Karakol

Karakol

Surviving the exciting ride down from Altyn Arashan was only half of the fun. Running back to Karakol coffee to get our fix of Internet was the real excitement. It is always fun to see anyone deprived of Internet for even three days get anxious to message home. Needless to say we all gave up after about 5 minutes when all of us trying at once to access it basically crashed the system.

Hanne, Paula, Manuela, Jim and I decided to take the day to explore what Karakol had to offer. The city itself is a pretty small run down town that primarily exists due to the previous Soviet Era and continuing to operate as a jump off point for many beautiful treks up into the snow capped mountains.

Karakol was founded in 1869 for the Ak-Suu and eventually taken over in the early 1900s by the Soviet Union. Many of the houses still have the look of old times with whitewashed walls and a touch of blue shutters.

Duncan Mosque was our favorite of the tour stops of the day. This unique most was a mix of Islamic culture smashed together with a Chinese building. Built in 1920 the building is a vibran hue of colors with some interesting Islamic universe paintings. I can say I have never seen a mosque like this. Although it is small it sure was interesting. It was the only mosque to survive during the Bolshevik era.

We all got to put on robes to enter. This covered most of our bodies so that we would be dressed modestly. Together we looked like we belonged in some secret organization of the purple robes.

The Holy Trinity Cathedral gave us another opportunity to dress up. When you enter the church they provide many brightly colored scarves and skirts that just scream Russian Grandma! Giant gold domes top the pillars on the outside topped with glimmering crosses. 

The oddest stop on our tour was a small museum about the history of Karakol. I won't say much about this place other than two rooms full of dead animals can be found inside.

The day ended with another giant market that we got lost in. Obviously our favorite thing to do. Shop, talk with locals, and get lost in the endless winding of vendor aisle ways.

Back at our home stay we found the others that stayed behind getting ready to cook dinner. The home stay itself could have been a museum. The place was huge with room after room of beds. My room was fitted with a chandelier and shelves of old pottery and glasses. Interesting.