THE Spektator 40 som/сом

№3 Dec/Jan 2008/09

Your monthly guide to what’s happening in and around Bishkek

Ride the
Pamir Highway

INSIDE:
Skiing guide to KG
Ratsek alpinist base gets a makeover
Kyrgyzstan’s Dordoi: One of Asia’s
greatest bazaars
...and much more!

. .
Tourist Map What’s On Restaurant Guide
The NCCR North-South is one of twenty National Centres of Competence in Research implemented by
the Swiss National Science Foundation. Created in the understanding that development research and
cooperation are of primary concern to Switzerland, it currently comprises a network of about 400 re-
searchers worldwide.

The Central Asia partnership region comprises Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Work
in this region has been particularly challenging as the highly specialised and disciplinary research tradi-
tion inherited from the Soviet period did not support integrated approaches, methodologies and con-
cepts. Since its inception in 2001, efforts by the NCCR North-South and its local partners have had a
major impact on inter-institutional research collaboration within the region.

For further information please visit the following websites:

http://nccr.cde.unibe.ch; http://nccr-north-south.unibe.ch; http://nccr-central-asia.org.

Address:
#36, Oshskaya Str., Bishkek
Kyrgyz Republic, 720035
tel. +996312 540573 / 542346

e-mail: mira@camp.elcat.kg
www.nccr-central-asia.org
 The Spektator Magazine
Editor & publisher: Tom Wellings
Staff writers: Alex Ward, Robert Marks,

Contents Andreas Hedfors, Chris Rickleton,

Isaac Rothschild, Anthony Butts,
Asel Orozalieva

Out & About

Davai Ski!
An introduction to the wonderful world of 4
Kyrgyz ski resorts. Also see our ski map on
page 27
Chinese pot-ocracy
Restaurant review from Chuchuara 6
Hoga, the Chinese hot pot hang out
Boomtown Ratsek
The Kyrgyz mountaineering base has 8
had a makeover. We take a look

This Month
News and Views 10
We talk to religious Norwegians and pro-
vide a wrap of the month’s news
Struggle for life 12
An essay on overcoming adversity and
corruption
Give AIDS a chance
December 1st was World AIDS day, what 14
was it all about?

Focus
COVER STORY: Ride the Pamir highway
Travelling along the roof of the world in
16
the company of a part time Kyrgyz pervert

Tour de Dordoi
One of Asia’s best markets,and it’s here in KG!
20
The Guide
Restaurants, Bars, Clubs
All the best bars and clubs in town
23
What’s On 26
The pick of the entertainment listings

Map 7
Relocated to make way for our sexy new
ski map on page 27
Weekend 28
Crosswords, Sudoku, and other things to
do over a coffee

COVER PHOTO (Ryan Erickson)

Unclaimed animal heads on the Pamir highway

The Spektator Magazine is available at locations throughout Bishkek, including: (Travel Agencies) Adventure Seller, Ak-Sai Travel, Carlson Wagonlit, Celestial Mountains, Eotour, Glavtour,Kyrgyz Concept,
Kyrgyz Travel, Muza, NoviNomad (Bars & Restaurants) Cowboy, Hollywood, Metro, New York Pizza, No1, 2x2, Boulevard, Coffeehouse, Doka, Fatboy’s, Four Seasons, Live Bar, Lounge Bar,
Meri, Navigator, Stary Edgar’s Veranda, Adriatico, Cyclone, Dolce Vita, Santa Maria, Golden Bull (Casinos) Europa, Golden Dragon, XO (Hotels) Dostuk, Hyatt, Golden Dragon, Holiday, Alpi-
nist (Embassies and Organisations) The UN building, The American base, The German Embassy, The Dutch Consulate, CAMP Ala-too, NCCR, The Bishkek Opera & Ballet Society.

Spektator
THE

See the whole picture with the Spektator and thespektator.com

 4 Out & About
Right & far right The joys of Orlovka (all photos
Andreas Hefors)
Давай!
ski
ANDREAS HEDFORS
Are you afflicted by a booze-induced Bishkek gut?
“
T
HERE AREN’T ANY SKIS left smaller than
Need some bracing fresh air and some hearty ex-
size forty-two. People started coming
ercise? The Spektator, in the company of all-round
here at 9 am today!” says the boy in the
outdoors super-legend Mikhail Mikhailov, reveals
ski rental hut. After our two-hour long
all fifteen slalom sites within day-tour distance of
journey in a rickety minibus involving
Bishkek. Although be warned, Skiing Kyrgyzstan
many vicissitudes of fortune - getting stuck in an
means you may lose something more than just
ice field, ploughing valiantly onwards with chained
your beer belly - like one of your limbs.
tires, being stopped at a road block - ski-rent boy
can go to hell if he thinks our day in the mountains
is going to be spoiled by a lack of fundamentally
necessary equipment .
Navigating through the crowd of chattering
new arrivals at Orlovka ski base we find a young
couple working at a food stall and not using their
gear today. After a brief chat with the base own-
er, Volodya (a James Woods look-alike sporting a
cowboy hat), a pair of retro 80s skis are ours and
we head off towards the ski lift ticket booth. Sec-
onds later, in a cloud of snow, a man crashes full
speed into the safety net metres away. “Prizemlit-
sa!” (Landed!) the Russian exclaims in a heap of skis
and expensive mountain apparel, his frost-ruddied
cheeks blossoming further.
During our east bound minibus ride this morn-
ing we passed no less than twelve ski centres, all
featuring at least one lift. As snow seemed sparse,
we decided the best bet would be to try Orlovka, a
former heavy-industry centre which today boasts
the country’s only snow cannons (expensive con-
traptions that even Karakol, Kyrgyzstan’s premiere
ski resort, doesn’t have). Here as in most centres,
the lifts are short and there are only a few real
slopes (although officially there are nine) . Despite
this drawback Orlovka, as well as most of the other
bases close to Bishkek, is pretty much always busy
at weekends. “We were in Kashka-Suu the last
weekend and the line to the lifts took thirty min-
utes!” offers one shades-clad man as we share the
chair ride up the mountain.
We arrive at the top where two men stand
December/January 2008 The Spektator
ready, anxious to guide us away from the chair
and the noisy turning wheel. I project myself for-
wards self-assuredly and with a cronk manage to
catch my right pole under the chair. With a slightly
crooked pole and dented pride I slide down the
piste to the lonely-looking plastic tables and sun
chairs at the bottom where biznezmeny and diplo-
mats enjoy 200 som shashlyk.
During the day I make a handful of descents.
The snow is alright, and yes, it is a welcome change
from the Bishkek urban stress to shoot away and
splash a bit of powder this way and that. Given
the budget of the establishment, off-piste is not a
problem (come not to us for damages if you set off
avalanches or impact a goat, though), and there
are even a few jumps. Many a privileged Westerner
will also have built up a skill at slalom that makes
for impressing some of the locals, but be wary, the
Kyrgyz sbornaya komanda of snowboarders haunt
these slopes before their international show-
downs.
Health and safety is not something that regis-
ters with the Kyrgyz machismo, nor is it much in
evidence at Orlovka ski base. I see only a handful
of helmets all day and the flimsy security nets at
the bottom of the slope and the low-tech bales
of hay lying behind the turning wheel of the ski-
lift grimly suggest what may lie in store for some
unsuspecting novice. “Chairs are safer than drag
lifts,“ says Mikhail Mikhailov, possibly sensing my
namby-pamby Western sensibilities had been
somewhat alarmed. “Four years ago a Russian girl
got her hair stuck in one, and was scalped. She
survived, but she doesn’t ski any more.” With that,
Mikhail skis off towards the shashlyk vendors.
As my eyes follow the merry Orlovkans hurtling
their way down the slope, with more than a few
impressive tumbles, I begin to ponder that some-
thing more than a few schadenfreudian smirks may
be on offer. This chaotic human avalanche may
www.thespektator.com

provide me opportunities to play the chivalrous
hero - fetching skis, poles and hats, kneeling down
and fastening the bindings of helpless young lady-
skiiers! I feel I might be on to something and settle
down to wait for an up-ended maiden.
Thirty minutes pass. Failing to see any suitable
damsels in distress I join Mikhail at the picnic ta-
bles for some meaty sustenance. “I always sug-
gest beginners wear helmets,” my companion says
thoughtfully. “Nobody used to wear them, but over
the last two seasons they’ve begun to do so. Three
weeks ago here in Orlovka a snowboarder crashed
and hit his head. Without a helmet his skull would
have been all smashed up.”
In outdoorsy circles, the amiable 62-year-old,
with his fine repetuar of skiing horror stories, is
legendary for his Sunday tours like the one I had
joned today. He has been running them for dec-
ades in both summer and winter. A pillar of the
outdoor community since the 1970s, he now sells
sports equipment and teaches tourism classes in
the Financial Academy for a living, but on Sun-
day mornings from the corner of Sovietskaya and
Kievskaya, he brings groups of enthusiasts on free
tours into the mountains, including a wealth of lo-
cal trivia and heartfelt friendliness.
Mikhailov’s tours are unique in a country where
mountain sport is still reserved for the well-to-do.
Those who don’t have their own wheels are at the
mercy of taxi drivers - who aren’t renowned for
their charity. Marshrutka buses aren’t much more
helpful, going only to the closest resort - modest
Strelnikova.
Mikhailov begins his mountain treks in April,
but his skiing trips continue year-round. Deep
inside the Ala-Archa valley just south of Bishkek,
one can ascend the Great Alarchinsky Glacier for
some summer skiing fun. “The slope is seven kil-
ometers long. Walking up, we have time for two
runs in a day. There used to be a lift there, but it
www.thespektator.com
Out & About 5
was stolen in 2004,” Mikhail says. summer seasons, mostly from the Baltic coun-
Yet another of Mikhail’s favourite runs is found tries. They marvelled at our mountains! In winter
at Tö-Ashuu (Camel Pass). Opposite to Orlovka in us trainers went on week-long hikes for our own
facilities as well as in direction from Bishkek it is pleasure.” As he recalls the past, today’s tour-par-
found on the road to Osh. Travellers should take ticipants come trudging back to our minibus with
a right turn a few hundred meters after emerging a look of weary contentment. The time is past
from the tunnel under the pass (3586 m). Heli ski- 5pm and the lifts are now closed.
ers and other small groups have been coming It has been quite a day. Mikhail, who is now star-
ing out the window of our minibus, looks rather
“Chairs are safer than drag lifts. wistful, possibly reminiscing his youth, or mulling
Four years ago a Russian girl got over the stolen ski lift from the Alarchinsky Glacier.
I leave him to his thoughts and settle down for the
her hair stuck in one and was cold bumpy ride home.
scalped. She survived, but she
Find out More
doesn’t ski any more” See our ski-map on page 27 for a list of resorts near
Bishkek, and a guide to approximate prices.
here for years, but only last season were a few
cabins and a restaurant building erected. A chair
Below Mikhail Mikhailov, man of action
and a cable car (!) are planned for 2009. As yet ski-
ers are dependent on cars to get back up after the
very easy slope downhill (good for beginners),
but what the Camel Pass doesn’t have in sophisti-
cation, it compensates for in breathtaking views
of a cauldron-like valley fenced in to the south by
the Suusamyr-Too range.
With fifteen bases near Bishkek plus Karakol, Kyr-
gyzstan has come a long way since the 90s. Up until
then, there was only one lift in the country – at the
Young Slalom School in Chon-Tazh. In this Soviet
facility, only selected talented younglings were al-
lowed access to the slopes. From 1975 until 1991,
the tourism industry of the Kyrgyz Soviet Republic
was run by a rather stuffy-sounding agency called
the Republican Council for Tourism and Excursions.
At its head was, you guessed it, Mikhail Mikhailov.
When asked about his memories of those
long-gone Soviet times he smiles with evident
fondness for the old days. “We ran twelve bases
accommodating half a million tourists in the
December/January2008 The Spektator
 6 Out & About
Chinese
Pot-ocracy

Top One tip we offer is to tell the waitress to ALEX WARD

go easy on the sauces as no one really needs

C
HINESE RESTAURANTS ARE NOT hard a photocopied menu and a pen for you to make
twelve tea-cup’s full, and at 20ish som a pop, to find in this part of the world, but if your dunking selections from a bewildering array of
they soon add up you’re bored of chowing down on your options: several varieties of fragrant mushrooms,
sodium filled favourites (while picking meats, exotic veg, fresh salad and spinach leaves,
out amusing menu mistranslations) and Dungan noodly delights, and other strange edi-
Top right Two female patrons demonstrate how like the sound of cooking up your own Eastern del- bles that taste great but that we would struggle
to dip like the pros icacies in a Chinese hot pot bucket, head on down to describe. If your Chinese and Russian is a bit
to Chuchuara Hoga. ropey you’re going to
The Spektator has once struggle at this point
again been out on the
“This ancient speciality sees you (there is no English
frontlines, risking gut rot, cook up your grub in a boiling caul- menu of course). We
sampling Bishkek’s finest recommend being
cuisine and delivering you
dron of roots, spices and broth with adventurous and
the results, neatly pack- tongue-tantalizing results” surrendering the or-
aged, served up with lash- dering perogative to
ings of wit sauce. one of the bi-polar
Alongside a regular waitresses who will
menu Chuchuara Hoga offers ‘hot pot’ (hoga in Rus- select a grand spread for your pleasure and save
sian) a sort of Chinese-style fondue and one of the you the bother. For three diners, the total bill for
‘steamboat stews’ of East Asia, that promise a hearty your meal should come to something between
communal eating experience to help fortify the bel- 300-400 som per head.
ly against the cold November rain. If you bring enough friends along you can take
Below Axle Rose, enigmatic front man of Brit- Essentially a heavy-duty and more nutritious a privileged seat at one of the back room round
ish heavy rockers ‘Gun’s and Roses’, has never version of the Pot Noodle Nice n’ Spicy, this ancient tables. From watching the locals, hot potting
visited Chuchuara Hoga speciality sees you cook up your grub in a boiling seems to lend itself to these big raucous gather-
cauldron of roots, spices and broth with tongue- ings of people who dip, dunk, and natter their way
tantalizing results. through the evening, bonding over their hot pot,
Said to have been easing Chinese people through and no doubt making a state of the table cloth in
icy winters for over a thousand years, the tradition the process with their drunken, wayward chop-
became popular across the whole of China under sticking. If you don’t have enough/any friends you
the Ching dynasty. While its exact origins are hard will be relegated to the rough and ready canteen
to pin down some say it is a product of the south slash bar in the draughty front room - but we’re
western Sichuan province, which is known for its sure you will enjoy your experience just the same.
spicy food, and it remains such a popular dining It’s true than C.H. is far from the fanciest joint in
choice that the most famous hot pot restaurants in paradise city, but it wins the endorsement of this
China have huge queues every night. particular reviewer for offering an atmosphere with
If you do opt for the hot pot, your first decision a little more flavour than most of its competitors and
will be the choice of seasoning for your pot - spicy, a dining experience that is something of an event,
not-so-spicy, or as we recommend, the 50:50 pot leaving a lasting impression on your memory, and,
divided down the middle. Expect to pay a base occasionally, your bowels. Enjoy!
price of around 200 som for both the pot rental Chuchuara Hoga is open every day and is found at Chui
and accompanying sauces – an integral part of 117, a fair way east of the Chui/Sovietskaya intersection.
the experience. The waitress will then bring you Look for the red Chinese lantern outside.

