Kyrgyzstan. Goldenteethstan

Dramatic scenery is Kyrgyzstan’s main attribute. It is more Mongolian and nomadic Chinese than I expected. People’s attitude to life was so basic and so pure. Very close to the nature.

Of course 70+ years of intimidation by the Soviet Union impacted the population in the way that the Kyrgyz seemed to have lost their national pride. Many speak Russian as a first language or in the first instance with others. Surely, Russian would be essential in the business area, but it should always been second. One of the locals confessed that if one did not speak Russian they were considered uneducated, probably from a village or something. A taxi driver told me that in some villages people did not care about education in fact. The more children they could make the better, as there would be plenty to watch the horses on the pastures. If this is what they were going to do, they did not need education.

The mountains and the Issyk-Kul Lake are truly spectacular, although there is little in terms of architecture. Yurt remains still a prominent feature on the Kyrgyz land.