Day 4- Wednesday, April 24 Bishkek
We have arrived in town after another long drive.
It is late afternoon and we have arrived at our lodgings for the night. We are staying at the Hyatt-Regency. Very civilized.
Bishkek had been an army garrison of the Russians in the past. It was then called Pickpeck.
The city is watched over by the towering Ala-Too Mountains. They are gracefuuly quiet as they loom above us. The Russians arrived here in 1877. The town became Bishkek when the Kyrgyzstan people achieved independence.
Two rivers pass by this formerly heavily forested area. They are called the Almedin and the Ala-Archa. They merge into the Chu River which runs through the city. The Chu River is also the Kazakh border here.
We soon meet in the lobby for a walk into the shopping district. We and our fellow travelers are looking for many different things. This next place might have them.
We walk the streets over wet and rough terrain. The sidewalks, if they exist at all, are more cracks and holes than smooth concrete. We are all under our umbrellas as it is raining lightly as we walk.
There are cars parked everywhere and at different angles. We are under the watchful eyes of our leader. Sometimes we walk in the street as it is the only way to get past all of the cars parked in our path. He slows down and helps the one that is the oldest and slowest. More about her to come, let there be no doubt.
The department store is several floors tall and full of any and everything. Russian watches from WW ll, horse paintings of all types, clothing, books, electrical appliances and more. Whatever you might need can and will be found here.
A couple of our group[ has settled on a small carpet. We have seen many things and purchased some small items. We have a list of tings that some of our younger family members collect and we try to bring them something from our travels.
They are not expensive but indicative of where we are at the moment.
We went out for a meal and were entertained with a reading from the Epic of the Manas.
Look it up yourself.
Don’t forget to look at my books on Amazon while you’re at it or google R. C. Hand, author.