December/January 2008 The Spektator www.thespektator.com

 Out & About 7
rd ia ya Gva rdia
Moloday
a Gva Moloda

Jibek
Jolu
Kievskaya
THE MOUNTAINS

Chui
Engelsa
Lva Tolstogo

Toktogula
a n a s ave.
M
ve.

Ryskulova
Manas a

Jumabe
a s ave.

Kievskaya
M a n
Moskovskaya

Isanova

k
T. Abdymom
Isanova Koenkozo
va
Isanova
Dvorets
Sporta

unov stadium
o ldo
Togolok M

Jibe
Michael Frunze
Spartak

k Jo
Chui
Toktogula

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Logvinen
Moskovskaya

va
Orozbeko

Juma

Baeto
Lva Tolstog

va
Orozbeko a
Razzakov
Bokonbaeva

bek

va
a
Razzakov
Erkind
Abdym
Tugolbay

Michae

Erkindik
omuno
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a ova
Fatianov Tynystan
va

ova
Tynystan
OV E TS K AYA
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Circus

OV E TSK AYA
S
Chui
Kievskaya

AYA
SOVETSK aeva Shopoko
va
A. Usenb
Toktogula
Lva

va
Shopoko
Pravda
a
Elebaev
Tol

Pravda
sto

lya
Gogo
Ogonbae
Moskov
g o

North
Bokonb

lya
va

Gogo

www.thespektator.com December/January2008 The Spektator

 8 Out & About
TOM WELLINGS
M
Ratsek, everybody’s favourite Kyrgyz moun- OUNTAINEERS REJOICE! The days of
tain basecamp, received the Slovak-make- squalor at the Ratsek alpinist base are
over treatment last summer and is now at an end, and one is free to sleep tight
without being woken up in the middle
looking mighty posh. Alex Ward and Tom
of the night by a high-altitude rodent
wellings braved the November snow to gnawing at your face.
conduct a thorough recce, and found they Where once there was flapping plastic sheeting,
hardly had enough cash on them to stay now there are real windows; where once there was
the night. a collapsed table and a mound of uneaten detritus,
now there are brand spanking new kitchen tents;
and alas, where once one could bed down upon an
insulating layer of filth for a free night’s sleep, now
there is a whopping 500-1000 som charge for a berth
in a sweet smelling, spick and span dorm-room.
First thing’s first, the refurbishment, undertaken
with support from SlovakAID, has winched Ratsek
into the present century and equipped it with facili-
ties to be proud of - as, lets face it, conditions last
year were getting rather grim. The base can now
accommodate up to thirty-five climbers in three
dorm rooms and, outside of the winter season, of-
fers a sauna and a bar. A full time warden lives in the
building and is on call twenty-four hours a day to
greet new arrivals with a warming cup of tea and a
mug of bile-flavoured shoro (a fortifying fermented
grain beverage), and answer any questions on the
climbing routes in the vicinity. All jolly nice.
The disappointment, however, is that yet again
foreigners get milked for their foreign cash. 500 som
per night in a large dorm room is a hell of a price for a
destitute climber like myself to fork out on a regular
Top left A tourist is awe-struck by the amphi- basis, and I certainly won’t be living it up in the small
theatre of peaks surrounding Ratsek. Moun- dorm, where a bed for the night will set you back a
tains of note include Korona (4810m), Svobod- cool 1000. Kyrgyz however pay 150 (big dorm) or 300
naya Korea (4740m), Boks Peak (4240m) and som (small dorm) for the same facilities and services.
Uchitel (4527m). (All photos by Tom Wellings) My experience from regular visits over the last two
years suggests the majority of foreigners spending
Right The Ratsek cabin time at Ratsek are not the free-spending World Bank
types, but young backpackers working on a tight
Far Right Smart new signposts and dorm beds budget. Prices this high will price them, and frustrat-
provide a safer route and a better nights sleep ingly, me, out of more lengthy stays at Ratsek and
December/January 2008 The Spektator
Boomtown
Ratsek
could ultimately result in less money being made,
and less custom. Also, if the high prices are here to
stay it would be appreciated if the price informa-
tion that is posted on the wall of the cabin could at
least be kept up to date - thus avoiding unobservant
tourists such as myself thinking they’ve been ripped
off and causing aggro with the warden.
Moaning aside, the area around Ratsek is one
of the best climbing areas anywhere in the world,
offering a superb collection of peaks, glaciers,
one day climbs, and multi day walls and those on
a budget shouldn’t be put off by the cost. Take
your tent and pitch for free, cadge some tea-bags
from the Russian alpinists, and make the most of
Ak Sai - still a small piece of heaven for any trekker
or mountaineer.
Practical Information
Ratsek cabin lies in the region of Ak Sai, part
of Ala-Archa national park, approximately 35km
from Bishkek. The cabin itself lies at 3300m. Alti-
tude sickness shouldn’t pose a problem, but if you
are not used to sleeping at high altitude some ac-
climatising may be a sensible precaution.
Travel to Ala-Archa National Park
Getting to the park is a little trickier in winter
than in other seasons if you don’t have you own
wheels. The easiest but most expensive way to
get to the park is to take a taxi. These days a taxi
for up to 4 people costs approximately 700 som
(that’s roughly $17, although it can cost a few
dollars less or a fair few dollars more depending
on where in Bishkek you’re setting off from, your
negotiating skills and the mood of the driver).
You need to tell the driver you want to go all the
way to the “Alp Lager” Hotel (the modern hotel
with the red roof ) and that you will pay the en-
trance fees at the park gates. The trail to Ratsek
starts just outside the Hotel, a full 10km beyond
www.thespektator.com

the park gates. The park entrance fee is 30 som
per adult and 80 som per vehicle.
The cheapest way to get to the park is to catch
a marshrutka (minibus) for around 40-50 som.
There are various numbers that go to the park.
The number 365 leaves from Osh Bazaar but you
can also catch it heading south at the bus stop on
the south-west corner of the Achumbeva – Mira
crossroad, (not the one next to the supermarket).
Check that the 365 is going all the way the park
gates as some only go as far as Kashka-Soo Vil-
lage. From the gates you’ll have to walk or hitch
up to the trails so if you’ve got a heavy bag a taxi
is probably the best option, especially in winter
when traffic is light and hitching therefore more
difficult.
Another option is to rent the Alpine Fund’s van.
If you’re in a big group or have a lot of gear then
the van might be just what you need. They can even
throw in a couple of their interns to help you carry
your gear up the hill (www.alpinefund.org).
Accommodation in Ala-Archa
If you want to spend the night at the foot of the
trail (2200m) to acclimatise you can take a room
at the Alp Lager. The hotel is due to reopen in mid
December after a refurbishment. If you can pass
yourself off as Kyrgyz, the room-rate is 40 USD per
night; foreigners pay a ball-squeezing 80 USD
(are they taking the piss?). There are also rooms
to be had in the small collection of budget hotels
in front of the Alp Lager. Rates seem to be negoti-
able but you should be able to get a double room
for 400-600 som per night. Alternatively, take your
tent and pitch somewhere quiet - but don’t forget
to take all your rubbish with you.
The Ratsek trail
At the Alp Lager Hotel, leave the tarmac road that
heads south and follow the trail signposted off
www.thespektator.com
Out & About 9
to the left, just past the yurt. This will lead you up Camping
the first valley on the left after the hotel. Follow You can pitch your tent for free near the cabin.
the blue and white trailmarkers up the well-worn
route for the 3.75km slog up to the cabin itself. Hikes and climbs from Ratsek
Although much macho boasting goes on about If you continue straight up the trail past Ratsek
record-breakingly quick ascents, we recommend cabin, after about 100m there will be a big rock
allowing 3-5 hours to complete the hike depend- that has memorial plates attached to it. From
ing on how fit you are and how much gear you’re this rock you can go left, this is the trail to Peak
carrying - it’s steep up there! In winter the route Uchitel (Teacher) and in summer it offers a great
can be even more tiring, occasionally icy, and de- day’s hike (4527m, non-technical) and stunning
mands hardy footwear. views of the region - in winter it is a more serious
Equipment and advice is available from Limpopo undertaking. There is also a trail that goes a lit-
mountain sports shop on Isanova street, facing Beta tle past the rock then angles left. This trail goes
stores. A good map of the Ala-Archa region can be to the wall of Bachichike and the north wall of
bought for 140 som at Geoid map store (in the DHL Peak Korona. At the end of this trail, about three
building near Togolok Moldo/Kievskaya). hours past Ratsek, is a small metal hut that is in
pretty good shape. Just after you start walking
Ratsek cabin: Accommodation on the glacier keep looking left and you will see
The cabin is open all year round. To reserve a bed: the hut up on the hill.
Email: alpclub-kg@mail.ru For in depth descriptions of the tougher,
Tel: (0)312 65 14 04 technical climbing routes try the Alpine fund’s
Cost of accommodation for Kyrgyz: website (http://www.alpinefund.org) or the Kyr-
Large rooms for 14-16 persons - 150 som per per- gyz Alpine Club site (www.kac.centralasia.kg).
son per night (Kyrgyz Alpine mountaineering vet-
erans 45 years old and older with the 1st category Getting home
of mountaineering or higher - you know who you If, upon your return to the Alp Lager, you are without
are - sleep for free). 6-bed room - 300 som per per- a ride home, things may get expensive. Your best
son per night. hope is to be picked up by a car of day-trippers re-
Cost of accommodation for foreigners: turning to Bishkek, who, if they are the friendly sort,
Large rooms for 14-16 persons – 500 som per per- may even offer you a free lift back. Do not, however,
son per night. 6-bed room - 1000 som per person bank on this benevolence.
per night (5000 to rent the whole room). Many taxi companies will not send their cabs
Accommodation in the frame-tents: out to the park, and any taxi driver that is lurk-
Kyrgyz citizens - 50 som per person per night. ing at the Alp Lager will delight in screwing you
Foreign citizens – 100 som per person per night. for all you’re worth. Expect to pay between 800
Kyrgyz mountaineering veterans, mountain gui- and 1200 som for a ride home, depending on the
des, alpine instructors and climbers, and members road conditions and how desperate you look.
of the Kyrgyz Alpine sections have free accommo- Your final alternative is to hike the 10 km back to
dation in the frame-houses. Three of the tents are the gates of the park and take a marshrutka from
reserved only for Kyrgyz mountaineers. the village, sadly schedules are erratic.
December/January2008 The Spektator
 10 This Month
Kyrgyz opposition parties
The
One-minute stage a get-together
interview
This week the Spektator talked to Forum18,
an Oslo-based organisation that has been vo-
cal in its criticism of the law proposed by the
Kyrgyz parliament to restrict the activities of
religions with less than 200 members. Sadly,
Forum 18 semed particularly reticent when
it came to discussing questions of inter-reli-
gious tolerance, the activities of missionaries,
and whether Scientology was a real religion or
just a vehicle for Tom Cruise to act a bit wacky.
All questions by Tom Wellings.
TW: In a nutshell, what are your views on the
state of religious freedom in the Central Asian
region? F18: The religious freedom situation is
getting worse across the whole of Central Asia.
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan already have dras-
tic controls on all religious activity, including of
Muslim, Christian and other religious commu-
nities. Believers often suffer violence from state
officials, fines, obstructions to meeting for wor-
ship. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are all
preparing new religion laws which will severely
restrict free religious practice. Kyrgyzstan and Ka-
zakhstan are both very close to adopting restric-
tive laws – and appear to be willing to defy their
own commitments as members of the OSCE.
Why do you believe religious freedom is such
an important issue? The right to freedom of
religion or belief touches on many other rights,
including freedom of speech and freedom of as-
sembly. In a sense it is a litmus test of how much
other rights and freedoms are respected by gov-
ernments. An integral part of many religions’
activity is sharing one’s faith with others, a right
clearly guaranteed in international human rights
commitments that governments of the region
have committed themselves to.
Where do you think religious freedom should
stop? The right to freedom of religion or belief is
not absolute – it must be seen as part of a wider pic-
ture, particularly the rights and freedoms of others.
No religious community, political party, trade union
or any such organisation has the right to harm its
members or non-members. Religious communities
are no different in this to other organisations.
If no community has the right to harm it’s
members, what is your organisations position
on male/female circumcision - a religious act
that results in actual phyisical harm, often to
children? No comment.
The proposed Kyrgyz law would prohibit reli-
gious groups of less than 200 members. Would
you not agree that it is prudent of the Kyrgyz
government to crack down on fringe religious
movements that, in a country such as Kyr-
gyzstan, have a destitute and somewhat cred-
ulous population to prey upon? The number of
members a faith has makes no difference to their
rights – all individuals and communities have the
same rights to freedom of religion or belief.
Forum18 can be found online at: www.forum18.org
December/January 2008 The Spektator
BISHKEK, Nov 29 (RFE/RL) - The main Kyrgyz op-
position parties have held their joint gathering in
Bishkek under the title People’s Grand Congress.
The one-day congress, bringing together more
than 1,200 delegates, was organized by opposition
parties including the Akyikat Uchun (For Justice)
Movement, Ata Meken (Fatherland) Socialist Party,
and the Ak Shumkar (White Falcon) Party.
On the eve of the convention, Alikbek Jeksh-
enkulov, the leader of the For Justice movement
and a former foreign minister, told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz
Service that the main agenda of the congress was
to evaluate the current political and economic situ-
ation in Kyrgyzstan and discuss new concepts for
further development.
Addressing the delegates, Omurbek Tekebaev, the
leader of Ata Meken and a former parliament speaker,
criticized growing corruption in Kyrgyzstan and the
corresponding lack of trust in the government. He
welcomed the election of Barack Obama as the next
U.S. president and praised Obama’s victory as evi-
dence of upward mobility in American society, saying
Kyrgyzstan in Brief
U.S. seeking alternatives to
Manas airbase in Kyrgyzstan?
BISHKEK, Dec 2 (The Spektator) - Yuri Pogrebn-
yak, a military expert well known in Kyrgyzstan, has
made comments suggesting the Americans may
relocate their military airbase away from Manas.
“The US is seeking alternatives to the Manas air-
base in Central Asia, because the Kyrgyz govern-
ment has not expressed a clear position over this
issue,” he said when asked to comment on the pos-
sible opening of the antiterrorist coalition reserve
airbase in Almaty (Kazakhstan).
“The US does not want to lose their bridgehead
in Central Asia. The air force always needs a reserve
base and America will support that country which
cooperates with them. “
“From the side of our neighbors, having the
American base in Kazakhstan might be a tool for
strengthening their international authority,” he
added.
Religious freedom takes a hit in KG
BISHKEK, Nov 6 (Forum18) - Kyrgyzstan's pro-
posed new Religion Law has been adopted unani-
mously by the country's parliament today (6 Novem-
ber), Forum 18 News Service has found. The Law will
go to President Kurmanbek Bakiev around 15 No-
vember, who then has at least a month to sign it or
return it to Parliament. The Law as passed states that
200 people will be needed to register a religious or-
ganisation, contrary to assurances that Deputy Zai-
niddin Kurmanov, the main author of the Law, gave
a visiting delegation from the European Parliament.
Deputies significantly harshened this part of the
Law, by voting unanimously that the identity of all
200 founders must now also be confirmed by local
keneshes (elected local administrations).
that such political success for the son of an immigrant
is currently impossible in Kyrgyzstan’s corrupt system.
Other leaders echoed Tekebaev’s sentiment,
warning against corruption and the sapping of
government resources by a few powerful people.
The congress ended with the adoption of a reso-
lution urging President Kurmanbek Bakiev’s gov-
ernment to implement a package of development-
oriented reforms with a deadline of March 31, 2009.
The opposition parties also urged the Kyrgyz peo-
ple to unite in favor of the restoration of a constitu-
tional basis for democracy and the rule of law, and
for strengthened human rights and freedoms.
There were no representatives of the ruling par-
ty at the congress. Nurlan Shakiev, a press secretary
for President Bakiev, told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service
that the Kyrgyz opposition has failed to credit the
government for its achievements since the revolu-
tion of March 2005.
The gathering was permitted by the Kyrgyz au-
thorities after lengthy negotiations and earlier re-
jections of other proposed venues.
Several radio stations and news-
papers in KG shut down
BISHKEK, Dec 5 (24.kg) - Several radio stations
and newspapers have stopped their activity in Kyr-
gyzstan, including the BBC.
“The BBC is now trying to find out why its pro-
grams have been laid off,” the Corporation’s Busi-
ness Development Manager for Western Asia said.
The Russian BBC service started broadcasting
in Kyrgyzstan in 1994, while Kyrgyz language pro-
grams have been aired since 1996.
Some time earlier long-time broadcaster Radio
Pyramid announced it would close on January 1,
2009. This followed Radio Azattyk, which allegedly
was refused an “agreement prolongation” due to
credit delinquency.
Meanwhile, the Vecherniy Bishkek (Evening
Bishkek) newspaper closed all its regional offices,
leaving reporters jobless. Another newspaper
Russkaya Gazeta (Russian Newspaper) closed ear-
lier this year.
Young Kyrgyz girl dies at the hajj
MECCA, Saudi Arabia, Dec 5 - A young girl from
Kyrgyzstan died in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during the
hajj today.
Mambetasan-Hadji Ibraev, the chief of the Kyr-
gyz group of hajj pilgrims in Mecca, told RFE/RL's
Kyrgyz Service that the girl was making the holy
pilgrimage together with her parents.
Neither the girl's age nor details of her death
were given.
The parents of the deceased girl have agreed to
bury her in Mecca.
She is reportedly the fifth Kyrgyz citizen to be
buried in Mecca after having died during the hajj.
www.thespektator.com

