 30, 2016 Part 2

Sitting in the airport lounge is affording me time to share with you some of what we learned form our guide, hotel staff and people we met in Dubai. The 7 emirates that compose the United Arab Emirates became confederated in 1071. Prior to that they were individual countries each run by its own Sheik. There are still seven royal families with individual tribal Sheiks, but under the confederation there is one President, who is the Sheik in the Abu Dhabi Emirate and one Prime Minister, who is Sheik Mohammed, the Sheik of Dubai, which is the most economically superior of the 7. The population of the confederation is 10.2 million, with Dubai at about 4 million. 20% of the population are local citizens who receive all the benefits the government provides including free health care, education and housing and no taxes. The other 80% are foreigners: 40% Indian, 20% Pakistani and 20% British and others who pay a high cost to live here.

Just 55 years ago the whole area was desert and the total population of the emirates was 65,000. Then oil was discovered and desalination and recycling provided the water needed to irrigate the landscape. The British controlled the area until 1969 when the Sheiks refused to pay the high taxes the Brits imposed. Eventually an agreement was reached that the Brits would leave and the Emirates would repay the money the English had invested in the area. With the oil income, that debt has long since been repaid. As it happens, the oil is in the Abu Dhabi Emirate and none is in Dubai. So Dubai has had to diversify into tourism, banking, Real Estate investment and more.

I found it interesting to learn that there are no homeless people here and no poverty. If you are a citizen, you are taken care of by the government. If you are a foreigner you must renew your visa every 2-3 years depending on what work you do. If you have no job, you must leave the country after 30 days of not working. You are required to leave when you turn 65, unless you have purchased a home or own a business here. There are no taxes, but there are fees, which amounts to the same thing. Nothing is free including health care, education and housing. If you buy a house you actually buy a 99 year lease. Sheik Mohammad owns all the land and collects fees from every expatriate in one way or another. Everyone we talked to said it is expensive to live here, but they stay because it is better here than wherever they came from. They all, to a person, want to make enough money to enable them to return home and create a better life for themselves and their families. We talked to people from India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and the Philippines just in one day.

To stimulate the local citizens to work, the government gives only 8,000 Dirham (3.56 Dirham to the Dollar at the moment) if you are unemployed. To stimulate locals to marry locals, the government give each couple 75,000 Dirhams when they get married. If a local earns 25,000 or more Derham, he is allowed to buy a house with government support and zero financing.

There is very little crime because there is no alcohol and no drugs allowed among the Sunni Muslim population, which includes the local citizens, Pakistani’s and Indians, about 80% of the population.

July 30, 2016 – 3:03 am Categories: 2016 Aug-Sep: Dubai / Sudan / Uganda / Rwanda / Zambia / Malawi, Adventures | Comments (5)

Dubai, the City that is Over the Top

Dubai City Map

I am looking out at the Persian gulf from our hotel’s breakfast restaurant just to the left of the Burj Al Arab Hotel on this map. It is lovely, but just too hot to want to be on the beach. Yesterday was also very hot. We managed a full day of touring around Dubai from inside our car and in buildings. No one is outdoors more than absolutely necessary. The temp got up to 113F.

Scene from the car on the main road through the city.

We drove all over the city, and visited several of Dubai’s landmarks. First was the man made Palm Island. Looks like a palm from the air, but driving through it there was no sense of palm at all, just lots of buildings, large and larger. It is where many of the ultra rich have houses.

We also stopped at the most expensive hotel in the world, the Burj Al Arab, where the rooms are $2500 and up. We shopped in the largest grocery store I have been in including Wall Mart. Mark bought a new electric tooth brush as his died on arrival. We walked hours the worlds largest shopping mall, with about 1100 stores and hugs spaces to walk around in. The mall included an ice skating rink and a walk under, around, over and through aquarium complete with a fish zoo and a glass bottom boat ride. That was very interesting. In another, slightly smaller mall, we visited the only indoor ski area in the world and actually saw people skiing on the man made ski slopes, with snow covered trees.

To see the desert, we drove 20 minutes out of town. The city is so built up there is no sand for miles. Once out in the desert the sand began to form rolling hills. Our guide said the sand hills just get larger as you drive further. Enough.

View from top of Burj Khalifa

Back to the city, we went up to the 148th floor of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. There are a few more office floors above our landing. The world’s first, and maybe only, Armani hotel occupies the bottom floors, followed by many floors of apartments and then offices. There are 3 viewing levels, of which 148 is the highest. The ride in the elevator was most interesting. It lasts only 75 seconds and travels at 2 floors per second with no sound or sense of motion. A second elevator ride takes you from the 125th floor to the 148th. Once at the top, the glass walls totally contain you so there is no fear of falling or being blown around. We stayed up there a long time enjoying the view all around. We were told the Burj Khalifa was built in only 7 years and was fully rented in 48 hours from when it became available.

There was a water show at the base of the building, just like the one at the Bellagio in Los Vegas. We saw one of the shows from the top, where it was not very impressive. Later, we saw another water show from the ground and liked it better.

Water show in front of Burj Khalifa

Did not get back to the hotel until 7:30. After a shower and change, we took a buggy (translate golf cart) ride to a seafood restaurant on the hotel grounds. It was out on the water, but again too hot to eat outdoors. Nice food, but very expensive.

Now we are at the Dubai airport and I want to get this post sent. Will send more text when I can.

July 30, 2016 – 1:57 am Categories: 2016 Aug-Sep: Dubai / Sudan / Uganda / Rwanda / Zambia / Malawi, Adventures | Comments (1)

Finally we are off to Dubai

July 28, 2016

Hello dear friends,

After months of planning, weeks or organizing and days of details and packing and saying good bye, especially to Mom, we are finally on our way.
Our 15 hour non-stop flight from SFO to Dubai was quiet, smooth and comfortable. We were on the largest plane I have ridden in, an Airbus 380 complete with two whole floors, 486 seats in three classes and 26 friendly, helpful and well groomed cabin attendants. We were blessed to be on the upper floor in business class.

Business class seat in our Emirates Airbus 380

Our seats included a mini bar, iPad, full screen TV, toilet kit and a seat that slides into a flat bed. We were provided with a bed pad, a quilt and a pillow. All the window shades, surprisingly, are controlled automatically. Once they were closed after dinner, the cabin stayed dark until shortly before landing. I slept for 7 hours and Mark slept for 6. The bathroom even had washcloths so I could wash my face. We were feeling pretty good when we landed. United Arab Emirates gets an A+ from us.

A 30 minute cab ride with a friendly Sri Lankan driver pointing out the sky scrapers as we drove to our hotel, Dar Al Masyaf (meaning Summer Villas). After a lengthy check in, we were escorted to a boat dock and floated to our villa. The boat ride reminded us of The Venetian in Las Vegas. Mark thinks the whole place is like Disneyland. However, our room is very nice.

