Can the Stans handle the Merck girls (minus 1)

October 4: In and around Bishkek

Today we drove to Ala Archa National Park which is one of Kyrgyzstan’s most beautiful and accessible natural areas, located just 40 km south of Bishkek. It’s a spectacular mountain park filled with glaciers, waterfalls, alpine meadows, and snow-capped peaks. The  leaves were just turning and you could see yurts up on the hills (their summer residences).

We took a walk through the park to enjoy the magnificent scenery

We saw some  little squirrel-like animals darting around in the park. They’re not actually squirrels — they’re most likely marmots or pikas, both of which are common in Kyrgyzstan’s mountain regions. But they move really fast, so Lisa managed to get the face and I managed to get the tail of a white one (they turn from brown to white)

There were some old ski resorts in the park, but bigger and better ones are on the way. The next destination for Aussie skiers? There was also some tips about what to do in an avalanche

And some very helpful advice in an emergency, with a phone number you can call for free!

Yummy lunch in a Turkish style restaurant. As always, amazing homemade bread and the dessert was a cheesecake style pannacotta with a strawberry topping.

The restaurant had a painting done on felt, depicting the sport of kok-boru which is their  national sport and a centrepiece of the World Nomad Games (yes, these are real Games) It’s essentially a horseback game where teams of riders compete to grab and carry a headless goat carcass and score by throwing it into a goal. Each goat carcass typically weighs 30–40 kg, making it heavy and difficult to lift — riders must lean dangerously low from the saddle to scoop it up.It’s sometimes called “Central Asian polo.”

And the restaurant owner was wearing a traditional Kyrgyz hat

Then a visit to the largest bazaar in Bishkek, the Osh bazaar, a bustling traditional market selling spices, bread, fruit, clothes, local snacks and sheep’s heads! (the latter are cooked and then served when important guests visit). The market also sells chewing tobacco but we weren’t allowed to take any photos of these stalls. Interestingly, they sell their produce in recycled bottles.

Next to see the Changing of the Guard which takes place in front of the State Flag of Kyrgyzstan at Ala-Too Square, Bishkek’s main public plaza.  Two ceremonial guards, dressed in dark uniforms with tall hats, stand motionless by the flag. At the appointed time, a new pair of guards marches out in precise, synchronized steps. The exchange is slow and formal, emphasizing discipline and symmetry — similar in style to other famous guard ceremonies (like in Moscow or London),

There s a funny story about the national flag of Kyrgyzstan. It was adopted in 1992 (shortly after independence from the Soviet Union) and was a red field with a yellow sun with 40 wavy rays and a stylised yurt. The “40 rays” represent the 40 tribes of Kyrgyz people. And the yurt is symbolic of Kyrgyz nomadic heritage. The red background references bravery and valour.

In late 2023, the President wanted a change to the flag. He thought the wavy rays looked too much like sunflower petals, and in Kyrgyz culture, a sunflower is associated with “fickleness” or servility — traits he said did not suit a national symbol. So the wavy rays were changed to straight rays which would be more clearly symbolic of the sun and remove ambiguous interpretation! (Can you imagine our Govt changing our flag without consulting  us? )