Nationwide
protests to bear
religious stamp
ARSLAN MAMATOV
BISHKEK, Dec 4 (Eurasianet) - As opposition
parties around Kyrgyzstan gear up for prom-
ised demonstrations in mid-December, one new
party is using religion to cement its appeal. Two
prominent opposition leaders, Tursunbai Bakir
uulu of Free Kyrgyzstan and Nurlan Motuev of
the Kyrgyz Patriotic Party, recently announced
their unification as the Kyrgyzstan Muslim Un-
ion and promised nationwide protests through-
out the country in mid-December.
At a press conference announcing their party
on November 25, Bakir uulu and Motuev de-
scribed their support.
“We prayed with believers, then we talked
with them outside the mosque. Over six days
we visited three regions and met 80,000 peo-
ple,” Motuev said. Co-Chair Tursunbai Bakir uulu
claimed that 95 to 98 percent of the people they
met supported their plans.
The Kyrgyzstan Muslim Union plans to start
protest rallies on December 16 in Naryn and fin-
ish on December 24 in Bishkek, covering all seven
of the country’s regional centers in eight days.
Corruption and the misuse of resources are
at the center of the Muslim Union’s agenda. Re-
ferring to the presidency of Kurmanbek Bakiev,
Motuev explained: “Corruption and other bad
things flourish in this power. These are rejected
by Islam and Sharia law.”
The Muslim Union will demand an end to al-
leged corruption in the president’s family, food
price stabilization, a decrease in the price of coal
and electricity, and checks on how the president
appoints officials. “If authorities do not follow
our demands, we will demand the resignation
of all government officials,” said Bakir uulu.
Already the group has faced obstacles. The
Kyrgyz constitution forbids political parties from
organizing along religious lines. But the organi-
zation is making no attempt to hide their inten-
tions. “We cannot be registered as a Muslim party
and that’s why we have to register as a union,”
Motuev said. “But you should consider the Kyr-
gyzstan Muslim Union a party.”
Tursunbai Bakir uulu is already a well-known poli-
tician. In his run for president in 2005, he positioned
himself as the only true Muslim on the ballot, win-
ning slightly less than four percent of the vote. He is
also quick to point out his sober credentials.
“We represent a moderate Islam and are op-
posed to radicals,” he told EurasiaNet.
“Before joining with another politician, I
thought of all politicians and realized there was
not a true Muslim among them,” Bakir uulu said.
“First, I met Nurlan Motuev praying in the Cen-
tral Mosque. Then I saw him praying in the pris-
on. In a difficult time, he didn’t leave Allah and
his faith. So my choice was with him.”
Some observers were surprised at the choice.
www.thespektator.com
Causing a scene Protests have dogged Kyrgyzstan over the last few years (Photo: Duncan Ferguson)
Motuev is widely regarded as something of an
oddball in Kyrgyz politics, known for outlandish
accusations. He is infamous for illegally seizing
a coalmine in 2005 and spending some time in
prison a year later. [For details, see the Eurasia In-
“The Kyrgyzstan Muslim Union
plans to start protest rallies on De-
cember 16 in Naryn and finish on
December 24 in Bishkek, covering
all seven of the country’s regional
centers in eight days“
sight archive]. This October he staged a protest
against the presence of US troops at the Manas
Airbase outside of Bishkek. He burned a US flag
and effigy of President George W. Bush in front of
a small crowd, claiming the Muslims of Kyrgyzstan
would unite to push the US out of the country.
Observers say Bakir uulu needed a northerner
to bolster support for the alliance and spread its
appeal beyond his native South.
As Islam spreads in Kyrgyzstan, the union’s
political blend may have a cadre of likely follow-
ers. “Allah will save our country,” a teenager from
the Chuy valley who gave his name as Nursultan
said. The 16-year-old prays five times a day in his
village, where the majority of young people are
unemployed, including his two older brothers.
Kadyr Malikov, an expert on Islam at the Kyr-
gyz-Russian Slavonic University in Bishkek, de-
scribed the upswing in religious practice.
“The process of Islamization [in Kyrgyzstan]
is very fast. Seventy percent of the population Arslan Mamatov is a psuedonym for a Kyrgyz journalist.
This Month 11
consider themselves Muslim. It is inevitable and
natural that during a social-economical crisis,
believers become politicized. Unfortunately,
the ruling Soviet elite lacks flexibility . . . It relies
heavily on control and repression,” he said.
“We have been warning the Kyrgyz govern-
ment about possible religious protests since
2005. We said that there were politicians who
were ready to use religious slogans in political
games. Now Tursunbai Bakir uulu and Nurlan
Motuev are the first to legitimize Muslim politi-
cal discourse,” Malikov said.
The Kyrgyz Muslim Union emerges at a time
of increased religious tension in the country’s
South. In October, villagers in Osh region pro-
tested when authorities did not allow them to
hold festivities marking the end of Ramadan. On
November 28, 32 people were sentenced to be-
tween nine and 20 years for participating in dis-
orderly demonstrations. Authorities allege all are
members of the banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir party.
Still, Kyrgyzstan’s official Muslim Spiritual
Board does not believe that this is a major shift
in the country’s religious dynamics.
“Our society is not ready for Muslim leader-
ship,” Asan Saipov, the Board’s press secretary,
told EurasiaNet. The public organization regu-
lates Muslim affairs, including mosque activities
and organizing the yearly Hajj. “I am not sure that
Tursunbai Bakir uulu is a person who can lead
the Muslim community,” Saipov continued. “Of
course, some people who consider themselves
Muslim may follow him. But they must know he
wants only power.”
But Bakir uulu remains resolute. “True Mus-
lims will support us; that’s why we are full of op-
timism,” he said.
December/January2008 The Spektator
 12 This Month
Struggle
for life
Have you ever heard the Kyrgyz proverb
“Kunga kun, kanga kan”? It means some-
thing similar to “An eye for an eye and a
tooth for a tooth”.
MEDINA AITBAEVA
M
Y GRANDFATHER, SYDYKALY, had a diffi-
cult and unusual life. He was born in 1907
to a poor family. When he was thirteen his
mother died so he became the shepherd
for a bai. A “bai” is a rich man with many
sheep, horses and cows. The bai was called Tulkubai;
he made my grandpa look after his goats. It was a real
fight for survival, a struggle for life. He didn’t have
enough food and often went hungry. But Sydykaly
was very strong, physically well-build and deft.
One day, for their amusement, Tulkubai’s as-
sistants arranged a fight between Sydykaly and
another teenager. My grandfather won the fight,
breaking his opponent’s leg. Afterwards, the par-
ents of the injured boy went to my grandfather’s
house and demanded compensation. My great-
grandfather had to give them all his flour, his cow
and three sheep - everything the family owned.
But, deciding this was not enough, the parent’s of
the injured boy decided to take further revenge.
They made a plan in secret: to break my grandfa-
ther’s leg - “Kunga kun, Kanga kan”.
My grandpa was lucky, he had an uncle who
had by good fortune found out about this plot. At
night Sydykaly’s was taken away from the village by
his uncle and made his escape to the capital. And
so it was that my grandfather arrived in Pishpek.
Pishpek was the original name of Bishkek. Here,
my grandfather became the servant of a Jewish
man. Grandfather did all sorts of jobs for him - dif-
ferent kinds of work in his house and outside. The
Jewish man gave him good food and a place to
sleep. One day my grandfather became sick; ulcers
appeared all over his body. The Jewish man be-
came frightened when he saw Sydykaly covered in
ulcers. He said, “I`m not going to be responsible for
the death of this Kyrgyz boy!” So he took the deci-
sion to place him in a boarding school.
Sydykaly was very happy because a new life had
begun for him. In boarding school he met Alukul Os-
monov who would one day become a famous poet
of beautiful and charming verse. The Kyrgyz people
are still proud of this gifted poet. My grandpa spent
five years in boarding school and got an education.
As a man, he worked in different fields but earned a
reputation as a very wise, generous and courageous
man. He helped people and he never gave up. He
rose to the highest levels of work in our country,
and at one time was repressed and exiled to Siberia
for three years. Nevertheless, he overcame all ad-
versity and obstacles, was later ‘rehabilitated’, and
still managed to leave an important mark on the
development of our country.
Nowadays there are a lot of obstacles in Kyr-
gyzstan. In all spheres of our life there is adversity to
be overcome. Nevertheless people refuse to give up,
they continue to struggle. I’m from Kochkor, I truly
December/January 2008 The Spektator
understand what life is like in small towns, the life of
the poor. I don’t believe our government when they
state that the standard of life in Kyrgyzstan is rising.
Maybe our officials don’t visit the poorest regions
of our country. Of course, on the TV we see regular
visits by our president and officials - to Naryn, Osh,
Talas. However, when people watch, they under-
stand deeply that there is no difference between
the present government and government from be-
fore the revolution. These visits are a charade for the
public; the problems of needy people are never rec-
tified after such visits.
My friend has been working in Moscow since
last year. She tells me that life in Moscow is very
difficult, but there is no other way to earn money.
Why do young people leave Kyrgyzstan? The rea-
son is the economic crisis, the low salaries, and the
high prices. My friend left her children of six, five
“it is a tragedy when a young
mother leaves her children in or-
der to earn money, when a son
leaves his old parents and doesn’t
know if he will ever return from
abroad”
and three years old with her mother and went to
Moscow. I have read one statement that “one per-
son’s tragedy is a tragedy for all humanity”. I think it
is a tragedy when a young mother leaves her chil-
dren in order to earn money, when a son leaves his
old parents and doesn’t know if he will ever return
from abroad.
Kyrgyzstan is sinking further into bribery and
corruption. Corruption is evident everywhere. In
my experience when my husband and I were ex-
pecting a baby we were faced with some extraor-
dinary things. Firstly one must find an experienced
doctor and ‘negotiate’ with him. If this isn’t done
it’s very dangerous for you and your future baby.
Every young woman tries to find a doctor before-
hand and pay him. If you don’t do this, when the
time for childbirth comes, you will be not treated
with care and professionalism. During my preg-
nancy, I saw so many unhappy women They didn’t
have much money and were treated in a bad way.
These women were insulted and ignored by their
doctors. I felt such pity for them.
I suppose the most terrible thing is indifference,
it is a dangerous trait. Indifferent and pitiless doc-
tors will not take care of you if you are unable to
pay. Medicine in our country is build up in strange
way, the Ministry of Health has drafted new laws
and programs for poor and needy people. But this
legislation doesn’t work in practice, and is ignored
by everyone. People must pay or they will die in the
corridor of a hospital. There are a lot of cases when
patients need an urgent operation, but they are
rejected by the administration of the hospital be-
cause they can’t pay. Is “Pay or die the slogan and
the reality of today’s medicine? Of course, if you are
a rich person you will be served in the best way; rich
people can afford the best private clinics, but what
about the others? Is it fair? We must work out new
legislation for our health sector.
Next, corruption progresses to the kindergarten.
In my experience, if you want to place your child in
a respectable kindergarten, what must you do? In
most cases you must pay. Parents want the best for
their child - good service and healthy food in the
kindergarten. So we have to pay. In public kinder-
gartens there are forty or fifty children in one group.
It is inconceivable but it is true. Tutors receive 2000
or 3000 som salaries and there is no stimulation for
them to work in this field. Imagine, you are a kinder-
garten teacher, you have fifty children in your group
and you have no assistant. You must do everything
yourself. You must teach the children, give them
breakfast, supper, dinner, wash fifty plates, fifty
glasses and fifty spoons three times a day. Then you
must clean the room, wash the floor, and make fifty
beds. A kindergarten teacher looks after children
from 8 till 6 o’clock, so as you can probably imagine,
not every child receives careful care and attention.
Parents give the teacher money or presents. They
request: “Oh, please look after my child, cover him
with a blanket, please watch how he eats.”. Yes, we
see bribery in our kindergartens too. The teacher has
to take money, she has no other option. The teacher
also has a family, she must also pay for medicine,
food, and other services. The salary that she gets is
impossible to live on.
Corruption now follows us to school. A school
will reject children from low, poor families because
they can’t pay. The administration of a school ar-
ranges different entrance exams for six to seven
year olds. The tests are tough for young kids. Par-
ents worry; they begin to look for a way to get their
child to pass the test and get a place at school.
Here is a solution: find a mediator from this school,
he can talk to the chiefs of the school, you give
money and this school accepts your child.
Then comes entering university, the same sys-
tem as at school. Pay and study. It’s like a circle that
never ends. Is this the right way or not? Every per-
son should think of this. First of all the system of our
country should be changed. The policy of the coun-
try has to be developed with good legislation draft-
ed by specialists and experts. The public and non-
governmental organizations should be involved in
this task. Public officials need to work with the gen-
eral population to achieve results. People have to re-
member about life’s values, to respect each other, to
work together and help each other.
One tries to connect my grandfather’s world
with the reality of today. In both cases, we can ob-
serve a struggle for life in different ways. The story
about my grandpa is one person’s struggle for life.
The reality of modern Kyrgyzstan is the struggle of
the whole nation. We all want a safe future, good
education for our children, quality health care for
our families. People in our country want to live in
a peaceful and prosperous country. That is why we
continue to live, to struggle, to survive. The way
will be difficult but the Chinese say “a journey of
1000 miles begins with a single step”. We hope we
will one day reach our destination.
www.thespektator.com
 The Alpine Fund
About Us
Founded in 2000 by American climber Garth Willis, The Alpine Fund seeks to connect Kyrgyzstan’s two great-
est resources - its youth and its mountains. We are a small but very active organization. Our total budget is
currently $1500 per month, yet our dedicated team is able to provide education and mountains programs to
about 40 youth each week. (how it all began)