We thought we would go out for a walk, but just being outdoors a little while made us change our minds. The temperature at 10pm was 37C or 98F and the humidity is high. Our driver said no one spends any time outdoors here in the summer. We can see why. Now to bed.

July 28, 2016 – 12:11 pm Categories: 2016 Aug-Sep: Dubai / Sudan / Uganda / Rwanda / Zambia / Malawi, Adventures | Comments (8)

Back to Africa 2016

Well, after a long hiatus, we have booked our next big adventure in Africa. We leave home on July 27 and expect to return on September 5, 2016. We will be stopping in Dubai for a couple of nights to acclimate and get a quick look at that modernistic city in the desert. The we fly to Khartoum to spend 8 days in Sudan. We have read some exciting information about the history and people and want to see for ourselves. It will be very hot, so am glad it is not longer than 8 days. From there we will fly to Uganda to spend a week with our Kellermann Foundation friends next to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in the South Western corner of the country. This will be our third visit there and we know we will be seeing an incredible hospital facility, nursing school, volunteer residences and other buildings in the area, none of which existed when we first visited Scott and Carol Kellermann in 2002. Then, we helped them administer drugs to people suffering from malaria, by hanging IVs from a large tree while the sick lay around the tree on blankets with their families next to them. I have somehow agreed to be on the KF board and this will be an official trip with several other board members visiting as well. We will finish off our Uganda leg with a stay in a high mountain rain forest lodge.

From Uganda we will have a driver take us to Kigali, Rwanda. Should be an interesting ride. We will have only one night in Rwanda so we will see what we can in the allotted time. My primary goal is to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial and learn about the Hutu and Tutsi mass killings that took place in April-July, 1994 and what is happening in the country since then.

From Kigali, we will fly south, across the equator to Zambia, where we will visit two game parks for several days each. What is different about safaris in Zambia is that they are often walking safaris, which should be interesting and adventurous. Finally, we will fly into Milawi for several days of adventures on and near Lake Malawi, the ninth largest lake in the world. Interestingly, it also contains the greater diversity of fish in the world. Maybe I will even try fishing……

….which reminds me about my mother who loved to fish and keeps asking me when will I go fishing for her. For those of you who are interested, LaVonne, still with us at the age of 94, resides happily in an assisted living facility in Grass Valley. She has been under Hospice Care for 10+ months since she suffered a mild stroke. She is growing weaker in both mind and body, but is not ready to leave yet. Mark and I had paid for a trip to Africa just before her stroke and decided to cancel, believing she would not last long. Almost a year later, she is still walking and talking and smiling at anyone who comes near. We have given up waiting. So this time we are paid up again and determined to go. Hopefully she will still be here when we get back.

So I am sending this to you as a warm up for the trip and a chance to see if I can still blog. It has been a long time. Next I will try to send some images and see how that goes.

So until then, Happy Adventuring,

Julia

June 4, 2016 – 11:08 am Categories: 2016 Aug-Sep: Dubai / Sudan / Uganda / Rwanda / Zambia / Malawi, Adventures | Comments (15)

Reflections on our travels in Central Asia

June 14, 2013

A couple at home in the hills. 5/21/13

We are home now and back on PDT. In reflecting on our recent travels through Central Asia and all the trips we have made to different parts of this blue planet, I am reminded most of all how similar people are everywhere. Everyone wants to stay connected to their family, have work that provides food and shelter and have the freedom to make the most of their lives and be happy. It does not matter what religious or political beliefs they have, nor does it matter weather they are rich or poor.

The only time we have observed people in a different light is when they are in crisis. We have never been in a place in the middle of a crisis, but have witnessed people shortly afterward. Most particularly in Burma, where the people in the north of the country were, and still are, suffering sever food shortages while we were there due to fighting between the government and local militias; in North Korea, where the crisis of hunger and spirit is so chronic that people have lost sparkle in their eyes; and in Burkina Faso where there is a chronic water shortage and so little freedom that our guide told us he no hope for the future. The more I think about the places we have been, the more I am remembering people who are suffering because of some selfish despot who has managed to secure power and then turn against society to enhance his own gains. In every failed or failing state, there seems to be a dictator who is not benevolent and stays in power through major corruption and force.

In Central Asia the people have been free of the Soviet yoke since 1991. Most under 40 appear to be glad to be out from under the Soviet system, while older people miss the carefree cradle to grave hand holding they enjoyed under Soviet rule. Today three of the countries suffer under selfish governments and are developing very slowly, in spite of great mineral wealth. The other two countries, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakstan, have more benevolent leaders and are progressing much more rapidly into the 21st century. The sense of freedom is evident in these people’s attitudes and behavior. My appreciation of the freedoms we have in this country is renewed every trip I make. I am grateful to our forefathers for creating the system we enjoy and to our service people who continue to keep us free.

Our journey through Central Asia provided a number of highlights for me. Besides the people, who are always the most interesting facet of any trip, I was taken by the incredible scenery–the awesome solitude in the flat rocky deserts, the rounded and spiky multicolored hills of Fairy Tale Canyon where we clambered around looking for the best photo angles and small stones that might tell the tale, the densely jumbled snow capped mountains, many of which do not have names and have never been climbed, the green alpine hills in which we hiked and picnicked, the undulating steppe that goes forever, and especially the billions of red poppies, similar to our California poppies, that took my breath away.

Another highlight was the Savitsky Museum in Nukus, Uzbekistan where we saw many wonderful and interesting paintings by Russian artists whose work had been suppressed and hidden during the 20’s and 30’s. Just getting to this remote, but modern and well built museum in the northern desert of Uzbekistan was an all day affair, but well worth the effort.

Visiting places along the 4,000 mile Silk Road and its various arteries was a thrill for me as I have now been to many of the cities, standing and ruined, caravansaries and oases along the way and can appreciate how arduous the transfer of goods, people and knowledge must have been down through the centuries beginning around 200BC. There is no surprise that silk, printing, writing and religions required long periods of time to transfer from China to the Mediterranean or vice versa. Samarkand was especially grand in scale and color and in my imagination. I could feel the passage of history and visualize the stories of the fearsome leaders of old, like Ghenghis Khan and Tamerlane, both of whom made their mark on this and many other Silk Road cities.

An unexpected highlight was the meeting with Fatima over dinner in her home in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan one evening. It lead to us inviting her to join us for a hike the next day, which then led to her joining us on our travels to Kazakhstan the day after that. She was with us a total of six days and we thoroughly enjoyed her company and her delight in all the new things she experienced each day. She had never been outside Kyrgyzstan or even beyond the capital city of Bishkek, about 300 miles from her home town. We, meanwhile, learned about the Dungan people of whom she is a member. They are a Muslim people of Chinese origin who fled China, where they were called Hui people, in the aftermath of the Hui Minorities War in the 19th century because of religious persecution. A small group of them settled near Karakol in 1878. Now there are several thousand and they work to retain their cultural heritage including food, many dishes of which Fatima served to us on the night we met. Although her family eats Dungan style food, they dress western, own a car and live in a fairly modern house which they have inherited and remodeled over the years. Although they are Muslim, they, like so many others in post-Soviet countries, do not practice the religion.

