Spring Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan: "To the land of blooming apricots." Kyrgyzstan, poppies blooming Poppies in Kyrgyzstan

Historical reference: Semirechye was an opium-producing area with close ties to China. After the annexation of the Kuldzha region to Russia in 1871, the spread of first the use and then the cultivation of opium poppy began in Semirechye. The first report of opium use by residents of areas adjacent to Chuguchak and Gulja dates back to 1877. Circular of the governor of the Semirechensk region dated May 24, 1877 No. 3127 prohibited the use and import of opium into the region. [(160), No. 21 dated May 28, 1877].

A significant spread of opium poppy in Semirechye began in the 80s of the 19th century, when Dungans moved here from China. Initially, poppy cultivation was fought against with economic measures - increased taxes. By order of the Turkestan Governor-General dated February 20, 1881 No. 1521, the tax on the cultivation of opium poppies in the Semirechensk region was set at 35 rubles per tithe. [(160), No. 13 of March 28, 1881]. Fearing the spread of opium smoking, the Russian administration is moving to administrative bans on poppy cultivation and opium production.
In 1883, by order of the Governor General, “the cultivation of poppy, in order to prevent the production of opium, was prohibited to the entire population of the part of the Kuldzha region remaining under Russia, as well as to the Dungans who settled in the Issyk-Kul district, without extending this prohibition to peasant villages.” [(160), No. 1 of 01/01/1883]. The discovered crops began to be destroyed. The ban did not apply to Russian peasants because they sowed a small amount of simple poppy for culinary purposes. But gradually both Russians and Kyrgyz are starting to grow poppies.

As a result, on April 14, 1904, order No. 149 of the regional governor was issued, without division by nationality: “It has come to my attention that within the Semirechensk region, significant poppy plantations are being planted for the production of opium, which is then exported to Chinese borders. I propose that district leaders take measures to prohibit the extraction of opium and its export abroad, which is prohibited by Art. 15 Rules for overland trade with China, annexed to the treaty concluded with the Chinese government on February 12, 1881.” [(160), No. 32 of 04/20/1904].

In 1906, China announced a ten-year program to combat opium smoking. By imperial decree under threat death penalty The cultivation of poppies and the production, transportation and trade of opium were prohibited. Therefore, opium becomes the main smuggled product from Semirechye to China. In the 10s of the 20th century, alarming articles began to appear in the local press about the spread of smoking opium and “anasha” (hashish) not only among the Dungans and Taranchi, but also among the Kyrgyz and Russians. Proposals were made for a complete ban on poppy cultivation based on the 1912 Hague Convention for the Suppression of Opium, which Russia also signed.

In 1912, the governor of the Semirechensk region, noting that opium was sold not only to China, but also partially in the region, petitioned the head of the region to establish legislative restrictions on poppy crops and confiscate plantations when characteristic spiral cuts were found on poppy heads (made during harvesting). opium - B.M.). However, despite restrictions and bans, poppy continued to be grown illegally. The opium mined in Semirechye was mainly exported to China and was often confiscated at the border. Semirechensk opium, due to primitive processing, was of low quality, so the confiscated product was not used, but was burned, and quite large quantities.

With the outbreak of World War I, Türkiye stopped supplying opium to Russia, and Germany stopped supplying morphine. To meet the increased medical needs for painkillers due to the war, the government was forced to lift the ban on the cultivation of opium poppies in Semirechye. The Department of Agriculture even recommended poppy planting in Turkestan, introducing a state monopoly on the purchase of raw opium. Moreover, if earlier the Chinese bought opium for 4 - 5 rubles per pound, then at the state reception point opium was accepted for 11 - 15 rubles per pound. To compete with the treasury, Chinese buyers raised the price to 40 - 45 rubles per gin (2.5 pounds). [(295), p. 73]. That is, 16 - 18 rubles. per pound, higher than the official price.

According to 1923 data, in Semirechye, a tithe of wheat yielded 25 rubles. income, and a tithe of poppy seeds is 400 rubles. As a result, in 1916, 8,500 dessiatines were occupied by poppy in Turkestan, of which 200 dessiatines were in Pishpek district, 500 dessiatines in Dzharkent and 5,000 dessiatines in Przhevalsky district. [(233), 1917, No. 4-5, p. 256].