What we do
We currently offer four integrated programs that combine experiential education in the mountains with
more traditional lessons in the city.

Clouds at their Feet is the wilderness-education program that provides a weekly outing - hiking, trek-
king, climbing or camping. Participants learn new skills and important environmental lessons. Imagine the
change of perspective when an adolescent who has never left the concrete walls of the city has the oppor-
tunity to literally climb high above their perceived limitations and look down upon where they once were.

The Alpine Club is the tutoring program located at the Alpine Fund office in Bishkek where children receive
twice weekly assistance in learning English and weekly lessons in computer skills. The Alpine Fund office has
two computers accessible to its students.

Alpine Interns is an opportunity for young adults who have been involved in the previous two programs to
share what they have learned with younger students. By instructing and leading outings for younger stu-
dents the Alpine Interns build up their own skill-sets. Increased self-confidence and leadership abilities make
Alpine Interns more employable in the tourism field.

The Alpine Learning Center is a cabin near Bishkek that serves as the staging area and launching point for
Alpine Fund outings. Camping participants often camp outside the cabin, enjoy breakfast from the kitchen
and launch their own hiking ‘expeditions’ from this base camp. The primary reason for using this cabin is to
provide a safe shelter from the weather but children here are also able to learn independent living skills such
as preparing breakfast and maintaining good hygiene.

Help us out!
As we are a very small non-profit organization we always have to watch every dollar in our efforts to provide
high quality education and mountain experiences for our students. It is exactly this small nature, however,
that ensures every donation directly supports our students. Check out our website to learn how to make a
donation:

www.alpinefund.org
 14 This Month

Bishkek
AIDS
Day REINA ARTUR KYZY, BEKTOUR ISKANDER & BEGIMAI RYSALIEVA

Above Young people help to raise awareness of
HIV/AIDS in central Bishkek
O
NE THOUSAND AND THIRTY ONE cases of dation politics instead of educating young peo-
HIV are officially registered in Kyrgyzstan, ple,” said Djumayeva.
according to statistics announced on In spite of the growing number of HIV cases
December 1st, World AIDS Day. in Kyrgyzstan, the press service of the Central
As part of World AIDS day, two events Asian AIDS Project (CAAP) released information
took place in Bishkek; both were organized by on December 1st starkly highlighting the lack
youth groups. Three organizations (‘Youth Power’, of interest regarding issues of HIV prevention
‘The Union of People Living with HIV’ and ‘ The among the mass media in Kyrgyzstan.
Congress of Women in Kyrgyzstan’) held “Youth Those conclusions were made based on the re-
against AIDS” action on Ala-Too Square in central sults of a contest that was held to find the best
Bishkek. According to coverage of the HIV/AIDS
organizers, the focus issue among journalists.
was on youth because
“Today we are sending a message CAAP -stated that there
in Kyrgyzstan the ma- that young people do care and are was “low involvement”
jority of HIV positive ready to stand up for the human amongst the mass me-
people are aged be- dia in the contest, espe-
tween fourteen and rights of HIV positive people” cially in the video and
thirty-four years old. radio commercial sec-
“A lack of awareness ex- tion, which had to be
ists in Kyrgyzstan. We are currently pursuing a mis- cancelled due to receiving no submissions.
sion of prevention and education,” said the chair of
The Congress of Women in Kyrgyzstan, explained. AIDS in KG: Background
Another WAD event was held two blocks away Kyrgyzstan was considered a country with
from Ala-Too on the ‘old square’ of Bishkek. More one of the lowest HIV prevalence levels in the
than fifty students gathered in front of the Ameri- world during the 1990s as only isolated single
can University of Central Asia (AUCA) to form a red instances were registered each year.
ribbon, the symbol of solidarity with HIV positive According to UNAIDS, the UN Joint HIV/AIDS
people and the global movement to stop AIDS. Program, HIV prevalence rose significantly be-
“All events during the two-week long HIV aware- tween 1999 and 2001, with the number of HIV
ness campaign at AUCA were organized to em- positive people topping 1000 in 2001.
power youth to take an active role in the HIV and Data published by UNAIDS are different from
human rights struggle. “Today we are sending the the official statistics within Kyrgyzstan. As a
message that young people do care and are ready rule, the UN Joint HIV/AIDS Program uses three
to stand up for the human rights of HIV positive indicators: highest, average and lowest prob-
people,” said Selbi Djumayeva, co-organizer of able number of HIV positive people.
AUCA action. On the basis of their calculations, in 2008 the
maximum number of people living with HIV is
“Intimidation” and lack of interest around 8000.
In turn, Djumayeva criticized a rival event on the
central square in which people chanted slogans Kloop.Kg Media Foundation is the non-profit
such as “AIDS: The plague of the 21st century” - youth-led journalism and new media project in
scare tactics that are officially advised against by Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where all articles are writ-
AIDS/HIV organisations. “They were using intimi- ten and edited by young people.

December/January 2008 The Spektator www.thespektator.com

 Rural Development Fund
Local Solutions for Local Development

Rural Development Fund (RDF) is a not-for-profit nongovernmental organization founded in 2003 to con-
duct research, develop policy recommendations and implement activities in the field of rural development.
RDF’s Mission is to support locally appropriate initiatives to alleviate poverty and achieve sustainable devel-
opment in rural areas. RDF engages communities, policy-makers, and the donor community in order to find
solutions for development that meets local rural needs.

RDF’s Philosophy
Specific approaches for specific problems in specific places. RDF believes in the importance of local, na-
tional, and international context in achieving development objectives. We seek to tailor our research and
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www.rdf.in.kg
16 Focus
Right Who are you calling a pervert? Sharshem
baike (left) poses with Akim. (All photos Ryan
Erickson)
Ride
the
Pamir highway CHRIS RICKLETON
“
D
Even before the ‘Great Game’ between Tsarist YEVOOSHKEEEEE!” SQUEALS Sharshem
Russia and Victorian Britain, the high Pamirs baike in high pitched Kyrgyz accent,
honking his horn as we pass a gaggle of
were synonymous with mystery and intrigue.
middle-aged ladies. They are in full tra-
In recent years the incredible landscapes ditional dress, bodies laden with bas-
have been opened up to tourists, but even kets of bruised vegetables, slowly traipsing up the
now the Pamiri highway remains well off the long incline our battered Russian jeep is hurtling
beaten track. The Spektator’s Chris Rickleton, down.
under the guidance of an over exuberant Kyr- “But baike, they’re not girls, they’re just old wom-
en” my friend Rory interjects in his politest Russian.
gyz part-time pervert, negotiates the treach-
Girls are Sharshem’s favorite topic of conversa-
erous Pamiri highway from Sary Tash in Kyr- tion. He turns around to flash Rory a wicked smile.
gyzstan to Khorog in Tajikistan, and discovers Making a suggestive gesture with his non-driving
that one can never have enough toilet paper, hand he continues, “On this road there are many
nor easily dictate the behaviour of a marmot. dyevooshkee. You can get ‘iki-iki‘ for only 20 soms!”
So many of the things our enigmatic driver
said were unreturnable and still more were un-
repeatable, but his gradual transformation from
Generic Central Asian Guy, via amateur photog-
rapher, occasional pervert and marmot-taunting
nomad, to the man that abandoned us half way
through our adventure to get back to his wife and
kids was as much a part of our journey into the
Pamirs as the piercing peaks and celestial lakes
that flank this road-less-travelled.
The skill and endurance required to navigate
the Pamir highway, coupled with the complete
absence of public transport in the region means
that drivers are at a premium and travel is not
cheap. For a door to door jaunt from the back-
packer filled Osh Guesthouse, to the Pamir Lodge
in Khorog, you should first find three companions
The Spektator recommends: (shared jeeps seat four comfortably) and then
www.phiproject.free.fr (the site for the META budget for just over $200 per person for the six or
agency in Murgab, details of homestays, travel more days it may take to traverse the route. The
services, etc) www.pamirs.org (very useful in- good Sharshem was nothing if not on the take, and
formation on the region posted by Robert Mid- further into our journey we enjoyed the compan-
dleton) ionship of cheaper chauffeurs, but Sharshem, with
December/January 2008 The Spektator
his broad repertoire of the ridiculous, meant that
we got real value added from our investment.
Our trip had inauspicious beginnings. A Dutch
cyclist, the type that cycles from Amsterdam to
Beijing “in time to catch the Olympics” accompa-
nied us for the first leg to Sary Tash, a town not
far from Kyrgyzstan’s borders with China and
Tajikistan. Jan was much more likeable than his
state-of-the-art bicycle, a vicious monster which
bounced around on the back seat, pedals attack-
ing testicles, the weighty frame making alternate
assaults on myself and Rory as we rumbled along
this pothole-laden path to paradise. Its owner
apologized for its behaviour from the relative
comfort of the boot but we only received respite
when one of our back tyres burst in a mountain
hemmed, grassy plained wilderness, and we
ground to a halt somewhere between Osh and
the middle of nowhere.
The July sunshine had slowly warmed our bot-
tle of Davidoff Vodka and the stuff slipped down
all the easier for it. Sharshem checked on the spare
tyre, Jan agitated over his soon-to-expire visa and
Rory disappeared behind some shrubbery before
returning to say he’d ’rubbed himself on a rock’ as he
couldn’t find the toilet paper. I choked on a mouth-
ful of firewater processing the image. A tentative
freewheel and a stop at the world’s most fortui-
tously located mechanics for a jack saw us back on
track and before long we arrived in lofty Sary Tash.
Horse and traps and men in kalpaks were in abun-
dance, the air here much colder and thinner than it
had been just a few kilometres back. We wrestled
with the altitude and stared open mouthed at the
mist ringed Peak Lenin, its mass rising defiantly out
of the Pamir huddle in the distance. This was where
Jan mounted his bike and sodded off to China, and
the place where our journey began in earnest.
www.thespektator.com

