Cosmonaut Retreat
Among a string of quiet villages around Lake Issyk-Kul rest the towns of Barskoon and Tamga. The towns have multiple guest houses, including the sanatorium Yuri Gagarin stayed in after returning from Earth’s orbit in 1961. The village sits at the opening of Barskoon valley, providing passage through the Terskey Ala-Too mountains. The range consists of peaks reaching heights of nearly 17,000ft.
“80 years of Great Victory”
Just over the snow capped mountain in the distance (above) was the scene of an avalanche that covered a group of hikers while trekking through the Jukku Pass. This occurred just one day before I showed up in the big yellow marshrutka.
Yuri A. Gagarin
“The first cosmonaut of the world”
Its been said that Gagarin himself touched this rock
“Waterfall” in Kyrgyz
The yurt is the traditional style of nomadic housing which can be easily constructed or taken down within the hour. Thousands of these are used throughout Central Asia. While some yurts are used as a primary residence, others may be found sitting in the backyard of someones house or along the side of the road for shopkeepers to sell goods from.
This nice gentleman offered me a cup of Kumis. The unpasteurized milk from a horse or goat is fermented which tends to contribute a small percentage of alcohol. It was served warm and probably killed a lot of bacteria in my system. The white balls (below) is a common snack called “kurut.” It’s dried yogurt that delivers a sour taste.
This is a samovar used to boil tea. The stainless steel pot holds a few liters of water. There is a pipe in the center of the pot that is stuffed with small sticks of wood or coal in order to heat the water.
My friend Azamat