Technician of the Ili survey party V.S. Kytmanov, having arrived for treatment with mineral waters in Dzhetyoguz, wrote to his boss: “Opium is being collected throughout the district. There is a lot of poppy seeded. They pay up to 5 rubles per day. An opium collector earns more than a survey technician on the river. Or". [RGIA, f. 432, o. 1, d. 69, l. 106]. In the Chui Valley, the centers of opium poppy cultivation were the Dungan villages of Aleksandrovka and Karakunuz (Tokmak region). It is no coincidence that when manap Shabdanov crossed the Chinese border after the suppression of the uprising, part of the bribe was given in opium. It was not only Shabdanov who paid with opium. As the refugees said, the ruler of Gulja received from the bais and manaps “as gifts of horses, cattle and a lot of opium.”

The newspaper “New Time” (St. Petersburg) No. 11.148 dated March 26, 1907, in a note from Dzharkent, reported: “The existence of the so-called 50-versus preferential border strip, established in 1881 by a treaty with China, interferes with proper trade. Chinese goods (mainly tea) are imported duty-free into our borders “for circulation in a preferential zone,” and from there they are smuggled into the empire. Customs supervision is so unsatisfactory (in the Dzharkent district there are 20 horsemen per 40,000 sq. miles) that there can be no talk of a real fight against smuggling. In addition, the entire border is open to smuggling, which goes inside the region in considerable quantities, causing the treasury a loss in duties of up to 200 thousand rubles a year, not to mention undermining trade.”

The border was indeed, one might say, open to smuggling. As an observer of the time wrote, “since our border control is negligible, and the Chinese are corrupt, opium smuggling flourishes.” Over a length of 200 miles, the border was guarded by only 9 ranks of customs guards. [(160), unofficial part, No. 55 from 10.07. 1907]. Of course, the Cossacks also guarded the border. The main product smuggled from China to Semirechye was not so much the mentioned tea, but hashish, the local name “anasha”. In Ghulja, hashish cost 12 rubles. pood, in Dzharkent - 40 rubles, in Tashkent - 100 rubles. a pound wholesale, retail sold for its weight in silver. [(160), unofficial part, No. 41 of 05.28.1907 and No. 47 of 06.12.1907]. “The profitability,” as the Semirechenskiye Vedomosti wrote, “of the smugglers’ business is obvious.”

According to the assessment of the customs inspector of the border with China, the import of hashish from Kashgar through the Fergana, Naryn, Przhevalsky and Dzharkent sections amounted to 800 - 1,000 poods per year. [RGIA, f. 1396, about. 1, d. 185, l. 49]. Hashish was imported mainly along the Ili River on rafts from 50 poods (in shallow water) to 150 poods (in high water). The veracity of the indicated volumes of smuggling is confirmed by the fact of interception in 1906 on the Ili River of a transport with 80 pounds (1,280 kg - B.M.) of hashish. (“New Time”, No. 11.148 dated March 26, 1907). At first, the rafts moved carefully at night, but then they began to groom them during the day under the cover of some goods. Before reaching the Ili Bridge, for example against Talgar, the hashish was loaded onto carts.

It was also imported a lot by land, sometimes on 15 to 20 pack horses at once. In 1906, at the Przhevalsky border section there were six arrests of hashish with a total weight of 49 pounds worth 1,992 rubles. 50 kopecks They traded in such smuggling, mainly Taranchi (Uyghurs - B.M.) and Dungans. [(160), unofficial part, No. 74 of September 14, 1907]. In September 1915, the Head of the Territory, on the basis of the Regulations on Enhanced Protection of the Territory, issued a decree prohibiting smoking, production, acquisition, storage and sale of hashish. For violation, a fine of up to 3,000 rubles or arrest of up to 3 months was established. [(160), No. 80 dated 06.10.1915].

In the middle of the last century, legal opium production was revived in Kyrgyzstan under the terms of a state monopoly. Natural climatic conditions contributed to the cultivation of poppies with a high content of morphines. In the 1950-1960s, Kyrgyzstan produced 16% of the world's legal opium production for the needs of the pharmaceutical industry (80% of which was in the Issyk-Kul region). There were entire collective farms that were engaged only in opium production. In the 1970s, due to the lack of a UN mandate for the production of opium as a raw material for the pharmaceutical industry, the cultivation of poppy in Kyrgyzstan was prohibited.

BISHKEK, June 1 – Sputnik. The sharply increased flow of drugs in Kyrgyzstan is the price that our country has to pay for supporting the “anti-terrorist operation” in Afghanistan, says expert, former head of the Department for Combating Drug Trafficking, Dmitry Fedorov.