‘A very (former) Soviet experience’
So it was that two Englishman, an American we’d
picked up (Ryan) and Sharshem baike rolled up to a
checkpoint roughly thirty kilometres from the Tajik
border. A long winded introduction to what became
a long winded joke as we wound up spending what
must have been more than three hours there with
an assortment of unusual characters .
There was Tobias, a tall blonde German decked
out in The North Face‘s latest. He was the direc-
tor of some well meaning social programme in
Tajikistan, but for now his Landrover was broken
down and he was bound for Osh to get it fixed.
He had some sort of relationship with a group of
truck-driving Tajiks who were also on their way
to Osh, trying to flog 80 euros worth of sheep’s
wool. The foreman of their crew was a man called
Formen, a joke that is possibly more humorous
at altitude. Finally there was Akim, an honoura-
ble Kyrgyz chap on business with the local NGO
META (a big noise in the Pamirs, check out their
homestays but avoid their steeply priced camel
treks), who completed the posse.
Everyone had a separate agenda but shared
an interest in unimpeded passage past the make-
shift wooden barrier that divided their group from
ours. The man-sized spanner in the works soon
emerged in the form of an exceedingly unobliging
checkpoint official. Holed up in a small wooden
cubicle, half cut, this renegade official negotiated
with Formen for some time through a slit smaller
than a letterbox before the latter returned from
the conference, shaking his head wearily.
“He wants 40% of the total value of the wool!”
he said, exasperated. “Its just not possible. Cor-
ruption in this country! He’s not really an official.
He’s just a drunk with a gun trying to take 40%!”
Not content with causing grief to just Formen
www.thespektator.com
and his dejected band of Tajik truckers, the offi-
cial in the box had closed traffic along the road in
both directions until matters had been resolved
to his liking.
Negotiations with the checkpoint official’s
wife proved even less fruitful. With a thick purple
cloth wrapped tightly around her face obfuscat-
ing all but her eyes, she was only marginally more
“Akim put his hand on his heart.
You just witnessed a very Soviet
experience, he explained apolo-
getically”
accessible than her hideaway husband. Formen
returned from the slit in the door for the second
time with further confirmation of the stalemate.
This was the state of play: our checkpoint man
was holding out for the 40% and had no dispo-
sition towards claustrophobia just as Formen the
foreman had no inclination to pay the trumped
up bribe. We went back to the jeep and used the
time that elapsed to get to know the baike a lit-
tle better. Sharshem was Farsi for Wednesday we
found out, the day on which he was born.
“Wednesday’s child is full of woe,” I teased,
quoting a corny English nursery rhyme.
“Jakshee!” he responded, unperturbed.
“You don’t seem so sad.” I said
“Men jakshee!” He responded, grinning ear to
ear. We discovered he had a wife and several chil-
dren, living in Osh. His oldest boy was ten. When
Sharshem found out that Rory spoke some Kyrgyz
and could play the Kyrgyz flute, he had cause to
Focus 17
say jakshee, meaning ‘good’ several more times.
Nevertheless we communicated mostly in Russian
which he spoke fluently, but with a grammatical
abandon to have Pushkin turning in his grave.
The temperature was dropping. We togged up
and resigned ourselves to a night in a jeep in the
foothills of the Pamirs, offering the checkpoint
man’s wife a seat (she still hadn’t been invited to
join her husband inside his cubicle), but she po-
litely refused our offer.
It must have been another hour before, with-
out prior warning, our captor got sociable and de-
cided to reveal his face. When he did, it was a face
worth waiting for. Full set of gold teeth, cheeks
made red by alcohol and mountain sunshine, an
oversized skull cap sliding down his sweaty fore-
head. And it was a face that Formen the Foreman
recognized only too well
“Telik?!” he cried in astonishment.
“Formen! Kak dela Tajik?” The checkpoint man
waddled across to embrace the man he’d been
holding hostage for the entire afternoon with
much gusto. Some vaguely decipherable and
mostly racist banter between the two men fol-
lowed as Akim looked to the heavens in disbe-
lief and Sharshem smiled at us Buddha-like, om-
niscient. We gradually came to terms with the
revelation that the best part of a day in our lives
had been taken up by Telik the checkpoint man’s
rather unfunny prank. The transformation from
aggressive recluse to star of the show was never-
theless complete, and having left his AK47 inside
as a gesture of goodwill, he went about shaking
hands and generally revelling in the fact that he’d
had us fooled all along.
Akim put his hand on his heart. “You just wit-
nessed a very Soviet experience” he explained
apologetically.
December/January2008 The Spektator
 18 Focus
Above Madiyan, with is rugged landscape and
gente stream
Far left The melancholy lake Kara-Kul
“Madiyan is a veritable utopia into
complete with yurts, hot springs took over two hundred photos with Rory’s camera.
and a gentle stream that runs That
through the valley”
Below Rory gets the shot, but the marmot will track into a frothing swamp, our hero steering furi-
never be the same again
December/January 2008 The Spektator
‘The Black Lake and Beyond’
There was still the small matter of packing eighty eu-
ro’s worth of wool into a Landrover and loading the
Landrover onto the back of Formen’s truck. Eighty
euros of wool is a lot more than you might imagine
and Formen was an unforgiving boss. For reasons
unknown to ourselves, Rory and I were assumed
the workgang, Formen barking orders at us
from atop the truck platform. Sharshem, amused,
it never occurred to us to tell Formen to bog
off and load the truck himself was more a measure
of the man’s aura than of our generosity. It proved a
thankless task, since Formen never thanked us be-
fore he drove tentatively into the horizon, and our
solitary reward for a gruelling checkpoint experi-
ence was a round of our own vodka with Telik.
“That’s a European measure!” He complained
when we poured him half a bowl’s worth. Telik the
checkpoint man - a top of the range jackass.
Traversing the Kyzl-Art pass (Kyzyl meaning red in
Kyrgyz) can be pretty treacherous under the wrong
conditions, and heavy rain had turned the soft, clay
ously through it as he persevered to get us to lake
Kara-Kul before nightfall. It didn’t help matters that
we’d picked up another passenger-an Austrian PhD
student conducting research through Tobias’ well
meaning social foundation - as a by product of the
German’s land rover breaking down. Her research
was her only topic of conversation. That, and the lo-
cation of the Chinese border which she explained
to us incorrectly three times before Sharshem, who
made this journey at least once a week, eventu-
ally pointed it out to her. Many times more attrac-
tive than Jan’s bike but just as painful to be in a car
with, she was henceforth referred to by Sharshem
as the plachaya dyevooshka (bad girl) and he called
her that so many times I’ve forgotten what her real
name actually was. When we finally reached Karakul
after a tiresome entry into Tajikistan, her boyfriend
thanked us for helping out and ensuring she didn’t
spend a night on the steppe. Sensing an oppor-
tunity for extortion, we strongly advised him that
he should give us his best bottle of Vodka for the
inconvenience. He reluctantly agreed. It was awk-
ward, but necessary, since we were running out.
Anybody heading into the Pamirs should spend
a night in at Karakul lake (elevation 3914m). The
imaginatively named village on the shores of lake
Kara-Kul is positively gothic. The lake itself is an awe-
some sight; an eerily still body of water encircled by
snow capped mountains and reeking of something
unwholesome. At dawn, the silence of the place is
punctured by braying donkeys, barking dogs and
the cries of goats being milked by veiled women.
Rusty electricity pylons rising out of every residence
give the houses the appearance of beached boats
and further add to the spook. After scaring myself
witless with thoughts of Edgar Allan Poe’s Descent
into the Maelstrom I aborted my mission to watch
the sun rise, doubtful that it ever would, and leg-
ged it back to my homestay. There are two home-
stays in Kara-kul and I can thoroughly recommend
that of Saodat Kasymbekova. I think 300 soms each
covered an evening meal (plov), a roll out mattress
to sleep on and breakfast the following day. There’s
also a television and a karaoke machine which
seemed particularly surreal given the setting.
Marmots, Murgab and Marco Polo
An early morning encounter with Karakul Lake
(or Dragon Lake as one ancient Chinese pilgrim
called it) can break the spirit of the heartiest travel-
ler. I therefore began the new day by draining the
remainder of the vodka we’d received from plach-
aya dyevooshka’s boyfriend, earning the contempt
of Rory and Ryan when I accidentally dropped the
last roll of toilet paper down the cess pit at Saodat’s
place. It would not be until arrival in Murgab, the
administrative centre of the Pamirs, that we’d be
able to replenish either.
The journey there was long and mournful as
a result of Sharshem’s announcement that he
wouldn’t be driving us any further. His presence
had become synonymous with this very Kyr-
gyz section of the highway and life without him
seemed unfathomable. Nevertheless he managed
to put smiles on our faces when Ryan made an in-
nocuous remark that he’d love to get a photo of
a marmot, completely ubiquitous in the mountain
scrub landscape of the Pamirs but a rarity to our
Western eyes. Two kilometres further down the
track and we were hot on the orange tail of one
www.thespektator.com

of the planet’s better looking rodents as it scaled
the adjacent hillside. When we were within reach,
Sharshem pulled to a screeching stop and leapt out
of the car, swooped for the nearest stone and start-
ed hurling missiles at the frightened creature. Rory
and I joined in much more gingerly as Ryan posi-
tioned himself, waiting for the perfect shot. At one
point in the chase, the marmot appeared to have
reached safety, and even paused to cast a glance
down at its nemesis, a wiry Kyrgyz in a waistcoat
eyeballing it from the road below. This proved to be
its undoing as Sharshem threw one last time with
all the strength of a steroid injected shot-putter,
dislodging a series of small rocks above where the
marmot was catching its breath, and sending his
prey tumbling back down the hill to avoid the small
avalanche behind. Taking refuge in a tunnel under-
neath the road, the marmot found itself trapped by
Ryan and his camera at one end and the rock wield-
ing Sharshem at the other. The next ten minutes
revealed our usually relaxed driver at his most ruth-
less, bombarding the animal with relentless inten-
sity until he escaped out of the opposite end of the
tunnel and we got our photo.
The ethereal Murgab could have been plucked
right out of Return of the Jedi. It is in one of the
most arid sections of the range and its predomi-
nantly Kyrgyz inhabitants have become habituat-
ed to frequent dust and sandstorms. We ate manti
there in a saloon-style cafe with swinging doors
and booths closed off by plastic curtains. There
didn’t seem to be many alternatives. Murgab is a
necessary visit for any Pamir highway traveller (here
you must register your passport complete with
Tajik visa and GBAO permit), but even if it wasn’t it
would be worth it for the novelty of seeing a bright
white statue of Lenin standing aloof in the centre
of a town he almost certainly never knew existed.
Registration is simple if you know Sharshem baike
(Sharshem baike knows the governess of Murgab)
but apparently a tad tedious otherwise. The Acted/
META operation has its headquarters here and they
should be happy to help.
I managed to find vodka and toilet roll on the
main high street, but everything else would have to
wait until distant Khorog. The impoverished provin-
cial capital certainly lacked for something and even
www.thespektator.com
Focus 19
the relatively privileged governess’s son couldn’t bike, the plachaya dyevooshka and the frightened
wait to be wait to be shot of the place. Marmot. They seemed so far behind us here. Rory
“I want to be a chauffeur” he said, pointing at the played the same two traditional Kyrgyz songs on
steering wheel of our jeep, “and live in Minneapolis, the chopachor that he’d played twenty times a
USA. Did I pronounce that right?” day for the previous fortnight, except this time to
There are some places along the Pamir High- disbelieving applause and appreciation from our
way that will give you the feeling of wanting to hosts. We took a much needed wash in the bath-
stay forever. While Murgab probably won’t be house next to our yurt and ate more endangered
one of them, Madiyan 35 km further down the sheep as Sharshem Baike threatened to de-beard
line certainly will be. Madiyan is a veritable uto- an Israeli traveller with an extremely sharp knife.
pia complete with yurts, hot springs and a gentle But perfection can’t last forever. A lazy morning
stream that runs through the valley. Over bowls of later we had a new driver, a new passenger and
besh barmak derived from the endangered ‘Mar- fresh hangovers. Such are the peaks and troughs
co Polo’ sheep, we reminisced about Jan and his on a journey through the Pamirs.
ar
ya
Zhambyl
Bishkek
Shymkent
Chirchiq
KYRGYZSTAN
Tashkent
Angren Namangan
Qukon Osh
Farghona
Sary-Tash
amarqand Kashi
Lake Karakol
TAJIKISTAN
hi Dushanbe Murghab
Khorog
200km
-
Qonduz
December/January2008 The Spektator
 20 Focus
Right A vendor sells his wares in the Chinese
zone of Dordoi Bazaar.
Far Right Porters hauling goods from a ware-
house/delivery area to the retail section. Porters
usually make about 400-600 som a day (12-18
dollars) working a 12 hour day hauling very
heavy goods. On a very good of very hard work
as much as 1000 som can be made ($30).

