Wow… Five countries (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Armenia) in six weeks. Mehmet Özbalci organized this tour through his company Fantastic Photo Tours, based in Istanbul, Turkey. We used him in 2016 for a tour of Turkey, and liked his approach so much that we decided to use him again for these countries. I thought we would […]
Kyrgyzstan 3 – Eagle Hunters and Headless Goats
Our last evening in Kyrgyzstan was spent watching two local traditions that are unique to this part of the world. First up was a form of falconry with three nomad eagle hunters. Though often associated with Mongolia, this form of hunting with the golden eagle on horseback actually originated here. In addition to posing for the camera, as seen […]
Kyrgyzstan 2 – Issyk Kul
Our final days in Kyrgyzstan were long ones spent in Issyk Kul. In the early morning, we visited a chaotic animal market that is open only on Sundays. It was very similar to those we have visited in Ecuador, though sheep were the predominant animal, and there were no pigs at all (being an Islamic country, pork […]
Kyrgyzstan 1 – Bishkek
We are now in Kyrgyzstan, after completing our tour of Uzbekistan. There have been several cemeteries along the road, but one we stopped at today was particularly special. Looking at it from the top of a hill, it appears to be a small city (center above). It is standard for grave sites to have photographs of […]