White poppies of the USSR

Our republic has accumulated vast experience in combating drug trafficking back in Soviet time, because in the USSR it was practically a monopolist in the cultivation of opium poppy. If, given the realities of today, the number of drug addicts then was negligible, then the number of raw opium plunderers and its transporters was much higher.

Bolot Shamshiev’s wonderful film “Scarlet Poppies of Issyk-Kul” shows the history of the confrontation between Karabalta and the “father of smuggling” Bayzak and the first experience in the fight against drug smuggling. There is only one inaccuracy - opium poppies are not red, but white, with purple veins.

It was this color of poppies that grew in Issyk-Kul on the fields of collective and state farms, and the collected opium was sent to the Chimkent pharmaceutical plant to obtain medicines. Vacationers took with them as souvenirs beautiful large poppy boxes with visible beautiful notches from the knife, which remained after cutting to extract and collect the milky juice.

It is also interesting that the fight against drug trafficking in the USSR for a long time was carried out not by specialized units or even by the criminal investigation department, but by the service for combating the theft of socialist property and profiteering (BCSS). And it was quite successful, however, in conditions of the impossibility of physically ensuring the safety of the crop over vast areas and stopping mass thefts, in 1974, in agreement with Moscow, the leadership of the republic decided to stop the cultivation of opium poppy. Of course, there were still thickets of wild hemp, but the situation was improving before our eyes.

Hard drugs were forgotten, it seemed, forever, until the Soviet Union collapsed and a trickle of opium, and then heroin, poured out of Afghanistan.

Black tulips of Afghanistan

Over time, a tiny stream turned into a powerful stream, and what was considered a huge batch just yesterday is now normal volumes. The question arises: how did it happen that the number of arrests and seized drugs increased several dozen times, and the volume of heroin production in Afghanistan increased by more than 40? What events contributed to this and what happened in Afghanistan?

Researcher Alfred McCloy confirms that two years after the CIA began operations in Afghanistan, in 1979, “the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region became the world's largest producer of heroin, supplying up to 60 percent of US needs.”

According to McCloy, in Pakistan itself the number of drug addicts increased from almost zero in 1979 to 1.2 million addicts in 1985, and this was a much faster increase than in any other country.

The drug trade was controlled by people connected to the CIA. When the Mujahideen captured some territory in Afghanistan, they forced the peasants to sow opium poppies as a “revolutionary tax.”

On the other side of the border, in Pakistan, Afghan leaders and local syndicates, under the auspices of Pakistani intelligence, controlled hundreds of heroin laboratories, the security official noted.

For a decade, the US Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement in Pakistan did not seize a single large shipment of heroin and did not make a single arrest.

The opinions of experts from the world community only confirm such conclusions.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Narcotics, Member of the European Parliament Pino Arlacchi, when asked why the cultivation of opiates has increased sharply after the American occupation, replied: “Nobody wants to talk about it, but a secret agreement was reached between the George W. Bush administration and the Afghan warlords.” .

In McCloy's assessment, American officials were reluctant to investigate drug trafficking allegations against their Afghan allies because U.S. policy was subordinated to the interests of the war against Soviet influence in Kabul, which was present in the form of limited Soviet troops.

In 1995, the former head of CIA operations in Afghanistan, Charles Cogan, admitted that the agency had sacrificed the war on drugs in favor of " cold war". According to him, "our main goal was to inflict as much damage as possible on the Soviets."

Although the role of the CIA is reflected in numerous documents, it is not mentioned in UN materials, where the emphasis is on internal factors. The resulting and laundered drug dollars were used to finance rebels in Asia and the Balkans.

In a Time magazine article dated July 29, 1991, a US intelligence officer confirms that "dirty money" was converted into "secret" money through banks in the Middle East and CIA front companies that supported insurgent groups during the Soviet-Afghan War.

By the mid-1980s, the CIA office in Islamabad was one of the largest in the world. The United States turned a blind eye to drug trafficking in Pakistan because it wanted to supply the mujahideen in Afghanistan with Stinger missiles and other weapons and needed Pakistan's help, the intelligence officer said.

According to former diplomat and professor at the University of California Berkeley Peter Dale Scott, the increased production of drugs in the world is a consequence of the interventions of the United States.