Tour
de
Dordoi ISAAC ROTHSCHILD

T
Isaac Rothschild visits Kyrgyzstan’s great- HERE IS A SMALL BAZAAR opposite and bazaar-veterans, Urusbek and Asambek, and
est marketplace, investigates the cultural where I am living in which I enjoy whil- together we set off to investigate Dordoi Bazaar,
ing away my time bargaining over dairy 15 km to the north of Bishkek, and one of Asia’s
life that surrounds it, and listens to some
products and sausages. I like bazaars, I greatest public market places.
personal tales of life in the bazaar. like the hustle and bustle, and the wide
array of rough and ready characters who shout and Arrival
spit and haggle their way through the day as they We arrive, stumbling out of a marshrutka and onto
make their living amongst the stalls of raw meat the dusty fringes of the market itself. The first thing I
and mobile phones. My landlord, however, claims notice upon our arrival is the mosque (set just outside
that places like this will soon be gone – overrun by the bazaar entrance) . Imams, no doubt influenced
supermarkets. When I ask why, he explains simply, by their proximity to such unabashed entrepreneur-
“Because that’s capitalism.” He has a point. Though ship next door, are getting in on the act too, selling
the pressure for change comes more from the state religious texts, Islamic trinkets, and symbols of Is-
than any natural born love of lamic faith. Though
the free market. “I do not want to say bad things the mosque is only
Modern state leaders from about three years
Ata-Turk and the late Shah
about my village… but it is dirty old they are already
of Iran, to contemporaries in and dusty and full of garbage” planning on adding
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan another storey as
have viewed the humble ba- soon as next year.
zaar as an anachronism. These “uncivilized, un- They must be doing a roaring trade.
sanitary” representations of pre-modernity must Dordoi bazaar itself is moving on up too. Only
be overcome if a nation is to achieve dignity and five years ago the bazaar had almost nothing in the
autonomy on the world stage - or so they would way of permanent structures. Tents to shelter the
have you think. merchants and customers were set up each morn-
In actuality, one would be hard pressed to find ing and taken down each night. Now, things are
a more robust example of capitalism in action growing and improving fast. Wide metal avenues
anywhere in the world. Bazaars offer conditions of shipping containers have appeared, serving as a
of near perfect competition. Sellers of the same permanent skeletal structure. These old metal crates
products are situated directly beside one another. that once sailed the high seas are now improvised
The buyer and seller can come to a price which is market stalls, resolutely stuck to terra-firma, stacked
suitable considering the quantity and regularity of two-high and forlornly distant from the oceans
purchase. One can understand the governments they’ll never see again.
uneasy relationships with bazaars however when “The whole market is divided into six zones – each
one considers that levying taxes reliably on goods owned by a different business man,” Ursubek tells
which change in value with each transaction is a me. “They are all very, very rich men.” he adds. Each
difficult task. of these zones tends to specialize in a certain range
Every neighbourhood in Bishkek hosts a mini- of goods or a particular source country. For example,
bazaar of some kind and despite my landlord’s there is a Chinese section and a European section.
dire words about the threat posed by supermar- The Chinese section sells cheaply made, extremely
kets, trading does not seem to be diminishing. affordable goods. The European section sells mostly
These local bazaars, however, are small fry. I want- upper-end clothing. These sections are further sub-
ed to experience the real thing, the Mother of all divided. One area is called Mir Zapat (Shoe World).
Bazaars. Therefore one afternoon in late October I Shoe World, and a veritable world of shoes it is too,
enlisted the help of a couple of guides, my friends stretches across five or six rows of cargo contain-
December/January 2008 The Spektator www.thespektator.com
 Focus 21

ers, each row at least 100 meters long. There are bazaar on trolleys. The work was hard and the ing the workers’ salaries. After that there was noth-
shoes from Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Rus- pay, considering the difficulty of the work, was ing to sustain his family in Issyk-Kul.
sia, China, Vietnam and Indonesia. Such diverse meagre. “We ended up here.” Asambek says. “I have only
provenance is hardly surprising any more in today’s been living in Bishkek for about seven years - in a
globalized economy, but consider that Kyrgyzstan Asambek’s bazaar tale village called Ak-Bata near the bazaar. I like it there
lies more than a thousand miles from the nearest Asambek, too, is no stranger to a tough day’s and I do not want to say bad things about my vil-
deep sea port, and the presence of such a boutique work at the bazaar. Over a lemonade and a ciga- lage… but it is dirty and dusty and full of garbage.
of footwear is impressive. rette, he tells me something of his early life and of Still, these days, it feels like my true home.”
As we stroll around, we spot a number of mil- his own experiences working at the bazaar. “Fortunately, when we first arrived, my aunt
itsianeri (police officers). Unprompted, Urusbek Born in a small village on the south shore of Is- was already earning a living vending cigarettes
complains that he despises the militsia. “They are syk-Kul, his mother and father worked on a kolkhoz, and lemonade here at Dordoi Bazaar. Getting
not good guys. All they do is try to intimidate you or collective farm. His father managed the herds started was simple enough, all one had to do was
for money. And they leave all the thieves alone of cattle and sheep and his mother worked in the buy some cigarettes and lemonade in bulk and
because they take money from them.” The milit- fields. During the late 1990s the government was walk around the bazaar with a tray. Entry into this
sia are hired by the bazaar owners. One distinc- in the final stages of ending state-ownership of line of work was so simple that quite quickly there
tion that I do not completely understand is be- the agricultural and manufacturing sectors. The were too many cigarette and lemonade vendors.
tween the militsia, who Urusbek derides, and the government sold the livestock and stopped pay- Profits dried up.”
private security guards that supervise particular
entryways or buildings and patrol the bazaar at
night. These guys Urusbek viewed as honest, “All
they do is guard.”
After about two minutes Urusbek tells me to be
careful because we are being followed by someone
he knows to be a pickpocket. As I turn around to
catch sight of this child of Fagin he drops back and
disappears into the crowd. The thieves are mostly
pickpockets. The ones that Urusbek knows about
are all between the ages of eleven and twenty.
They are expert at their trade. Due to the accu-
mulating complaints from customers about pick-
pockets, the militsia conduct sporadic attempts to
round them up and detain them for a little while.
“It’s just a half-hearted attempt to intimidate the
youngsters.,” Urusbek says. “After all, it happens
only once or twice or year and each operation
only lasts a single day. The officers can do it so
quickly because they already know who to detain
and where to find them!”
Since I was last at Dordoi in 2006 child labor
has been prohibited at the bazaar. The prohibi-
tion is sadly not stringently enforced, although
we didn’t see any kids working as porters. Urus-
bek tells me that before, many teenagers, himself
included, did portering work. They either loaded
and unloaded trucks or moved goods around the
www.thespektator.com December/January2008 The Spektator
 22 Focus
Right At the end of the day older women and
children collect trash, sort it and haul it to a lo-
cation just aside from the retail portion of the
bazaar where they sell it. Plastic earns 1.5 som/
kilo (about 2 cents/lb) whereas cardboard gets
3 som/kilo (nearly 5 cents/kilo). Many of the
women are also hired to sweep and generally
clean the walkways.
Below Stock is taken from the storage contain-
er above, to be sold in the store underneath.
Asambek tells me that it was around this time
that his father died, devastating the family not only
emotionally but financially as well. Asambek as well
as his two older brothers and older sister had to
drop out of school and begin working just so the
family could make ends meet. His brothers were
old enough to look for work on construction sites
abroad, which they did. They worked in cities in Si-
beria – a land relatively flush with cash from rising
oil prices. His sister and mother went to work for his
aunt who had astutely moved out of the vending
business and into the lemonade making business.
Urusbek, took up what work he could. “A couple of
neighbourhood boys and I used to scour the bazaar
for discarded cups and bags. We sold them to the
mother of a friend of mine. She washed the cups
and sorted the bags for resale. The cups were sold
to the lemonade or tea vendors and the bags back
to the merchants. We could make about fifty som a
day (a little less than $US 1.50) doing this. “
This state of affairs continued for 3-4 years, he
says, but about two years ago he graduated to a
job loading and unloading cargo trucks. Work that
offered much better pay but much more strenu-
ous working conditions. “The working day typically
started at 07:00 and lasted until sometime between
17:00 and 19:00. The amount of work ebbed and
flowed along with the wholesale trade at the bazaar
but most weeks we had to be there at least six days.
These regular workdays earned each porter about
200 som ($US 5). In addition, however, once or twice
each week we were required to work through the
night, that is from 07:00 one day until 07:00 the next.
That is really, very hard,” his eyes and the weighty
pause underscored the point. The 24 hour shifts
paid 400-500 som. Other days the “night bazaar” de-
manded their presence. The night bazaar, apparently
(Asambek was unsure) is when Kazakh traders come
to Kyrgyzstan to buy wholesale goods. “Waking up
to work at 2 or 3am is no simple task, and last win-
December/January 2008 The Spektator
ters temperatures of -15 to -30’С weren’t much of
an encouragement. But the bazaar cannot cease to
function because of a cold snap, of course!”
These days Asambek has broken away from Dor-
doi bazaar. He is now studying and hopes one day
to work in the tourism industry. I ask him if he looks
fondly upon the bazaar that seems to have exacted
such a hold on him throughout much of his youth:
“I don’t mind visiting from time to time,” he says, “but
I don’t get nostalgic about the days I spent working
here. It was a tiring way of making a living.”
Shutting up shop
Towards the end of the day things at Dordoi be-
gin to slow down. Closing time does not occur in a
single moment; rather the further removed shops
tend to close first, and, as the crowds in the bazaar’s
far reaches begin to diminish, neighboring store
owners are enticed to follow-suit and close up for
the night. The process rolls from the margins to the
center like a slowly collapsing house of cards until
the lights are extinguished and the traders have
gone home.
As the corridors empty, a great deal of discarded
plastic and cardboard is left behind. At this point,
one of the few instances of non-glass recycling I
have witnessed in Kyrgyzstan occurs. Old ladies and
young kids collect plastic bags and cups as well as
cardboard and sell it to processors. A kilo of plastic
pays 1.5 som (that’s about $US .05/lb), cardboard is
worth double. The cardboard is also harder to pack-
age and carry to the recycling center. Many of the
women also are hired by the bazaar to clean up be-
fore opening the next morning. Whatever doesn’t
get harvested for reprocessing is swept up and
thrown away.
Getting there: A taxi to Dordoi should cost about 120-150 som,
alternatively you can take one of the private mini buses that
wait on the north-east side of the Sovietskaya/Chui intersec-
tion
www.thespektator.com
 THE GUIDE Bishkek life
Bars and
restaurants
New York Pizza (177, Kievskaya)
Decorated with pictures of the Big Apple and serv-
ing a fine selection of steaks and other American-
themed dishes, NYP is sure to get New Yorkers
German
Steinbrau* (5, Gerzena)
Don your beer drinking trousers and head down
thinking of home. Also serves what many believe to Bishkek’s take on a Bavarian-style beer hall.
to be the best pizza in town. $$$ They brew their own stuff - such a relief from the
There’s a fine line between ‘bar’ and ‘restaurant’ in
insipid bilge that’s normally sold as lager. Compli-
Bishkek. Places more suitable for drinking sessions Armenian ment your pint with a plate of German sausage
are marked with a star* Landau (Manas/Gorky) with sauerkraut. $$$
Fancy something a little different? If you can tol-
erate the arthritic service, Landau isn’t a bad spot International
Price Guide (main course, garnish & drink) for a pork steak or some other Armenian culinary
$ - Expect change from 150 som goodies. Also, treat yourself to some decent Arme- No. 1* (Gorky/Sovietskaya)
$$ - A little over 200 should do the trick nian conjac whilst your here, you’ll never go near A Beatles themed bar to make Bishkek scousers feel
$$$ - Expect to pay in the region of 350 Bishkek conjac again. Ever. $$$ at home. Huge screen outside for sporting events.
$$$$ - A crisp 500 (or more) needed in this joint Shashlyk and cool beer. $$
Chinese
Ak-Bata (108, Ibraimova) 2x2* (Isanova/Chui)
This place must serve up pretty authentic dishes Trendy drinking hole with a circular bar and friend-
as it’s always full of Chinese playing mah-jong and ly staff. A good place for knocking back a few pre-
American waving their chopsticks about. Smoky and stuffy, nightclub cocktails. Slouch into one of the comfy
but in a nice way. $ lounge seats and try to look cool. $$$
Cowboy* (Toktogul/Orozbekova)
Bishkek’s all-American restaurant-cum-dance club Chuchuara Hoga (117, Chui) Avant Gard (127, Sovietskaya)
has now gone a little more up-market, but wild With this Chinese restaurant, a little out of the way We’re not so sure what’s so avant-garde about
nights are still to be had. Dig in to a kilo of chicken and rarely visited by tourists, you really feel you Avant-Gard. They put candles on the tables in the
wings and then hit the dance floor. $$$ are getting the real deal. Request a хого (your own evenings, but there is a distinct lack of Parisian
personal Chinese boiling-pot) and randomly select Bohemians. Still, the food is fine and the relaxed
Hollywood* (Druzhba/Sovietskaya) a variety of unusual chinese delicacies to throw in.
As you would probably guess, decorated with ambience means AG is a good place for a conver-
Beware, the ‘spicy’ sauce, although delicious, may sation, or a debate on existentialism. $$
movie posters, photos of cinema icons and a leave delicate stomachs in some distress several
bunch of American kitsch. Hollywood is popular hours later - consider the ‘not-spicy’ sauce as a Boulevard (Erkindik/Kievskaya)
with a younger crowd and is usually packed from suitable alternative $$ A small stylish restaurant, offering a refined atmo-
mid-evening onwards. A fun place for a few drinks sphere, delicious cakes and wi-fi internet. By Bishkek
Peking Duck I & II
before heading off to the clubs. $$ standards, the service is usually excellent. $$$$
(Soviet/Druzhba & Chui/Tog. Mol.)
Metro* (133, Chui) Huge portions to feed even the biggest of glut- Captain Nemo’s (14, Togolok Moldo)
In the impressive location of a former theatre, Met- tons and an English language menu that provides Small nautically themed restaurant with a selection
ro remains the première drinking hole for ex-pats. plenty of amusing translations. Dancing occasion- of evocatively named dishes including ‘Fish from the
A high ceiling, a long bar and friendly staff compli- ally kicks off on more raucous evenings. $$ ship’s boy’ and ‘Tongue from the boatswain’s wife’.
ment a good Tex-Mex menu and a wide selection Cosy wooden interior and porthole style windows
of drinks. Metro is one of the best bets for catch-
Dungan create a hybrid underwater log cabin experience.
ing sporting events on TV, although thanks to the Luk-Fu (Orozbekova/Kievskaya) Spirits, cocktails and a good business lunch. $$$
hideously late kickoff times for Champions League In many Bishkek joints the lepyoshka is stale and the
football matches, don’t count on the staff waiting service makes you look for candid cameras. At Luk- Coffee House (9, Manas)
up unless it’s a big one. $$$ Fu, despite its stolovaya atmosphere, not so. Add to Treat yourself to some of the finest coffee and
that generous portions and cheap prices and the cakes Bishkek has to offer at the imaginatively
Answers to this month’s crossword named ‘Coffee House’, a cosy boutique café with a
place is a pearl. One of few establishments offering
J O I N S C R I B B L E satisfying vegetarian meals. $ European flavour. Curl up and read a book, or just
drop in for a caffeine hit and a chocolate fix. $$$
A D I C R V Hui Min (Ibraimova/Frunze - next to Esperanza Casino)
C H O P D R A I N A G E Don’t be put off by the slightly decrepit feel to this Concord (Alatoo Square)
place, they serve up some damn fine Dungan eat-
K L G C N Y N ing. Try the gan-fan (meat, peppers, spices, rice),
Waiting staff dressed as airline stewards and an in-
terior featuring some aeronautical paraphernalia
B E A C H B U G G Y its big enough to keep you going all day and you’ll attempt to lend a little glamour to this small diner
O T O S S C K get change from a ton. Also, ask for the special just off Ala-too Square. Good, cheap food and fur-
Dungan tea, it’s rather good. $
O N R U S H D U B L I N ther deals for lunch during midweek make this a
popular spot during the daytime. $$
T Y T E G O E Georgian
S T A N D A S I D E Mimino (27, Kievskaya) Cosmo Bar* (Sovietska/Toktogul)
O D R C R S J Re-opening soon we’re told, Mimino is nice, cosy and Board the sweet smelling elevator, ascend to the
serves up bowl-fulls of steaming, hearty Georgian fare top-floor Cosmo Bar and splash the cash with your
P E E K A B O O S T Y E with pomegranate seeds a-plenty. We recommend fellow free-spending cosmonauts. Elegant interi-
A R I R E R the Georgian cheese bread and anything that’s served or, plush sofas, fancy drinks and pretty waitresses.
L A V E N D E R T R E K in a pot. Watch out for Uncle Joe at the door. $$$ Huzzah! $$$$