We were with Olga for a full two weeks of this adventure and felt like we made a close connection with her. We learned all about her home, which she took us to visit, her Granny and her boy friend, whom we met. We learned about her family history and saw photos of many of her relatives. We learned about her hopes to marry her boy friend and were there with her as she anxiously waited for him to produce a ring. It had not arrived when we parted, but I suspect she has it by now.

As for me, I have a heightened awareness of all the countries we have visited and pay much more attention to news in and about them. In some cases I maintain email relationships, as I hope to do with Olga and Fatima.

As for everyone we have met anywhere in the world, as well as ourselves, there is, and forever will be, no place like HOME. Thankfully we are spread all over the world and not all in one place.

Happy Adventures to you all, whether you are out in the world or home in your armchair.

Julia

PS I have tried to put photos into this post and am totally frustrated by my inability to figure out what to do. So I will send this without images and hope that someone will help me sometime soon.

June 15, 2013 – 11:33 am Categories: 2013 May: Turkmenistan / Tajikistan / Uzbekistan / Kyrgyzstan / Kazakhstan | Comments (3)

Astana, Kazakhstan

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Had an uneventful 1 3/4 hour flight from Almaty to Astana in the north central part of Kazakhstan. As Astana did not exist until 1997, everything about the city is new including the airport and the straight 6-lane road into the city center. Our hotel, the Radisson, is not as first rate as hoped, but certainly adequate. After checking in we stayed in the hotel for a fine buffet salad bar lunch and then went on a city tour with Olga and our new driver, Almas (21), a cute, single man who has several older girl friends. THe city is surreal, and not unlike Ashgabat, if you remember back 5 weeks to the capital of Turkmenistan. The major difference is that people actually live as well as work in this city, even though the buildings looks big enough to handle 2-3 times the current population of 750,000.

Astana is where President Nazarbaev has created a showpiece for himself and the business community he is trying to attract from Central and Western Asia and Europe. He wants the business world to invest in Kazakhstan and come to Astana for all their meetings and conventions. We saw several buildings dedicated to such large meetings, including one facility that has 9 meeting halls, the largest of which will hold 3,109 people. Several forums are in progress at any one time including one development forum that had 12,000 attendees and just ended on the 26th. At it Nazarbaev stated, according to the New York TImes, “Our optimism is embodied in Kazakhstan’s 2050 strategy to become one of the 30 most developed countries in the world”. GIven the thoroughly westernized populace, the stable government and a growing middle class with increasing demand and buying power, all of which we could see on the streets, I would not be surprised if Kazakhstan succeeds in meeting that goal, although one US government employee we met said the Stans, in his opinion, are still too entwined with the Russians to be viable individually.

We walked a long pedestrian corridor the size of the mall in Washington DC with the blue domed, Presidential Palace at one end and unique futuristic looking buildings along the mall that are very eye catching from a distance. Up close however, we could find nothing of quality. Olga told us the president made the decision to relocate the capital in 1994. Three years later, in 1997, he moved the government to this new city and named the place Astana, which means “capital”. Since then construction has continued unabated, in spite of the fact that breakdowns and repairs are needed because of the shoddy original construction and problems exist due to lack of forethought. The streets are already clogged, no subway system exists, parking is inadequate, sidewalks and steps everywhere are crumbling. Half the buildings we wanted to see were closed for repairs including the landmark tower called the “Symbol of Prosperity”, which is a 97 meter high white spire topped by a gold ball. THe legend for the structure is about a mythical bird that lays a golden egg containing the secret to happiness in a tall poplar tree out of human reach. We were not happy about being denied access to the orb.

The only buildings open to us were the city’s largest mosque, which proved to be the only building of quality we saw, and numerous shopping centers. So we visited the most odd looking one, which happens to anchor the pedestrian mall opposite the Presidential Palace. It is called Khan Shatyr and looks like a huge, lopsided aluminum tent. It is six stories high and includes entertainment as well as shopping and food. On the top floor are three swimming pools complete with sand beaches and a wave machine. One whole floor is dedicated to kids play structures and game machines and another to cinemas and a food court including KFC, which had the most customers by far. The bottom three floors were for shopping. Each mall we visited was packed with people even though the weather was perfect outdoors.

Because of so many closures, it was largely a frustrating walk and drive-by day, at the end of which the four of us went to a charming outdoor Chaihana (tea house) restaurant for dinner. We are finally getting the hang of what to order so we get food we want to eat. We lingered over tea and desert in the comfortable evening atmosphere, while the restaurant filled to capacity, an experience we have not often had on this trip. After dinner we walked back to our hotel along the bank of the river, which meanders through the city, watching the city lights and young families strolling with us. We are very aware of the youthfulness of this country in the many young adults and even more small children present everywhere in Kazakhstan.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

For our last full day in Kazakhstan, we chose to take a 20 kilometer drive out of town to a place called Alzhir, a Russian acronym for Akmolinskii Camp for Wives of Traitors of the Motherland. It was reserved for spouses of those men Stalin’s government considered enemies of the People. Over 20,000 women were held in this camp between 1937 and 1953. Today there is a museum near the site that tells a sad, enlightening story about the only all-women concentration camp in the USSR. Of the 20,000 who were sent there, slightly more than 7,000 completed their 5-8 year sentences, while the rest died in the camp. Many of them were raped and bore children, who were allowed to stay with them until the age of three, when they were taken to orphanages. The women had to build their own barracks, grow their own food and make their own clothes, when they were not sewing garments for the Soviets. Apparently there were about 11 labor camps in Kazakhstan, which was considered a distant frontier, while there were 500 camps throughout the USSR. It was a well presented museum complete with photos and artifacts of several of the women and a video of some of the survivors, of which only one is still alive.

The revolution, as some of you may remember, occurred in 1916-17. Lenin, a communist idealist, was in power from then until his death in 1927. Officially he died in a sanitarium from disease, however, he may have been assisted in that process. Stalin took control immediately and had no idealistic thoughts. He wanted power and control and was willing to get rid of anyone who got in his way. Between 1920 and 1950, repression was considered a tool for securing the normal functioning of the state system. Although the first labor camp was opened in 1918, the gulag system did not get organized until 1920. Gulag is the acronym for the name of the Soviet agency, which administered the forced labor camp system. The camps themselves were referenced by number. Point 26 was the official name of the Alzhir women’s camp. Fourteen million men and women were in Gulag labor camps between 1929 and 1953, about half without trial, and approximately 1.6 million died in these camps. Most inmates were not political prisoners. Six to seven million were deported/exiled to frontiers, including Olga’s family. None too soon, Stalin died of an aneurism in 1953, at the age of 71. The Gulag system came to an end in 1960 and the camps were closed.