The indirect American intervention in 1979 was followed by an unprecedented increase in Afghan opium production, and the same thing happened after the American invasion in 2001.

You should not be surprised by such increases in volumes. They are simply repeating the situation in other drug production sites where America has used military or political force.

This was in the 1950s in Burma, where, due to CIA intervention, production increased from 40 tons in 1939 to 600 in 1970; Thailand - from 7 tons in 1939 to 200 in 1968 and Laos - from less than 15 tons in 1939 to 50 in 1973.

A striking example is Colombia, where since the late 80s, under the pretext of the “war on drugs,” the United States has actively intervened using its military forces. At a conference in 1990, Scott predicted that this invasion would be followed by an increase, not a decrease, in drug production. Coca production in Colombia tripled between 1991 and 1999 (from 3.8 to 12.3 thousand hectares), while opium poppy production increased 5.6 times (from 0.13 to 0.75 thousand hectares) .

American Shield

We figured out why production volume increased. Now let’s ask ourselves: why is no one fighting on the spot, and the area of responsibility there is American?

Heroin is a multi-billion dollar business with powerful interests behind it. According to Interpol experts, worldwide revenues from the sale of Afghan heroin amount to more than $650 billion a year.

During the presence of US and NATO military forces in Afghanistan, heroin production in this country increased, according to general estimates, 40 times.

One of the secret goals of the war in Afghanistan was to restore the CIA-controlled drug trade to its previous level and gain complete control over drug supply routes.

For example, in 2001, under the Taliban regime, which was fighting drug lords, they produced 185 tons of opium, and a year later, in 2002, opium production increased to 3,400 tons. Afghan drug lords have become associates of the US-backed puppet regime of ex-President Hamid Karzai.

Former assistant director of the US State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Thomas Schweich, published an article in the New York Times in July 2008 in which he stated that Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Pentagon were doing their best to prevent a serious fight against opium production in Afghanistan. Afghanistan.

An article by University of Ottawa professor Michael Hossudovsky highlights that drug trafficking has increased dramatically since the US entered Afghanistan in October 2001.

The American press, and behind it various kinds of “experts” and “analysts” began to claim in their reports and statements that Osama bin Laden and the Taliban were behind this. Of course, they also contain the usual “balanced” self-criticism, but they do not say that in 2000 the Taliban regime, in cooperation with the UN, introduced a very strict ban on the cultivation of opium poppies. As a result, opium production fell by 90 percent in 2001.

The UN General Assembly recognized the Taliban's successes in the fight against drugs that same year. With the fall of the Taliban regime, a boom in drug production began again, and the United States justified itself by saying that the Taliban simply wanted to create a shortage of drugs and raise world prices, which was denied by the UN office, which found out that the Taliban were not accumulating opium.

Since 2001 The White house spent about $3 trillion in Afghanistan, including on the fight against drug trafficking. But this country still became the absolute leader in heroin production.

Do not be surprised - the United States is interested in directing the flow of heroin to China and Russia.

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Security Viktor Ilyukhin noted that requests to intensify the fight against drug production were sent to the United States. However, he said, their answers were vague: they were still evaluating their options and worried that such actions would push farmers into the arms of the Taliban. However, to put it mildly, these arguments are very weak.

The director of the Federal Drug Control Service of the Russian Federation, Viktor Ivanov, told reporters that he does not understand why the United States advocates the destruction of coca crops in Colombia, but does not want to take such measures in Afghanistan?

“Okay, we have disagreements on the issue of destroying poppy plantations,” said Ivanov, “but why doesn’t NATO destroy the laboratories?”

According to him, there are more than 200 giant laboratories in the mountains of Afghanistan where concentrated drugs are produced, but no one touches them. The conclusion is that there is no fight against drug production going on there at all.

Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin noted the “complete inaction” of the NATO military contingent in this area.

Speaking before the UN Security Council, he said that the latest data from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is shocking. In particular, compared to 2013, the area under opium poppy cultivation expanded by 7 percent, its average yield increased by 9 percent, and in the southern regions - by 27, and the volume of drug production increased by 17 percent.

At the same time, the permanent representative noted that Russia is “increasing its efforts in the fight against illegal drug production and trafficking” through the SCO, CSTO and through bilateral relations with Kabul.

In this situation, what is the point of talking about NATO as a partner in the fight against the drug threat?

NATO base: was it worth the trouble?

The sharply increased flow of drugs into Kyrgyzstan is the price our country has to pay for supporting the “anti-terrorist operation” in Afghanistan.