www.thespektator.com December/January2008 The Spektator

 24 Bars, Restaurants & Clubs
Doka Pizza* (97, Akhunbaeva)
The ever-popular Doka Pizza, open non-stop, pro-
vides decent live music on most nights and a wid-
eranging menu. There’s a large eating area outside
that’s open in the summer with a garden, stage
and kids play area. Both Doka restaurants do a
good ‘beeznes lanch’ before 4pm. $$$
Doka Pizza* (153, Kievskaya)
More sexed up than its Akhunbaeva sister bar,
there’s a strip bar downstairs, Doka Kievskaya is
often a post-party chillout venue for Bishkek’s
young, rich kids. Enjoy the good food, the lively
vibe, and the coquettish waitresses – just don’t
break your beer glass, there’s a stiff fine. Also
non-stop. $$$
Fatboy’s* (Chui/Tynastanova)
Civilised, friendly cafe bang in the middle of town place for a light, healthy lunch when fat and grease time dining. $$
and a popular ex-pat meeting point. Sensible spot are getting you down. $$$
for conversation, but if you’re alone there’s a mini-
library to peruse (although literary classics are thin
on the ground). Check out the American pancakes
for breakfast, top marks. $$$
Four Seasons (116a, Tynystanova)
One of the poshest places to eat out in Bishkek.
Elegant, yet modern interior and polite service.
Great place to splash out on a special occasion or
just for the hell of it. $$$$
Live Bar* (Kulatova/Pravda - near Ibiza club )
24 hour sports bar with live music at weekends.
Plenty of leather couches provide the ideal place
to sip cocktails whilst watching the Champions
league at 3 in the morning. $$
Jam* (179, Toktogula)
An underground oasis of cool. Jam is a cafe with a
full menu and a lounge bar atmosphere, open till
3am . $$$$
MK International offers:
• American Courses--English Language Courses
• Work & Travel Programs
• Work & Study Programs
• English Language Courses in the US, UK and Europe
• Au-pair Programs
• Preparation for any kind of programs
E-mail: americancourses@yahoo.com
Office Tel: 61-41-96
Spektator
THE
Find the best bars in town with the Spektator and thespektator.com
December/January 2008 The Spektator
Lounge Bar* (338a, Frunze) Italian
One of our favourite places to drink in the Sum-
mertime, when we can afford it. Outdoor balcony- Adriatico (219, Chui)
cum-terrace high above the street with slouch- Classy restaurant with it’s own Italian chef. Great
couches and fine veiws of the circus - which you pizza, improved service, and a fine selection of
can sometimes smell in the summer. Nice. $$$ pasta dishes. $$$
Meri (33, Gorkova) Cyclone (136, Chui)
In the summer months, Meri has one of the prettiest Smart Italian restaurant with plush interior, effi-
dining areas in Bishkek. International cuisine served 24 cient, polite serving staff and a warm atmosphere
hours a day, more lively nights see jiving on the dance to alleviate Bishkek’s winter chills. Pasta dishes
floor to all your favourite Kyrgyz pop tunes. $$$ stand out among a menu of traditional Italian fa-
vourites. $$$
Navigator (103, Moskovskaya)
A pricey, but pleasant place to while away an af- Dolce Vita (116a, Akhunbaeva)
ternoon. Sit in the bar area over a beer or lounge Cosy Italian restaurant with smiling waitresses
in the airy non-smoking conservatory. Attentive serving excellent pizza. Also serves salads and Eu-
service and a refreshing selection of salads, a good ropean cuisine. Small terrace outside for summer-
Japanese
Advertise with Aoyama (93, Toktogula)
Elegant sushi joint frequented by serious looking
suited-types concluding their latest dodgy deals.
The Spektator The food’s excellent though - if you can scrape to-
gether enough soms. $$$$
Watari (Shevchenko, Frunze)
(or just give us money) A small Japanese-owned restaurant that serves su-
shi as well as dishes with a more indian flavour. The
refined atmosphere makes it ideal for a business
Small ads from 25USD meeting or just a sophisticated night out $$$
Contact: tom_wellings@live.co.uk Korean
Petel (52, Zhykeeva Pudovkin)
Operating in the back room of a Korean family’s
Pit Stop (Toktogul/Orozbekova) house, this is Korean style home-cooking at its most
Open 24-hours. Stands out for its rather expensive personal. Closed on Sunday. Ring: 0543 922539 $$
drinks, its big Michael Shumacher poster and the
home-made formula 1 decorations. Classy. $$$
Santa Maria (217, Chui)
Plush Korean restaurant offering Eastern favou-
Stary Edgar’s* (15, Panfilova) rites, including exciting Korean barbecues where
The concrete monstrosity of the Russian Theatre con- you get to cook your own dinner, plus an extensive
ceals one of Bishkek’s finest attempts at a cosy base- European menu. $$$
ment bar. Friendly staff, a decent menu and a collection
of old bits and bobs decorating the walls make Edgar’s Lebanese
an attractive alternative to the city’s mainstream cafés.
A blues band plays most nights and a pianist adds a Beirut (Shevchenko/Frunze)
romantic ambience on some Sunday evenings. $$$ Now in a new location, Beirut continues to serve
U Mazaya (Behind ‘Zaks’ on Sovietskaya) enticing Lebanese goodies including falaffle, hu-
Possibly Central Asia’s only rabbit themed restau- mus, and tasty little meat pie things. $$$
rant. Descend into this underground warren and
tuck in. Also check out the fairy-light adorned Regional/Central Asian
flagship sister-rabbit-restaurant in Asenbai micro
region. $$$ Arabica* (Sovietskaya/Kulatova)
Veranda (Gorky/Soviet. Vefa Centre roof ) Descend the steps into an aromatic cloud of hooka
Wow, what a view. Eat rather decent international smoke. The music’s normally reasonably decent
cuisine whilst taking in a superb view of the moun- chilled out sort of stuff, the food’s good, and the
tains from the 4th floor terrace above the Vefa centre. waitresses smile. At me anyway. $$$
Now under the protection of a retractable winter-
proof roof. $$$$
.com
www.thespektator.com

Arzu-II* (Sovietskaya/Lev Tolstoy bridge)
Twenty-four hour joint that’s a godsend for those
who get cravings for lagman or manty at four in
the morning. Sometimes smoking isn’t allowed,
sometimes it is, however the food and prices are
constantly pretty good. Comfy booth style seats
to dig yourself into after a heavy night. $$
Arzu-I (Togolok Moldo, next to the stadium)
Offers a hearty selection of Kyrgyz and European
dishes and a homely atmosphere. It’s probably a
little too chilly for al fresco dining these days, but
there’s also a great outdoor terrace. $$
Jalalabad (Togolok Moldo/Kievskaya)
Basically the cheapest food (that won’t give you gut
rot) in the centre of town. While it should stand out
for its fresh lagman, Jalalabad is sometimes over-
looked. Probably at its best in summer, when the
shashlyk masters flanking the entrance offer their
creations straight to guests sitting at Eastern-style
tables – cross your legs and see how long you can
last before cramp sets in. $
Jetigen (Gorky/Logvinenko)
A new place offering European cuisine as well as
the usual local specials. Stands out for it’s deli-
cious lagman, fresh lepyoshka bread, and attentive
service. $
Smile (Chui/Sovietskaya)
Despite the name, you’ll be lucky to see one on the
waitresses face. Nevertheless, if it’s decent cheap
food you’re after, this isn’t a bad place to look. The
eggs are just as good as those at Fatboys next door,
and half the price. Think about it. $
Russian/Ukrainian
Pirogoff-Vodkin (Kievskaya/Togolok Moldo)
Classy restaurant with a turn of the 20th century
atmosphere serving Russian specialities. $$$
Taras Bulba (Pr. Mira/Jibek Jolu)
We haven’t had time to check this Ukrainian place
out yet - although the word is that it’s well worth
stopping by for a borsht po-ukrainski.
Zaporyzhia (9, Prospect Mira)
Recently opened, Zaporyzhia is a cossack fla- tatty jeans and a t-shirt and you may feel a little out
voured restauraunt in a varnish-scented log cab- of place; then again, you may not give a shit. Tables
in. Hearty rustic dishes and a homely atmosphere. by the dancefloor cost 1000 som but include drinks
Recommended! $$$
Jetigen
We invite you to try our homemade
Kyrgyz specials in our newly opened
family restaurant
Local specials to eat in or take away
for less than 100som!
Gorky st. / Panfilova st.
www.thespektator.com
Bars, Restaurants & Clubs 25
Turkish Arbat (9, Karl Marks)
Tel. 512094; 512087
Carlson (166, Sovietskaya) Smart ‘elite’ club popular with a slightly older
Great outdoor eating area. We recommend the crowd. Strip bar and restaurant in same building.
tavuk sote (chicken, peppers, tomatoes) and a big (Entrance charge 200/350 som midweek, 350/450
lavash bread - a good feed. A good outdoor ter- som Fri/Sat. Strip bar 700 som)
race, but be prepared to be serenaded by god-aw-
ful Karaoke style crooners. $$ City Club (85/1, Zhukeyeva-Pudovkina)
Tel. 511513; 510581
Ibrahim (Gorkova/Oshskaya) So exclusive it makes the Spektator crowd feel like
Several dining rooms including private booths and cheap scum bags, City Club is one of the posh-
a covered outdoor terrace with an extravagant wa- est clubs in town. Get past the ‘face control’ (ugly
terfall fountain to help you keep cool while tucking people beware) and spend your evening with
into your kebabs in the summer. $$ gangster types, lecherous diplomats, Kazakh busi-
nessmen and a posse of young rich kids who all
Istanbul (48, Chui) seem to have studied in London. (Entrance charge:
Discretely tucked away on Chui Prospekt, Istanbul girls 200/boys 300, Fri/Sat girls 300/boys 500
is a low key cafe offering tasty Turkish cuisine. Puff
away on a hookah pipe or slurp lentil soup to your Golden Bull (Chui/Togolok Moldo)
heart’s content, all at a nice price. $$ Tel. 620131
A Bishkek institution. Full of ex-pats and tourists
Konak (Sovietskaya/Gorkova) literally every night of the week. Long bar, friendly
This Turkish joint used to be ‘Restaurant Camelot’ staff, cheapish beer, everyone’s happy. (Entrance
hence the incongruous suits of armour in the back charge [girls/boys] free/400 midweek, 150/400 Fri/
room, and the rather crappy castle facade. However, Sat. ‘Foreigners’ free.)
the food is often great, the salads are large and fresh,
and the staff are always pleasant. Recommended! $$ Ibiza (9, Kulatova)
A cavernous space with a large dance floor. Danc-
Night ers suspended on platforms 15 feet above the
floor, strobe lighting, smoke machines and bang-
Clubs ing dance tunes. Bishkek’s (half-arsed) attempt
to create a little bit of the party island. Efforts to
negotiate a cheaper entrance fee are futile. (En-
There are some Bishkek old-hands who say that trance charge 350-400 som)
things aren’t what they used to be when it comes
to nightlife in Bishkek. They talk of legendary nights Retro Metro (24, Mira)
of carnage, vomit, and debauchery - delights that www.retrometro.kg
contemporary Bishkek struggles to offer. Bright, happy, 80’s kitsch bar, the DJ spins his rec-
Not so, we say. Take your pick from the list below ords from inside the front of a VW camper van. One
and we’re sure there’s still enough carnage, vomit of the most popular places for post-2am partying.
and debauchery in town to keep everyone happy. (Entrance charge: 200/300 som midweek, 350/450
som Fri/Sat. Reservation price 200 som)
Diskoklubs
Live Music
Heaven (Frunze/Pravda - in the Hotel Dostuk)
As Heaven is found inside a hotel it is suprisingly Promzona (16, Cholpon-Atinskaya)
unseedy. In fact it stands out for being a bastion www.promzona.kg
of the well-dressed (if one is generous). Turn up in Promzona’s far-flung location sadly means a taxi
ride or a long walk home are in order at the end
of a night. Nevertheless, this trendy live music
venue has a lot going for it: good bands, an exten-
up to this value. (Entrance charge 200-300 som) sive menu, and a hip industrial interior featuring,
strangely, a wind tunnel fan, make this one of the
Pharaoh 1 (East side of the Philharmonic)
People tell us this place is well worth a dance and a
screwdriver - but the Spektator can’t vouch for this
best nights out in Bishkek. Tuesday is Jazz night.
Rock or blues bands normally play at the week-
ends. (Music charge 200-350 som)
as is currently on medication, can’t drink alcohol and
hasn’t been out much lately. (Entrance charge ?) Tequila Blues (Turesbekova/Engels)
Recently re-opened! A possible misnomer, the te-
Infinity (Micro region 7) quila is just fine, but the blues is pretty much non-ex-
Yet to be investigated. Ask a taxi driver to take you istent. Young Russian studenty types mosh away the
to ‘Infinity’ (and beyond) in the 7th micro region. nights to rock bands in an atmospheric underground
It’s located way out near the hotel Jannat. Any re- bunker. Weekends are not for the fainthearted, or the
ports would be welcome! (Entrance charge ?) claustrophobic. (Entrance charge 100-150 som)
Apple (28, Manas) Zeppelin (43, Chui)
Fat, old, lecherous foreigners not welcome, this Zeppelin is in the same vein as Tequila Blues but
place is for a younger cooler crowd. Multiple bars,
not quite so spit and sawdust. On the nights we’ve
large dance floor, friendly atmosphere. Thursday visited, there’s been a line up of young rock or punk
usually a big night. (Entrance charge 100-300 som)bands strutting their stuff, heavier beats seem to
go down best with the young Russian crowd. Full
Mojito (Micro region 12)
restaurant menu.
Another place to be checked out. Do they actually
(Entrance charge 100-150 som)
serve mojitos? Possibly. Is it a Hemingwayesque
club reminiscent of 1950s Havana? Probably not.. Live music also common at Doka Pizza Akhun-
(Entrance charge 100-300 som) bayeva and Stary Edgar (see ‘bars/restaurants’)
December/January2008 The Spektator
 26 What’s On
at the International chamber orchestras festi-
A Month Of val in Dushanbe; the participation of young op-
era singer Jenish Ysmanov at the International
Entertainment
Classical Music young opera singers competition in Saint Pe-
tersburg; the participation of saxophone player
Directory
The Arts and Culture Program of the Swiss Co- Aleksandr Akimov at the Tashkent Jazz festival; The Conservatory
operation Office in the Kyrgyz Republic is con- the participation of Vikram Ruzakhunov group Jantosheva, 115
ducting a series of concerts at the philharmon- and singer Aidai at the International Chimkent Tel: 479542
ic in December at the Malyi Hall of the Kyrgyz jazz festival. Concerts by students and professors.
National Philharmonic.
The upcoming concerts promise audiences rich The Swiss Cooperation Office in Kyrgyzstan The Puppet Theatre
and harmonious artistic performances, which (SCO) has been supporting arts and culture Sovietskaya/Michurina
will provide unforgettable experience. development in Kyrgyzstan since 1998 to con- Performances on Sundays at 11:00am.
tribute to formation and maintenance of inde-
An Evening of Modern Music will be held on pendent and diverse cultural environment. The Kyrgyz State Philharmonic
December 8 at 18:00. This concert is part of Arts and Culture Program of SCO supports film Chui Prospect, 253
the Arts Festival “Argonavty”. Compositions of and music development, culture development Tel: 212262, 212235
A.Arutunyan, B.Tchaikovsky, J.Iber, P.Hindemit, in villages, jazz popularization and local initia- Hours: 17:00-19:00 in summer
and more. Performers are students of the Kyr- tives through small grants. Tickets: 70-100 som (sometimes much more for
gyz National Conservatoire: E.Kalashnikov special performances)
(clarinet), G.Joldoshbaeva (flute), A.Sobolev There are two concert halls featuring classical, tra-
(bayan), U.Raimbekov (trumpet). (Free entry) Remembering ditional Kyrgyz, and pop concerts and a variety of
shows.
An Evening of Ancient Music will be conduct-
ed on December 11 at 18:00. Baroque music
Khusein Mukhtarov Russian Drama Theatre
Tynystanova, 122 (Situated in Oak Park)
accompanied by clavecin will be performed Tel.: 662032, 621571
by young teachers of the National Conserva- The 70th anniversary of the USSR people’s art-
Hours: Mon-Sun, 10:00-18:00
toire, who took attended the Academy of An- ist, distinguished Kyrgyz opera singer Khusein
Tickets 30-100 som
cient Music in Warsaw in the summer of 2008: MUKHTAROV is also to be held this month.
A range of local and international plays in Russian.
Gulshan Konusheva, Shirin Tashibaeva, Zaira
Raimbekova and other. (Tickets cost 100-150 An evening devoted to the memory of a great artist The Abdylas Maldybaev Opera and Ballet Theatre
soms and are available from Philharmonic, tel.: The evening will be held on December 10 at Abdyrahmanova, 167
614015). 17.00 at the Opera and Ballet Theatre. Tel: 661548; Tickets 50-300 som
Well-known soloists of the Opera and Bal- The theatre has resident opera and ballet compa-
An Evening of Organ Music will be held let Theatre will take part in the concert. Also nies with occasional guest companies. The season
on December 14 at 17:00. Compositions of a film about the singer will be shown during usually runs from autumn to spring but there are
D.Bukstehude, F.Mendelson, I.S.Bach, and more the evening and a photo-exhibition about the often performances at other times of the year as
will be performed. Soloist: Viktoria Vasilieva. professional life of the artist will be held in the well.
Also Oksana Shutova and Alena Kaimakova will theatre lobby. FREE ENTRY!
take part. (Tickets cost 150 soms and are avail- The Kyrgyz Drama Theatre
able from the Philharmonic, tel.: 614015). Also, on December 10 at 12 pm an opening of Panfilov, 273 (behind the Government House)
the memorial plate will be held in front of the Tel: 665802, 216958
An Evening of Piano Concerts will be con- house, where the opera singer lived. Address: Hours: 8:00-20:00 in summer
ducted on December 16, 18:00. Compositions prospekt Manasa 61 (“Okean“ shop).For more Tickets 20-200 som
of S.V.Rakhmaninov, K.Sen-Sans, F.List, and information please contact Kanykei Mukhtar- The resident company performs a range of local
more. Performers are the Symphony Orches- ova, tel.: 666488, email: kanykei.mukhtarova@ and international plays – performances are in Kyr-
tra of National TV and Radio, conductor is Ra- sdc.net gyz or Russian.
hatbek Osmonaliev, soloists are Leila Asanbe-
kova, Daniyar Idaev, Akak Osmonova, Aiturgan
Turapova. (Free entry)
Promotingsustainabledevelopment
These concerts are being held by the Swiss Co- inmountainregionsofKyrgyzstan
operation Office in Kyrgyzstan as part of the
Music for Development line to support young
since 2005.
musicians in Kyrgyzstan. In 2008 they supported
several projects: a concert tour of the National
Conservatoiry students to the Issuk Kul region;
the participation of Conservatoire students at
www.camp.kg
the Academy of ancient music in Poland; the
participation of the Manas chamber orchestra