Back in town we stopped at another shopping mall and had a KFC lunch, which was Olga’s idea as she has never eaten KFC. Mark and I could not remember the last time either of us ate at a KFC, but agreed that it was before we knew each other–maybe 30 years ago. After lunch we all agreed that we could wait another 30 years for our next KFC meal.

We tried again to get up into the golden orb, but had no luck and gave up. Olga and Almas dropped us off at the river bank a long way from our hotel so we could get a good walk. Little did we know that the pathway did not go through. We had to make a few detours and shimmy around a fence at one blocked spot, but we finally made it back to the hotel. The A/C was not functioning in our room, so we got moved to another that actually has a good view of the city and the river, making our last night in Astana more comfortable and appealing. By popular demand, Olga, Mark and I chose an Italian restaurant for our last dinner together. It was delicious and the conversation delightful.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

We took another long walk through the futuristic mall before heading to the airport. This afternoon we leave Astana for Frankfurt, spend a night at the Frankfurt Airport Sheraton and fly non-stop from there to San Francisco on Friday.

It has been a very interesting and educational journey through the 5 Stans. We are both very glad we came. We had few expectations, so were thrilled with the many wonderful sights and experiences along our path.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon,
Yellowbluebus,
Julia and Mark

May 30, 2013 – 10:54 am Categories: 2013 May: Turkmenistan / Tajikistan / Uzbekistan / Kyrgyzstan / Kazakhstan | Comments (2)

Almaty, Kazkhstan

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Our time here in Almaty, which means “Father of the Apple” as apples have grown here since before anyone can remember, is running together for me. Yesterday we visited two museums, the best part of the State History Museum was the sealed Gold Room containing intricately carved high carot objects from 6th century BC Scythian burial mounds. A nomadic Indo-European people who dominated a vast area stretching from Ukraine to Mongolia during the 7th-1st centuries BC, the Scythians developed highly skilled metalworking techniques, including the fine gold designs of stags, eagles and horses we saw. We also saw a lot of paintings in the Fine Arts Museum, but the only part that captured my attention was the Soviet era paintings that showed poor working class people at their various jobs, from industry to agriculture, all smiling and proud to be Soviet citizens. There was a large painting of Lenin and Stalin urging the people to revolt, pictures of children parading as proud pioneers, paintings that included Soviet symbols–the color red, hammers, cycles and white stars, and colorful posters promoting the Soviet philosophy.

I think I have mentioned that Fatima, a delightful 45 year old Kyrgyz mother of three girls, is traveling with us until we leave Almaty. We have had a lot of fun with her as she has lived a rather sheltered life in Karakol and knows very little about the outside world, except what she has seen on TV. She has been all eyes and ears since we entered Kazakhstan for her first trip abroad. Almost everything we have done the last two days has been a first for her including: seeing so many cars on the good quality roads and witnessing traffic jams and 2 accidents as we entered town; noticing the multitude of pretty young Kazak women, an observation Mark made too; experiencing clean, well presented displays in museums; eating in a cafeteria with with a crowd of other people; riding the subway–complete with with individually decorated stations; taking the longest underground escalator even we have ridden; seeing many glass sky scrapers at one time; being in a glass elevator in an upscale hotel; riding a gondola to a ski resort for hot chocolate; standing on a tram to get to a city view point and an outdoor restaurant looking at the view; walking through a modern, spotless, underground shopping center; and attending a live ballet performance in the Almaty Opera House.

The only thing Fatima said she did not like was the prices for everything except the food in the cafeteria. So Mark looked up the per capita income in the two countries and we immediately understood the discrepancy. The GDP per capital income in Kazakhstan is $13,000, while that number in Kyrgyzstan is $2,400. Both Olga and Misha admit to earning considerably more than $2,400, but Fatima thinks her family makes only slightly more than that. Culturally, linguistically and ethnically both countries are very similar. The difference has been in size, natural reserves and governance.

There has been plenty to absorb even for us and we have not been saying WOW!!! every minute as Fatima has. For me what is new, is how very modern and western this Sacramento size city feels and how contemporary and middle class most people appear. They look and dress like us and could be in the US except that they speak Russian instead of English. We have seen better looking apartment buildings and single family houses here than anywhere else in Central Asia and we have seen many sports facilities not apparent in other Central Asian countries such as: ice skating rinks, ski resorts, hiking trails, yoga and fitness centers, hockey, tennis and volleyball fields. We learned that Kazakhstan has sent teams to the Olympics and participates heavily in the Asian Olympics, the 7th of which was held here in 2011.

The Opera House is booked with a variety of programs. We were able to attend a ballet performance of Stravinsky’s Pulchinella and Rimskii-Korsakov’s Sheherezada. The former was disappointing in every way, but the second was delightfully presented from the Orchestra’s Prelude to the colorful set, the creative costumes and the enthusiastic performance. The skill of the Kazakh Ballet Company dancers was not as good as I expected, but it was still fun to experience the performance, the theater and the audience, who were not very enthusiastic. They clapped in continuous unison for whichever performer was taking a bow and made no change for the lead dancers. Meanwhile, the leading lady received many bouguets and two huge baskets of roses from competing theaters.

One evening we took Olga and Misha to dinner at an Italian restaurant recommended by our hotel. Fatima begged off so she could meet with an old university friend she knew. When we got there we knew we were in for an expensive dinner as the place was in the most upscale part of town and the entrance was very elegant. We had a very nice meal along with some nice wine and were happy to treat the two of them as they have provided us with a delightful time in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. For myself, I was most glad to have a change in cuisine,

Monday, May 27, 2013

This was our last full day in Almaty. Olga put together a picnic and off the 5 of us went for a trip into Big Almaty Canyon, slightly north of the city. On the way we stopped at a falconry facility and got introduced to several different species of falcons, griffins, eagles and Himalayan Owls and learned their habits and traits and which ones are endangered. We also saw a captive pair of wolves and their cubs, several Kazakh Hunting Dogs, Central Asian sheep dogs, and pack horses. The primary intent of the facility is to care for the birds and release some into the wild every year. To accomplish this goal they offer tours like the one we had, put on daily organized falcon shows, rent their horses for rides by the hour and provide organized overnight hunts including horses, dogs and/or falcons. Interesting to visit, but not my cup of tea.

From there we continued on up the canyon along a steep, narrow and curvy road until we were at 9,000 feet and well above Big Almaty Lake. We stopped at a turn out, grabbed the lunch goodies and walked down a steep meadow to a rocky outcrop, where we spread out our lunch and sat in the lea of rocks to avoid the cold breeze. The scenery would have been excellent, if the cold overcast clouds had not obscured the mountain tops and chilled us all to the bone. We walked a bit after lunch, but soon were glad to be back in the car and headed back down the canyon to warmer climes. We stopped at a park and walked among the young lovers occupying all the benches, then visited another Russian Orthodox church before heading back to the hotel to relax before dinner.