During the existence of a NATO base in our republic, officially called the “Air Base of the Anti-Terrorist Coalition”, and then the “Center transit transportation US Air Force, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA USA) actually took control of our anti-drug agency. Technical assistance and salary increases for DEA employees of the Kyrgyz Republic were significant, but in return the US federal law enforcement agency received control over the selection and activities of employees.

When did you decide to close? military base, the Americans somehow lost interest in our agency and stopped funding.

Taking into account the particular danger of drug trafficking for Russian Federation Today, within the framework of cooperation through the CSTO and bilateral agreements, joint work is being carried out, yielding good results and prospects. An unheard of case, but for the first time, an employee of the State Drug Control Service of the Kyrgyz Republic was awarded an order by decree of the President of the Russian Federation for specifically bringing particularly dangerous drug dealers to justice.

Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan)

UPD: on this moment- there are no seats.
But just in case, you can leave a request to participate in the trip if a place suddenly opens up:
http://pohodnik.info/maps.php#kaz_almaty_issykkul_foto

Is it possible in 11 days to visit the desert, visit canyons and waterfalls, swim in one of the world’s largest alpine lakes, make the sand “sing”, see unusual colorful mountains, take a hot bath? mineral water, shooting right out of the ground and see millions of “flaming” steppe poppies?
We will answer you - YES!
All this is possible if you find yourself in the foothills of the Tien Shan!

Together with the Pokhodnik club, I invite you to a car photo tour, which will pass through the territory of two “Meccas” of Soviet tourism: Southern Kazakhstan and Northern Kyrgyzstan.

Tour Features:

Small group, number of participants: 6
- the timing of the tour is specially selected to minimize the appearance of strangers in the frame. The places to visit are quite popular and May holidays and on weekends, large groups gather in some places.
- the tour is the own development of t/k "Pohodnik". Repeated trips to this region allow you to adjust the route on the spot. Depending on the circumstances (for example, a sudden change weather conditions) the movement schedule is changed with the least loss for the group.
- The flowering period of poppies varies from year to year. But roughly comparable to the first ones
dates of the declared trip. Depending on the beginning of their flowering, the program may be partially changed by day (in reverse order, Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan).

About the tour:

Dates: May 13 - 23, 2018;
The recommended day of arrival of participants in Almaty is May 12 (including early departure the next day);
The main goal is landscape photography. But the trip may also be of interest to fans of genre photography;
the opportunity to actively visit various places on the territory of two countries – Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – for one and a half weeks;
travel by minibus "Mercedes Sprinter" or Toyota Hayes. You won’t have to carry backpacks;
throughout the entire route the group is accompanied by a photo instructor, cook, and driver;
about 15 planned “regime” filming locations, not counting what you might encounter along the way;
level of physical fitness – relatively low, suitable for people of all ages;
combined accommodation: priority - tents (in places where there is no physical possibility at all near the filming sites to organize other overnight accommodation), several overnight stays at bases or cordons (where you can wash, charge equipment. Included in the tour price). The rest of the time you can charge the equipment in the car;
Anyone interested in landscape photography can take part in the tour. In this case, any possible assistance on my part is guaranteed, but basic knowledge of the basics of photography and knowledge of basic settings for your camera are MANDATORY!
At the same time, you don’t have to be a photographer; anyone who is interested in these two regions can take part.

Preliminary route schedule:

1 day. 13.05. Almaty (early departure!!!) – Saryozek village – National Park"Altyn-Emel" (300 km drive). If we successfully get to the poppy season (no one can guarantee this 100%), there are long stops along the way among poppy fields.
Day 2. 14.05. Aktau Mountains. Walk through the canyon. Preliminary search for suitable angles for evening and morning shooting. Evening shooting. Night photography. Overnight in Aktau.
Day 3. 15.05 Morning shooting, getting ready and subsequent transfer to the “Singing Dune”. (On the way, you can visit a 700-year-old willow. A giant tree whose branches reach a diameter of more than a meter). Evening photography of the dune. Night photography. Overnight near the dune.
Day 4 16.05 Morning shooting on the dune. Transfer to the Charyn Canyon (200 km). Lunch at a cafe. Evening shooting of the canyon. Night photography. Overnight near the canyon.
Day 5 17.05 Morning shooting. Radial exit along the canyon to the Charyn River - Valley of Castles. Selection of suitable angles. Evening shooting of the canyon. Night photography. Overnight near the canyon.
Day 6 18.05. Morning shooting of the canyon and transfer towards the border with Kyrgyzstan (350 km). Lunch in a cafe (due to a long journey and to save time). It is near the border that there are fields of poppies with thousands of people against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains. We spend the night near poppy fields.
Day 7 19.05 Morning photography of poppies. Crossing the border with Kyrgyzstan. Evening shooting. Night photography. Overnight on the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul.
Day 8 20.05 Morning shooting on the lake with a view of the mountains, moving along the lake (150 km), along the way we stop at the warm springs of Tash-suu, take invigorating baths. Radial trip to the Grigorievskoe Gorge. Evening shooting.
Day 9 21.05. Morning shooting, then we move around the lake - we stop at the Jety-Oguz gorge (150 km). Evening shooting.
Day 10 22.05. Morning shooting, transfer to the Barskoon waterfall - Skazka gorge. Depending on the weather, a radial trip to the Arabel plateau (80 km) is possible. The plateau is located at an altitude of almost 4000 meters.
Day 11 23.05. Morning shooting, return to Almaty (400 km). Overnight at a hotel (not included in the price)

Depending on the circumstances, weather conditions and wishes of the group, the schedule may be slightly adjusted!

Cost of participation:

The group is limited to 6 participants (+ 2 instructors)
Estimated cost 45,000 rubles/person with a full group formation.
You can apply for your participation in the trip here: http://pohodnik.info/contacts.php#zayava
Required advance payment – 10,000 rubles. The prepayment is not refundable if the participant refuses/cannot take part in the trip.
The advance payment is refunded in full if, for some reason, the trip is canceled by the organizers.

What's included in the price:

Renting a vehicle with a driver and moving along all planned sections of the route across the territory of two states;
Camping meals at camp sites, work as a cook;
All necessary payments, passes and permits in National parks“Altyn-Emel” and “Charyn”;
Huntsman escort in the territory of national parks and reserves (this does not mean that he will follow - he simply must/can be present as part of the group);
Camping meals for all participants and work as a cook. As was already written above, the group will have its own cook along the entire route (at autonomous parking areas), with the exception of day trips. In this case, food is provided independently.
Several overnight stays in lodges/camp sites depending on traffic along the route;

What is not included in the price:

Transfer/flight to Almaty from your city and back;
Meals in a cafe during day trips;
Hotel accommodation upon early arrival in Almaty and on the way back;
Alcohol, cigarettes, other personal expenses;
Medical insurance;

There are no other “hidden” surcharges!

Required equipment:

The air temperature at this time is quite high. During the day, in sunny weather up to +25 - +30 degrees, at night the temperature drops to +15 degrees. On the passes it is even lower.
But it's usually very sunny (sunglasses are a plus), so people with sensitive skin should take sunscreen and chapstick.
This will be especially needed in the Aktau Mountains, the “Singing Dune” and the Charyn Canyon. These places are especially dry and very warm, even hot.
Remember: there are no “unburnt” people!

Sleeping bag with comfort temperature +5+10;
mat (karemat) or self-inflatable mat. The thicker the better.;
tent;
seat (“backrest”)
headlamp / regular;
tableware: fork, spoon, knife (these 4 items can be combined into a convenient folding travel set), cup (bowl), mug.
water container;
personal hygiene products. Toothpaste, Toothbrush, shampoo, soap, towel, toilet paper.
Personal first aid kit. Aspirin, paracetamol, remedy for diarrhea and indigestion, adhesive plasters (large and small), iodine or brilliant green, cotton wool, bandage, anti-herpes hygienic lipstick, ointments for relieving joint pain and treating inflammation in bruises, sprains and sprains, painkillers + medications from “favorite” diseases. In some places there will be no pharmacies or shops, and there will be nowhere to buy any special medicines.

Clothes and shoes:
wind/waterproof jacket or windbreaker;
warm fleece;
light thermal underwear in case of natural disasters;
trekking shoes;
you can take a cap;
change of underwear;
Panama hat or cap with a visor;
Sunglasses;
You can take sunscreen and hygienic lipstick with you;
a light T-shirt or long-sleeve shirt (to prevent your hands from getting burned);
shorts, breeches or very light trousers;
flip flops or sandals;
If desired, you can take swimming trunks/swimsuits (in case you swim in warm springs).
Other clothing is at your discretion.