Adverts, Services & Classifieds

Classified Ads
Place a classified advert (buying, selling,
services etc.) from only 150 som
Email: tom_wellings@live.co.uk
English Lessons
Pre-intermediate, intermediate, and FCE
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Qualified English teacher with over four years’ ex-
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The Spektator Proofreading Services
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Our team can proofread anything in English in-
cluding: university essays, menus, technical docu-
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December/January 2008 The Spektator www.thespektator.com

 Ski Map 27
15

14

5
3
4 2
6
7
8
9
Ski resorts
1. Strelnikova. 1
2. Uzun-Bulak
3. Politekh
4. Kashka-Suu (2100m)
Restaurant, bar, sauna, ice-skating, 2 conference halls. Six ski-runs
of up to 2000m in length. Chair lift and rope tow.
5. Great Alarchinsky Glacier (summer skiing)
11
6. Edelweiss 10
7. Kalga-Kar 12
8. Oruu-Sai (2100m)
Conference hall for 30 people, cafe, bar, sauna, billiards, table ten-
nis. Three ski runs of up to 1000m in length.
9. Kyzgyz-Bezel
10. Almaluu
11. Noruz (2000m)
Slopes up to 2300m in length
12. Toguz-Bulak (1900m)
Ski runs up to 3000m in length. Chair lifts. Home of the Kyrgyz
national snowboarding team.
13. Orlovka
Nine ski runs of up to 2800m in length. Two chair lifts and two rope
tows. Tel. 0773-121 215 (base) 937 873 (Bishkek office) Restaurant,
bar, billiards, sauna.
14. Sosnovka
15. Tö-Ashu
No lifts, car lift 100 som or use your own. In this high-altitude loca-
tion, snow remains through April. Chair and cabin lifts planned for
2009. Spectacular scenery. Heliskiing.
Prices (approx.):
Renting gear: 300-800 s. Try ‘Snowland’ near the Narodny in the
10th mikrorayon, ‘Limpapo’ on Isanova opposite Beta Stores (phone
610 120, call here also to reserve places on Mikhailov’s tours), ‘Red
Fox’ on Sovietskaya/Gorky and in Tashrabat precinct, or ‘Avtogid
Gazeta’ on Moskovskaya/Korchinskaya. Most ski bases also offer a
rental service, but stocks are limited.
Lift tickets: All day 400-500 s for systems with chair lifts, 150-250 s
for the others.
Instruction: 500 s/h adults, 400 s/h children.
Heliskiing
There are many companies that specialise in heliskiing (flying the
wilds in a sexy Soviet helicopter for a bit of off-piste skiing). Try the
N

following sites for more info: www.kyrgyzstan-mountain-sports. 13

com, www.edelweiss.elcat.kg, www.ak-sai.com and tien-shan.com

www.thespektator.com December/January2008 The Spektator

28 Weekend
CROSSWORD
Answers to this month’s crossword can be found on page 23
Across
1 Enrol in (4)
3 Write quickly and/or badly (8)
8 Cut (of meat) (4)
9 Removal of surplus water (8)
11 Motor vehicle for the seashore (5,5)
14 Surge (6)
15 European Capital (6)
17 Allow another to take charge - let me
CROSSWORD CLUES
through (5,5)
20 Infants’ hiding-and-reappearing game (8)
21 Eyesore? (4)
22 Aromatic shrub related to mint (8)
23 Arduous walk (4)
Down
1 Footwear symolic of dictatorial authority (8)
2 Worship of false gods (8)
4 Big top entertainment (6)
5 Sweet powder used on cakes etc (5,5)
6 Donkey’s call (4)
7 Flat (4)
10 Spooky ride (5,5)
12 Cathedral’s covered walk (8)
13 Sudden and ill-considered (4-4)
16 Repeat performance (6)
18 Type of gem (4)
19 Diesel fuel (4)
BRAINTEASERS
Take the name of two animals. Drop the third letter
from each name. Read the remaining letters, in order,
from left to right, and you’ll name a world capital.
What capital is it?
Rearange the eleven letters of ‘interaction’ to make
two words that are closely related to each other
Answers to last month’s brainteasers Dwarf, dwindle,
dwell; Party for polyglots: 45 - 10 could not speak Welsh,
20 could not speak Tajik and 25 could not speak Apache.
So there could have been 10 people who spoke none
of those languages. However, that would maximize
the number of people who could speak all 3, and the
problem asked at least how many speak all 3. Therefore,
we must assume that these 10, 20, and 25 people are all
separate people. Having identified 55 each of whom is
missing one language, the remaining 45 speak all 3.
December/January 2008 The Spektator
QUICK QUIZ
1. J.M Barrie is often credited with
creating which girls name?
2. What does a thanantologist study?
3. A ‘murder’ is the collective noun
for which bird?
4 Nikos Kazantzakis created which
famously exuberant Greek?
5. How many eyes are there in a
pack of 52 cards?
6. What is ‘pepper’ in Hungarian?
7. Which Spanish painter said that he
would eat his wife after she died?
8. Who was the first man to set foot on
the moon? Which foot did he use first?
9. Which actress said of her divorce:
“At least I can wear high heels now!”
10. What was the ‘Rubicon’? Who
crossed it in 49BC?
Tom Cruise) 10) A River, Julius Caesar
Left 9) Nicole Kidman (after divorcing
5) 42 6) Paprika 7) Dali 8) Neil Armstrong,
children’s book) 2) Death 3) Crow 4) Zorba
Answers: 1) Wendy (from his Peter Pan
SUDOKU
MEDIUM
EASY
- Ninjas, most people never even know they’re there.
The End
Have faith
As restrictive legislation on religious feedom is passed
in parliament, the Spektator looks at some religions that
may struggle to register 200 members in Kyrgyzstan:
Raëlism is the religious, naturalist belief system
promoted by the Raëlian Movement, an atheist UFO
religion founded in 1970s which focuses on the so-
cial ideas of sexual self-determination, individualism,
and humanitarianism in the spirit of sharing and re-
sponsibility, which, they claim, will bring a new age
of wealth and peace guided by those with greater
intelligence, as predicted by main religions. They
also believe in scientifically advanced humanoid
extraterrestrials known by our primitive ancestors as
Elohim (or “those who came from the sky”). Raëlism
espouses belief that Elohim synthesized life on Earth
through mastery of genetic engineering, and that hu-
man cloning and “mind transfer” are mechanisms by
which eternal life may be achieved.
Ho No Hana Sanpogyo is a Japanese religion of-
ten called the “foot reading cult.” It was called this be-
cause its founder, Hogen Fukunaga, claimed he could
diagnose illness by examining people’s feet. He found-
ed the group in 1987 after an alleged spiritual event
where he claimed to have realized he was the reincar-
nation of Jesus Christ and the Buddha. The group at
one time claimed 30,000 members. However, Fukuna-
ga charged $900 for the foot readings and a suspicion
arose that he used the money to benefit himself.
Cargo Cults are a group of religious movements in
Melanesia, in the Southwestern Pacific, which believe
that manufactured western goods (‘cargo’) were creat-
ed by ancestral spirits and intended for Melanesian peo-
ple. The classic period of cargo cult activity was in the
years during and after World War II. The vast amounts
of war matériel that were airdropped into these islands
during the Pacific campaign against the Empire of Ja-
pan necessarily meant drastic changes to the lifestyle
of the islanders. Manufactured clothing, canned food,
tents, weapons and other useful goods arrived in vast
quantities to equip soldiers—and also the islanders
who were their guides and hosts. With the end of the
war the airbases were abandoned, and “cargo” was no
longer being dropped. In attempts to get cargo to fall
by parachute or land in planes or ships again, islanders
imitated the same practices they had seen the soldiers,
sailors and airmen use. They carved headphones from
wood, and wore them while sitting in fabricated control
towers. They waved the landing signals while standing
on the runways. Over the last seventy-five years most
cargo cults have petered out. Yet, the John Frum cult is
still active on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu.
Adherents to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti
Monster (or Pastafarians) profess belief in a super-
natural creator which closely resembles spaghetti
and meatballs and can carry out miracles with his
noodly appendage. Beliefs include that the invisible
and undetectable ‘Flying Spaghetti Monster’ cre-
ated the entire universe “after drinking heavily” and
that pirates are divine beings. All ‘evidence’ for evo-
lution was planted by the Flying Spaghetti Monster,
in an effort to test Pastafarians’ faith. The Pastafarian
belief of heaven stresses that it contains beer vol-
canoes and a stripper factory. Hell is similar, except
that the beer is stale, and the strippers have VD.
The Reformed Church of Alfredo is a reformist
sect of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (but
is not recognized or accepted by orthodox FSMists).
Reformist FSMers state that the Flying Spaghetti Mon-
ster does not, as many claim, favor pirate clothes; in-
stead, he favors the sleek black Ninja clothing of his
true devotees. Alfredoists state there are hundreds of
references to Ninjas in Pastafarian sacred texts, but like
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