Olga organized a special dinner for us at a good Russian Restaurant and we were determined to eat whatever she ordered. As it turned out, we actually enjoyed everything that came to the table and that included many plates of salads, soups and entrees. We made many toasts during dinner using a non-alcoholic Russian fruit drink. Non of the three of them drink alcohol and Mark and I were happy to follow suit—especially with all the toasts that were made. It was a fun evening and we were please to have shared so many good memories with the three of them.

Back at the hotel, bedtime came early as we have an early flight to Astana, our last stop in Central Asia.

Have a happy day,
Julia

May 27, 2013 – 9:33 am Categories: 2013 May: Turkmenistan / Tajikistan / Uzbekistan / Kyrgyzstan / Kazakhstan | Comments (2)

THe Road to Almaty, Kazakhstan

Friday, May 24, 2013

We made our final border crossing early this morning, 7am, by road from Kyrgyzstan into Kazakhstan. Olga wanted us to beat the traffic and we certainly did. There were few ahead of us and we sailed through in less than half an hour. We waited in a cafe for Misha to get the car across, which took another half hour. We were soon back on the road and headed to Almaty, about 2 1/2 hours NE on a good road with many cops on patrol. Misha drove much slower than conditions would have permitted because the cops intentionally keep the speed limit low and then charge a high fine ($100) for speeding and an even higher bribe ($700) to get out of it. It is much worse in Kazakhstan than in Kyrgyzstan. So we went slowly and enjoyed the view, which included Tian Shan mountains on the right and endless steppe on the left. The weather was soggy with heavy mist but the steppe was spectacular in yellow, red and lavender. Sometime there were billions of red poppies mixed with lavender flowers as far as the eye could see. Other times the palate would be yellow and lavender or red and yellow. I wanted to share the experience, but knew that the reality could not transfer to a photo. Another of those many times when you had to be there.

During the ride, we carried on a running Q&A about Kazakhstan and comparisons with Kyrgyzstan. Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world, almost 4 times larger than Texas, has 17.5 million people of which about 2 million live in Almaty, which used to be the capital until the president moved it to Astana in the north central part of the country.

Although Bishkek and Almaty were settled and laid out almost identically by the Russians only two years apart in the mid 1800’s, today they are considerably different. Bishkek, although attractive and pleasant, has stayed traditional and undeveloped. Almaty is very developed with multiple glass, high rises, modern shopping centers, museums, parks, roads and all manner of updated infrastructure. Almost all vestiges of Soviet era buildings and statues are gone, including the blocks of Soviet apartment buildings and Lenin statues that are ubiquitous in the other Stans.

The president, Mursultan Nazarbaev (73), has been president since independence, 8/30/91, and plans to be named president for life soon. The people don’t mind as he has provided stability and economic gain for most of them. Kazakstan has the highest GDP of all the Stans and is 53rd in purchasing power parity in the world. It is the first post-Soviet country to receive an investment grade credit rating. The median age in Kazakhstan is 29.3 as opposed to the 24-25 median age we have seen in the other Stans. By comparison the average age in the US is 37, according to Mark’s I Phone atlas. there is only 5.4% unemployment. Land was privatized very soon after independence. There are land owners who own as much as 100,000 hectares in farm land. OLga’s family own several hectares of land as well. Her father purchased as much as he could for each member of his family when the opportunity was announced. Prices then were very low. She considers her family to be middle class.

The major sources of income for Kazakhstan include: oil, gas, ferrous metals and chemicals. The country is depleting its reserves of oil and gas at a great rate and is currently working on ways to diversify. Kyrgyzstan, on the other hand, depends on trade with China, hydropower sales to neighboring countries and tourism. In terms of GDP parity, Kazakhstan is 53rd in the world and Kyrgyzstan is only 144th. Uzbekistan is 72nd, Turkmenistan is 97th and Tajikistan is 138th. Mark found this info in his atlas and we were only surprised that Kyrgyzstan was lower than Tajikistan.

There is a large and growing middle class. 95% or more of all families own at least one car, and most own more than one. There are new car dealerships around the city as well as the used car dealers. Mark has spotted many makes and models, although very few American models. The banking system is more developed than in the other Stans, although people, like Olga’s Kazak family members, still hide their extra funds in their home, not ready to trust the banking system. After all, what would happen to the banks if the president was ousted and a new one installed, especially in countries like Kyrgyzstan, which has gone through 4 presidents? THis is a problem, we in the US have no concept about

As we entered the city the traffic became intense and we were moving very slowly. We saw at least two fender benders and many close calls. Misha maneuvered us through the morass very well. Along the way to the city center we passed BMW and Toyota dealerships, a KFC, a Hardee’s, a McDonnald’s and several brand name shops, including Sax Fifth Avenue, Escada, Beneton, Bulgari, Gucchi and others. We stopped for lunch at a cafeteria, not my idea of a place to eat, but it was interesting to people watch, expedient, easy to see what we were getting and inexpensive. The city is so congested that parking is nearly impossible. There are attendants on each street, allowing cars to be parked sideways in front of other cars. Misha managed to find a place and rather than loose it, we walked, after lunch, to a wonderful museum of original musical instruments, mostly from Kazakhstan, but also from many other countries in Asia and Europe. In the last room, we listened to the sound of each instrument by pointing to a picture of it. The newly remodeled facility is housed in a very interesting old wooden building.

From there we walked through a tree filled park to see huge sculpted war memorials to those who died in the Russian Revolution (1917-1920) and in WWII. I found the memorials, which included an eternal flame, to be vary moving. Over 6,850,000 Soviets died during WWII, while the US lost 300,000, according to the stats Olga had. No wonder we have seen memorials in every village we have passed through in these post-Soviet countries. Beyond the memorials was the largest Russian Orthodox church in all the Stans. It was colorful and interesting both inside and out. Also, originally made of wood, the structure has been plastered over and painted to preserve it. Inside were many impressive icons, wall paintings, candlestick holders and other objects I can’t name. People were coming and going and the place certainly seemed used. Olga told us the country is about 48% Muslim and 45% Russian Orthodox, but that most are not practicing either religion. Meanwhile, churches and mosques are being built like crazy as if to outdo each other.
On our way to the Opera House, we passed one of my favorite stores, Escada, and I could not resist stopping. The clothes were as dear as in the states, so I bought only one shirt. Also, I did not want to keep everyone waiting for me. At the Opera House we learned that a ballet performance is scheduled for tomorrow night so we bought tickets. I am excited to be seeing a live performance of something.

Then we got dropped off at our hotel, The Intercontinental, and finally settled into our new room for the next four nights. The room is about the same quality as the Hyatt Regency in Bishkek, which is just fine with us. Typed this post and had some dinner in the hotel garden, while listening to a good trio from, of all places, Cuba.