Camera (and if you have a spare one, it can also come in handy);
Tripod;
Additional initially CHARGED batteries and memory cards (the ability to charge the batteries will only be at the time of moving to a new home base using a 220V inverter powered by the on-board network. From 220V - only during overnight stays in cabins/camp sites.
lenses with different focal lengths: from “wide” to “tele” with maximum FR.
various filters: ND, polarizing, gradient.
remote control for night photography.

Contacts:
- mobile number: +375296669933, Vlad (this is the best option)
- personal messages on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sokolovskyvladislav)
- skype: billybounce250.
- e-mail: [email protected]
- http://pohodnik.info/maps.php#kaz_almaty_issykkul_foto

Since school, I have heard the name of Lake Issyk-Kul, but then it was big country, called the USSR. And when a couple of years ago, friends told me that they were vacationing on this wonderful lake, I did not immediately understand that this was not Russia, but another state - Kyrgyzstan. In June 2009, after studying the reviews of tourists, we compiled our car route about 2000 kilometers long. It turned out that our path would pass through two state borders: Kazakh and Kyrgyz. We already had experience crossing the Kazakh border, nothing complicated, we are peaceful people. The only problem that could arise was the queue at the entrance to the border checkpoint. The Tyumen-Cholpon-Ata journey took two days, while on the first journey we stopped in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, to go with the children to the oceanarium, which I didn’t really like this time, for some reason there were significantly fewer marine inhabitants.

Road

I would like to say that in general the roads in both countries are very good. I have already told you about the road to Astana: straight, flat, wide. A funny story happened to us: upon arriving in Astana, police officers stopped us and demanded that we remove the tinting from the side windows of the car. It should be said that in the country you will not find tinted cars AT ALL, that is, even some kind of “thieves”. That's all forbidden. We tried to convince the employee that the technical inspection had been passed in Russia, the norms had not been violated and we were moving through their country in transit, that is, in a few hours we would be in Kyrgyzstan, we had to call a senior policeman, who agreed with us and whispered his recommendation in case we saw the post police on the road, open the side windows all the way so that the tinting is not noticeable. We did this several times and passed calmly. But on the way back, it was drizzling near Astana and it was cool. When we saw the police on the road, we opened the windows as usual, but were stopped. The employee said with a smile that he guessed about the tint, because in this weather it’s unlikely that we would be hot in the car. So you can’t go to Kazakhstan with tinting! When leaving the country, we saw that Russians entering the country were simply barbarically tearing off the film right at the checkpoint.

And beyond Astana towards Kyrgyzstan (Temirtau, Karaganda, Balkhash, Birlik, Chu, Georgievka) the road is also good, and what I like most is that there is very little transport, because this is not the most populated part of Kazakhstan. It seems to me that if I had set myself a goal, I could calmly count the cars passing by.

There’s not much to see along the way: bare steppe, sometimes mountains. But sometimes you come across interesting man-made objects.

But thanks to the flat landscapes, there is simply endless sky, and in Russia there are always copses and settlements, but here there is just one sky. There are a lot of graves along the road: small and not so small fenced towers, some made of brick. Often there are lonely graves, to which white steps lead, because they are buried on hills.

Along the way we passed a lot big lake Balkhash: there are many industrial enterprises on the banks, under construction cement factory, so there are no resorts or health resorts. True, they sell fish, big and tasty.

We also learned about the roads of Kyrgyzstan interesting fact, which probably could be summer time use in our country. During the daytime, the movement of heavy vehicles is prohibited so that the asphalt scorched by the sun does not deform under their weight and ruts and bumps do not form on the road. Therefore, truckers rest during the day, and while we are looking for a parking place, they hit the road. I liked this rule: they don’t disturb us during the day and don’t spoil the road.

We crossed the Kazakh-Kyrgyz border without problems and we had, as it seemed to us, a short rest of the way. But when we entered the mountains soon after the border, the speed decreased noticeably, because the roads are winding and narrow, but very beautiful. I have a dream: I want to see a poppy field in bloom. Upon entering the highlands of Kyrgyzstan, high in the mountains we saw fields of blooming red poppies, just large squares of red. I was so hoping that I would have the opportunity to see poppies up close in Issyk-Kul, but alas. Either we went to the wrong place, or they have already bloomed. There were only scattered poppies, not only red, but also yellow.