Just for fun, here are a few more pronunciations for Russian words;
Garlic in Russian is pronounced “chessknock”
Dumplings are pronounced “paleman”, and
Beer, a very necessary word we learned late in the game, is Peevo.

Spa See Ba (thank you) for taking the time to read my posts,
Yellowbluebus,
Julia

May 24, 2013 – 9:11 am Categories: 2013 May: Turkmenistan / Tajikistan / Uzbekistan / Kyrgyzstan / Kazakhstan | Comments (3)

Lots to Do Around Lake Issyk-Kul

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

After a good rain during the night, the sky remained overcast but clear for our hike into the mountains south of Karakol. Fatima Dautova, the Dungan woman at whose home we had dinner the evening before, joined us on the hike. Although she speaks very limited English, she is full of fun and enthusiasm. She is 45 and 25 years married to her childhood sweetheart, whom her parents did not approve because he is Uzbek. So they had a civil wedding and told their parents afterward. After they had their first child, the 4 parents softened and soon all was well. Now they have three children, and are still happily married. They are both unemployed teachers, who are surviving through their entrepreneurial creativity. She makes and serves Chinese dinners to locals as well as tourists in their home, while he operates a vendor shop in the local market selling women’s clothes. They have managed to remodel the family home in addition to raising their family and now they both want to travel, but don’t know how and don’t think they have the money. She has never been outside Kyrgyzstan. We enjoyed her company and invited her to join us the next day for our hike. She did not hesitate to say yes.

Next morning, in spite of a heavy overcast and cool day, we drove into the Djety Oguz (7 Bulls) Canyon, named for 7 massive, similarly sculpted, red sandstone hills snuggled side by side at the entrance to the canyon. They did not look at all like bulls to me, though they were big, imposing and photogenic. The story goes that the bad king of one tribe stole the pretty wife of the good king of another tribe. The good king asked to have his wife back or there would be a war. The bad king agreed to have a peace gathering in the canyon and give the wife back to avoid war. Seven bulls were brought to be slaughtered for the feast. When everyone gathered, the bad king killed the wife so that the good king could have only her body. The blood of the wife stained the mountains in the canyon red and the bulls were never slaughtered.

Misha drove us over the 4×4 dirt track to a pretty green meadow filled with wild flowers, a couple of families building summer yurts, and several groups of young people enjoying an outing in the canyon in spite of the cold, windy cloudy day. We started our hike at about 7100 feet and ascended the meadow into the tree line and beyond to a lovely waterfall at 8100 feet. We stopped in the high meadow just below tree line on the way back to enjoy the incredible view of snow capped peaks, conifer and birch tree forests and wide open meadows. Believe it or not we started jumping to see if we could capture each other in mid air. Hundreds of photos later we were all laughing ourselves silly and even I managed to get some “air” in a couple of images. Back down at the car, we spread out our picnic lunch on an unused table, but ate rather quickly as the weather was looking and feeling inhospitable. As we drove back down the canyon, the rain started and we were pleased about our timing. We had such a good time with Fatima that we invited her to join us for the next leg of our trip to Almaty, Kazakstan so she would not have to wait any longer to start traveling beyond Kyrgyzstan. She was thrilled at the offer and said she hoped to join us after talking with her family.

That evening we were invited to a Uigher family’s home to learn to make noodles the Kyrgyz way for the dish we have eaten several times called lagman. Fortunately the time consuming part of the task, making and resting the dough, was already done. Placed in front of us, after we washed our hands, was a plate of dough already rolled into one long half inch thick coil and oiled. The lady of the house, Gulia, sat across from us and gave us each a section of the coil. Our job was to stretch it and make it thinner so it would grow several times in length. I struggled with the coil and it kept breaking on me. Mark, as you might expect, got the hang of it quickly and finished his coil way ahead of me. The next step was to wrap the coil around our hands in big loops and bang the dough on the table to stretch it more and toughen it. No question who’s noodles looked the best. Meanwhile, the water was boiling and soon we were cooking our noodles, about 2 minutes to a handful, straining them and placing them on a platter. The tomato-beef sauce had been made earlier and was simmering on the stove. Before we knew it, the same table was set for dinner and we each had a plate of lagman in front of us along with all the usual salads, bread and deserts. Several members of her family, including her three daughters and two grandchildren, joined us at the kitchen table to chat and ask questions. The atmosphere was warm and congenial as Olga was a long time family friend. We had a long personal conversation with the English speaking middle daughter, Aziza, who is 22, has a university degree, is very pretty and still single. She says she wants to continue working and save money at home for a year, then move to Bishkek and find a good job in the travel industry, get married and have children. She is not sure in which order. In her culture she is already an old maid and should find a husband soon. We all agreed that if she got married and had children first, the other goals might never come to pass. She understands, but is still pulled by her culture. Fortunately, there is no boyfriend in the picture at the moment. We learned that she had been bride-napped when she was 17. A girl friend of hers saw it happen and told her father. Within an hour he arrived at the boy’s home, where he had taken Aziza, and demanded his daughter back, insisting that she was far too young to be getting married. She says she was very glad to see her father show up so soon.

Finally, after a very pleasant day, we went back to our hotel. We learned that Fatima would be joining us for our trip back to Bishkek and on to Almaty and turned in knowing we had an early start and a long drive ahead.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

After two days of cold, rainy overcast weather, we woke to a gloriously clear, sunshiny day and were able to see the freshly snow coated mountains as we drove out of Karakol and turned west toward Bishkek on the south side of the lake. As we passed through small villages we saw many children in their uniforms headed for school. During the Soviet era, all children in the federation wore the same uniform; for girls, black dress with a white apron and big white bows in their hair and for boys a black suit with a white shirt and red tie, if they were a pioneer. Today many children still wear that uniform but each country has its own rules. Here they need only wear dark pants and a white shirt. The dress, suit, apron and tie are optional in public schools. Everyone goes to school for 11 years. After that university is optional. School starts on September 1 and ends on May 25 every year in all schools. Summer is about to begin in Kyrgyzstan.

Fatima told us that there were not many Russians in Karakol anymore and the town was now about 1/3rd each–Dungan, Uigher and Russian. Olga explained that Putin wanted to repopulate rural Russia, so he made an offer to all Russians living in post-Soviet countries. He agreed to give each family 250,000 rubles towards the building of a home if they moved to non-urban parts of Russia. Apparently many people took him up on his offer and he followed through with the money. According to Fatima, most Russian families in Karakol left. Kyrgyzstan had been 40% Russian before the offer and now the Russian population is only 20% according to Olga. Her family is in the 20% that chose to remain.

About 2 hours into our 11 hour drive to Bishkek, we arrived at our first planned stop, Fairy Tail Canyon. Stacey, our GeoEx planner, told Olga this was her favorite part of our whole trip and we soon understood why. The deep, multi colored sandstone hills are sculpted into wonderfully imaginative shapes. Trails through the canyon allowed us each to get lost in the folds and figures and reconnect at the top of knobs and spires only to descend again into another cleft and reappear hundreds of feet away from the others. It was hard to say what it reminded us of most–the Chinese wall in Montana, Pinnacles National Monument in California, Bryce Canyon in Utah or only itself with no comparison. I found myself collecting stones along my path and ended with a pile I washed and sorted through to settle on a few to remind me of the place. Mark thinks I am nuts to carry home rocks, but the truth is I manage to bring home a few from each trip. If only I could remember which came from where. I will happily show you my collection if you are interested.

This south side highway is not as smooth as the north side and there are many more villages through which Misha had to slow down. For the first half of the day, however, the road follows the lake closely and we were constantly in eyesight of snow-capped peaks as well as the water. It was a feast for the eyes. Our second scheduled stop was an hour further west at a village called Bokombaevo where Olga had arranged a meeting with a golden eagle hunter. We followed him a few miles along a dirt road up into the hills behind the village. Once away from all population, buildings and vegitation, he stopped and introduced himself as Talgar. He had on a special outfit he wears for golden eagle events including a huge gold belt buckle with two eagles on it. According to Olga he has won the national championship in eagle hunting for the last couple of years, from a field of 50 hunters in the country. Shortly, he opened the hatchback of his car and lifted out his bird, a large female named Tumar. She was hooded and seemed relaxed and passive. Talgar put on a large, heavy leather glove and held her for us to see. Then we took turns holding the 13 pound bird and petting her feathers. We all enjoyed the experience, including Fatima.

After answering lots of questions while we took many photos, Talgar left Tumar standing on the ground and retrieved a soft, cuddly rabbit from the back seat of his car. He held the rabbit lovingly for awhile and then put it down in the middle of an open area. We were all surprised that the rabbit did not move. He told us it is because it has no fear and no familiar place to go. Then he picked up Tumar and marched up a hill a couple hundred yards away. We retreated to the top of a small hill nearby. On a call to be ready, he unhooded Tumar, who looked around, saw the rabbit twitch its ears, and then flew immediately to it. The struggle was over in a few seconds. It was with mixed feelings that I continued to take photos as the bird devoured the rabbit. Olga and Fatima and Misha wanted no part of it. Talgar came down and assisted Tumar in the eating. Talgar told us he took Tumar from her nest at the age of about 6 weeks and trained her. She is now 10 years old. He will keep her another 10 years and then return her to the wild, so she can enjoy a normal life span of 50 years. She is a champion because she has successfully killed a large fox two years in a row, something most trained eagles don’t do. This was a first for us. We had hoped to see an Eagle Hunter in Mongolia, but failed.

Back in the village, we visited a felt making factory and saw the whole process from dirty wool to completed felt rugs. About 30 people work in this labor intensive business using antiquated tools and machines, but the product is colorful and popular and shipped far and wide. We had already made a decision to order a carpet, so we spent a good bit of time selecting the colors and designs for it. It should be shipped to us in a couple of months. At this point we think it will go on a floor at the ranch.

We made one last planned stop at the top 2109 meter Keoken Pass to have a picnic lunch. It was so windy that we ate in the car, but had a good time doing it anyway. From there we drove directly to Bishkek, with only bathroom breaks and one last look at Issyk-Kol Lake. It was 6:15 when we reach the Hyatt Regency. Even though it had been a long day, it had been full of interesting events and we were not as tired as I thought we would be. Misha, however, must have been really tired and certainly deserved a day off. We ate in the hotel and relaxed in our room for the evening.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Our last day at rest. We went for a walk through the gardens near the hotel and encountered an agriculture fair in progress. We got free passes to get in so we wandered around the big combines and tractors and wondered who could pay to own these tools or even have large enough properties to warrant using them. At the back of the fair was a large John Deere. Mark headed directly for it and saw that it had been made in manufactured in Germany although the company is located in Moline, Illinois, his home town. The lady rep spoke a bit of English and explained that people in Kyrgyzstan do not buy the equipment. Instead the company provides service to them on a contract basis. She told us the largest land owner in Kyrgyzstan has 2000 hectares. They do much more business in Kazakstan, where people can afford to buy the equipment. The largest landowner there has 100,000 hectares. In addition to all the farm equipment there were several yurts set up as vendor booths and, although we found a few things that interested us, we did not buy anything as we had a date back at the hotel with Olga.

She had arranged a trio to play folk music especially for us in the lounge on the 6th floor and we did not want to be late. The group was dressed in colorful Kyrgyz costumes and played several instruments including: a Komuz–3-string long necked instrument, a sybyzgy–flute, a chopochoor–ceramic whistle or flute and a temir komuz–iron jews harp for the mouth. They also sang. We were treated to lovely music from this small group and appreciated the effort Olga put into providing it for us. At our invitation she brought her mother, one sister and Fatima, so we made a decent audience.

It was over too soon and everyone went their separate ways. We headed for the nearby crafts center called Tzum to see if we could find gifts for people. Mark scored a couple of items and we bought a Kyrgyz flag for our collection, but I found nothing that appealed. Too bad, but done. We headed for the pool for the rest of the day. Later we walked a couple of blocks to and through Victory Square to a Lebanese Restaurant called L’Azzarro, that was recommended to us by a bunch of National Guard men from Mississippi, who have been here a month training the Kyrgyz military in earthquake preparedness. They were at L’Azzarro’s ahead of us, for one last meal. We have chatted with them several time in the hotel and gradually learned a few things about their mission and the US presence here. The US base really is a transit station and, because the Kyrgyz government keeps increasing the rent each year–it was a few million a year, then 20 million and now they are asking 60 million–the guys believe the US is looking to move somewhere else. Apparently Putin is putting extra pressure on the Kyrgyz to get rid of the US transit station. It was a good referral. The whole menu was in American English and we knew what we were getting before it arrived. It was a good meal. At midnight the Mississippi men fly home. Tomorrow early, we drive to Kazakstan, as Olga wants us to get across the border before the traffic builds up.

Here is another language lesson Olga taught us. Say “yellowbluebus” quickly and you have said “I love you” in Russian. Never mind how the words look in in that language.

Have a nice day and yellowbluebus,
Julia

May 23, 2013 – 8:34 am Categories: 2013 May: Turkmenistan / Tajikistan / Uzbekistan / Kyrgyzstan / Kazakhstan | Post a comment

THe North Shore of Lake Issyk-Kul

Monday, May 20, 2013

The sun was shinning this morning after a night of wind and rain. Before leaving the Four Seasons, we walked down to the beach again passing the fragrant lilacs, tulips and daffodils. It occurred to me that they were late blooming because we are at 5000 feet ASL. The walk was pleasant and the lake was calm.