At the entrance to the Issyk-Kul zone there is an environmental checkpoint, at which we paid a certain amount, I don’t remember exactly how much. It must be said that environmentalists at one time managed to protect the shores of the lake from placing enterprises there that would pollute the water. In Kyrgyzstan, there is even a law prohibiting people with tents and cars on the shores of the lake (to avoid pollution from household waste). Although I think that it is uncomfortable to live in tents on this lake, because it is located in a hollow, around the mountain and after sunset it becomes cold, although it is very hot during the day. In general, police officers pay close attention to cars with Russian license plates in Kyrgyzstan. And not only the traffic police, but also simply the operational services passing by. But they communicate kindly, one traffic police officer in the city met us every day, for the first two days he stopped us and checked our documents, and then he remembered and greeted us when we met.

We arrived in Cholpon-Ata at the beginning of June, the season was just beginning, so we managed to rent inexpensive, very decent housing: a two-room apartment for 700 rubles per day. During the season (July-August) they rent for $100 per day, because the owners built this extension for 4 rooms two years ago. We parked our car right in the yard, next to the owner's. The annex is located near the owner's house, opposite their dining room. This is a two-story building with 4 rooms. On each floor there is a common hall, in which there is a refrigerator, a sofa, and then separate rooms. In the first room there is a large table with dishes, two beds, a stand with a TV. It is clear that many Russian channels are working. The second room has a wardrobe and a large double bed. The toilet is all tiled, there is a shower, there is always hot water, because there is a water heater. The renovation was done well. The hosts are friendly people, but we didn’t bother each other too much.

Our house stood opposite a boarding house, with the administration of which the owners had an agreement on the unhindered passage of vacationers through the territory to the beach. So our five-minute journey passed through the well-groomed, flowering territory of the boarding house to the equally clean shore of Lake Issyk-Kul with crystal clear water. I believe that the lake and its surroundings are the most a nice place in the world. I have already said that the lake is located in a hollow, surrounded by mountains. The weather changes often: first it’s sunny, then within an hour clouds roll in and the wind rises. Moreover, the sun illuminates the tops of the mountains in different ways: sometimes they are hidden in the clouds, sometimes their snow-white peaks are visible, sometimes the mountains turn bright green. Very beautiful and indescribable.

The water in the lake is very clear and very cold. But it is so enriched with various salts and minerals that the body quickly adapts to cold temperatures, swimming is very pleasant and I read in the literature that it is very useful.

The ultraviolet is very strong: I went outside in the morning in a tracksuit, it soon became hot, I stayed in a T-shirt, after half an hour the T-shirt remained on my skin until the end of the vacation.

In the morning we ate at home, at lunch and in the evening in cafes, of which there were a large number. On the main street we found a cafe where we had the largest number of meals, because the owner of the cafe prepared stunning dishes himself national cuisine, and not only those that are on the menu. We agreed with him for a certain time and upon arrival we felt like the most dear guests: fried manti, shish kebab, bishbarmak, samsa, etc. National dishes, and what kind of flat cakes they bake in their oven! We left with a bang! The meat is juicy, tasty, and raised in clean mountain meadows. I only have exclamatory epithets for local dishes. Children at home are often picky about food, and they were the first to cope there. In the neighboring village, fairs are held on weekends where you can buy inexpensive things, delicious fruits, as well as dairy and meat products.

We also arranged several excursions for ourselves.

Grigorievskoye Gorge

It is located near Cholpan-ata, there are signs where to turn off. You have to pay at a booth to enter the territory, but the fee is not fixed: they tell you the price, and we halve it. And so everywhere: take a photo with a falcon, ride horses and a donkey, market in the mountains. As soon as you stop, about 20 people with animals immediately surround you and offer their services, but not particularly intrusively. I was surprised by the appeals: “Sister, a white horse for you” or “Brother, take a ride.” Somehow related. Everything there is unrealistically beautiful: mountains, slopes, meadows, a white bubbling river, the sky.

Sunday, May 29, 2016 09:57 + to quote book

At the end of spring, field poppies bloom throughout the country. The hills and fields are painted bright red. Scientists know about 100 types of poppies. About 70 are common in Kyrgyzstan, especially the poppy, or Papaverales rhoeas, which grows in all regions of the country. This flower is very delicate and dies quickly if it is picked.
1. The foothills of Ala-Too are strewn with myriads of flowers. Sokuluk district

2. Poppy fields are located just 15 kilometers from Bishkek