Not long afterward we were at the lake’s only yacht club and boat launch and stepping onto a 25 passenger tourist boat with us as the only customers. The Russian name of the boat was “K P Y backwards N 3”. The K is pronounced K; the P is pronounced R; the Y is pronounced oo; the backwards N is ee and the 3 is pronounced z. Sounds like “Kroo eez“. So we took a cruise on the Kroo eez. Sorry to be so corny, but now you know some Russian. Out on the lake, the water looked the color of Lake Tahoe, deep blue, but not quite as clear. There were no other boats on the lake, because most people cannot afford to own a boat, there are no fish to catch and it is not yet the season for summer tourists.

The fish story is a sad one. According to Olga, the lake had been mostly fished out by the Russians before 1920, which led the Soviets to introduce a fish, Ctenopharyngodon Idella, which Mark learned is a fresh water herbivorous grass carp, in 1948 thinking it would be good eating. However, it ate all the other fish and then died out by 1986. (Mark and I wonder if there is a mistake about the fish that was introduced being the one Olga named. How could a herbivorous fish eat all the other fish?) Since then rainbow trout are hatched in fish ponds and planted in the lake every year in an effort to resupply the lake. The fish tend to stay near the mouths of the 78 streams that flow from the mountains into the lake as that is where the water is the least salty. Unfortunately, that is where people use nets to catch the small fish illegally. Olga says there is no manpower to police the lake so the trout population is not growing very rapidly.

Our boat trip was only an hour but the ride was peaceful and scenic with the lake surrounded by the Tian Shan Range, called by locals the Sunny mountains on the north and the Shadow mountains on the south. Once upon a time there were huge glaciers in the area and the lake was much shallower. The ruins of three submerged cities have been found 300 feet below the current lake level. There are no surface exits from the lake and it is believed that there may be a subterranean river that is providing an exit. We visited a small museum in Cholpon Ata, the local village, and saw a three dimensional map of the mountains, countryside, streams, lake and undersea bed. It was helpful to get an overview of the lake basin. We also saw several Kyrgyz wool carpets called Shyrdak that look very attractive. I might buy one, if I can think of a place to put it. The background wool is pressed, then a patchwork upper layer in different patterns and colors is sewn onto the base and the edges are bound. The carpet looks a lot better than I can explain it. You will see if I buy one.

We continued east along the lake with the landscape getting more beautiful by the mile…or should I say kilometer. Where the slopes from the lake shore to the mountains were gravel and desert plant moraines left behind by receding glaciers along the NW half of the lake, the NE half was totally fertile and green from lake to mountain. We passed several cemeteries dedicated to nomadic tribes, who used yurt frames, small mud brick structures and deer antlers as part of their grave decoration. I asked Olga why they looked abandoned, when many of the graves were only a few years old. She told us the tradition is to give the deceased a proper burial and then walk away and leave the past behind. No one ever goes back to a grave for any reason. We also passed Kyrgyz horses, donkey carts and old farm equipment still in use. At the end of the lake, the road turned south and headed for the Shadow mountains.

Shortly before entering Karakol, the largest town on the lake at 35,000 people, we stopped at a grave and small, but impressive museum, for the 19th century Russian explorer and ethnographer, Nicholas Przhevalsky (1839-1888). He is famous to all Russians as a great explorer, having made 6 campaigns to do biological research and survey routes through the mountains and deserts during the era know as the Great Game. He also discovered and described the diminutive horse that later became known as the Przhevalsky Horse. Having just finished the book, The Great Game, Mark and I were both interested in this man’s activities. The museum is wonderfully laid out to inform the visitor thoroughly, yet interestingly. Przhevalsky would have been an asset to whatever country he belonged. The fir lined pathway to his monument, and his grave were simple and elegant at the same time.

Lunch was at a cafe in Karakol where we ordered different dishes to try them out. The first was Samsa, a pasty-like pastry filled with chopped meat, onions and spices and cooked on the sides of a clay oven. It was crunchy and tasty and my favorite dish so far. The second was Besh Barmak, spaghetti noodles cooked with small pieces of mutton in a white sauce. Even though it was juicy, this dish did not appeal to me. Last was Vareniki, a plate of half-moon shaped dumplings filled with mashed potato and served with sour cream. OK if you like mashed potatoes.

Karakol is a Russian settlement founded in 1869 as a military garrison. In addition to Russian soldiers and their families, the area was populated by an unusual group of Arab-Chinese Muslims, called Dungans, who immigrated from China to escape religious persecution in 1788. They were later joined by the Uighurs, also Muslims, who came from Siberia during the Soviet era until the border was closed in the 50’s. I mention all this because our first stop in Karakol was at the Dungan Mosque, that looks more like a Chinese pagoda than a mosque. Built between 1904-7, it has a wooden pagoda shaped minaret. The mosque exterior is decorated with carved dragons, fruits, flowers and other Chinese ornamentation in greens, yellows and blues. We peeked through the windows at the very yellow, Chinese ceiling contrasted against the bland muslim rugs on the floor. Too bad we were not allowed inside.

Nearby we visited the lovely wooden Russian Orthodox Church built between 1907-10. This building, like the mosque, was made exclusively of wood, with no metal nails allowed. I could imagine the same construction crew finishing the mosque and then moving down the street to build the church. It was unpainted and just as ornately designed and constructed as the mosque, except that the details were Victorian. I found the church very attractive. It had the usual icons inside and a lady caretaker who did not allow photos.

We drove through a few streets including Lenin Street enroute to our Guesthouse. We passed many Russian style one-story houses with blue painted shutters and window frames. The guesthouse is at the end of a side street and is pretty simple and plain inside and out. We were assigned a small room on the second floor that opens onto a communal living room. This will be home for the next two nights.

Dinner was at a Dungan family’s home. The meal was largely Chinese with delightfully different flavors from what we have been eating. Our hostess, Fatima, is studying English and sat down with us after we finished eating to chat. We had a delightful conversation with her about her cooking business, family life, wanting to travel and what is is to be Dungan. She told us there about 60,000 Dungans living in Kyrgyzstan and 10 million in China. She is 5th generation Kyrgyz and has no interest in returning to China. Dungans’ got started with the marriage of an Arab man to a Chinese woman. The result was a Muslim family. We were having such fun with her that we invited her to join us on our hike tomorrow. he surprised us by saying yes. So I will learn more about her and Dungans tomorrow.

May 20, 2013 – 10:10 am Categories: 2013 May: Turkmenistan / Tajikistan / Uzbekistan / Kyrgyzstan / Kazakhstan | Post a comment

Suggestion from a friend

Hi everyone.
I just received a comment from Nancy Donahue that I thought you might appreciate. She says she has Google Earth open when she reads my posts, finds photos of many of the places I mention and toggles back and forth as she reads. Pretty interesting approach. Since I am unable to send images, I thought you might want to try her method of following us along our path.
Meanwhile all is well with us and we hope the same is true for you.
Today we take a boat ride on Lake Issyk-Kul and then continue our counter clockwise, or anti-clockwises as they say here, circumnavigation of the lake.
With love to you all,
Julia

May 19, 2013 – 6:52 pm Categories: Adventures | Post a comment