The next day our guide Turat and his son are taking us directly from our house for the next 5 days. Central Asia was Terra Incognita for me. In fact, it still is. And the people inhabiting these lands were completely unknown to me. Now … I’m just fascinated by them. And the charm is “concreted” by the personality of this Kyrgyz man, living in Tajikistan.
We have merely few hours for Osh. I leave the planning to our guides. In addition to trinkets, food and water we need to buy, we want to see only the Sacred Mountain Sulaiman-Too (Sulaiman – the biblical Solomon), which is recognized as a World Heritage Site.
The sacred mountain Sulaiman-Too is known as a place of sacred significance, which is confirmed by the petroglyphs of the mountain. Muslims still believe that this sanctuary is of magical significance, giving to those who come here, with a request for prosperity, health, offspring…
The mountain is almost 1 km long and 1110 m high. At the top, the chapel “Baburska kashta”, built in the 15th century and restored by the locals in 1989 is shining. To overcome the displacement helps a small train…
but the snoring is serious and some of us grumble seriously, others take pictures… 😀
There are sacred places of worship on Suleiman-Too, each with its own value – we go through all of them (sorry, I will not point them all with my finger).
Ene-Beshik is a hole 2 m wide, which affects the fertility of the female half of humanity.
According to legend, the Orphan Bridge is a path to the afterlife, which can pass only a person who has no sins.
Tamchy-Tamar is a hatch that goes 8 meters deep and helps to cure infertility and eye diseases.
Kol-Tash – a hole of karst rocks, cures diseases in the joints.
Bel-Tash is a plate with a length of 3 m, in the middle passes a gutter, to treat diseases of the back, you need to drive at least 3 times on it, which is done successfully by children and the elderly.
Bash-Tash – the hole in the road, according to legend, cures headaches.
At the top of the mountain stands the Babur House. In 1497, 14-year-old Zahiruddin Babur, the newly crowned king of Fergana and the future founder of the Indian Mughal dynasty, built a sanctuary for his chila – a 40-day withdrawal of the silent meditation on the Sufis with simple bread and water to eat…
The shelter was rebuilt twice, first after an earthquake in 1853 and most recently in the 1990s, after being destroyed by an explosion in 1961, which locals blamed on the then-violent Soviet campaign against superstition.
Once we have spread to the ditches – the heat is just breaking – we descend on a rush, without dealing with trains, with a desire to get out of the “plain” as soon as possible (963 m above sea level). Abdulmajit, Turat’s son – for Abu’s sake – flew ahead of us and the jeep is waiting for us to finally start shopping …
And shopping is an emotion! I have no idea how the two quiet men cope with three ladies cooing, jumping and overflowing with emotion! The market is just a charm! I personally buy a quantity of vegetables for a small cannery, and the rest of the time I keep my eyes on the stalls…
Only Abu knows how much patience it costs him to get us out of this pattern, and only Turat knows how many times this same day is waiting for us … And I know, but I prefer not to think, I just let go of the emotion. It’s time for the Silk Road.
I can’t express myself enough when it comes to wild mountains. I become extremely inadequate in their appearance. The first “wild mountain” on the Silk Road makes me mad at the brain of my capillaries. I doubt that this is how my companions felt, because mine is a pathology, but I sincerely believe that a lot – really a lot – they rejoiced.
And then … The famous Taldik Pass. God … We got crazy! At least I freaked out. Turns. And climbing. Cool! Well… We didn’t climb – the jeep was climbing! And I was screaming inside. Then I screamed outwardly. I told you about the wild mountains … And then I remembered that I wanted Karakorum Highway. Which slipped away from me – for now! But before that I wanted the Pamirs. And Asya said – the scribble was written. And Miloslava was smiling in her introvert way – and she was happy. And I kept screaming – inside and out. Fulfilled with harmony.
And then the guides – contrary to the weather – took us to the foot of Mount Lenin, which we wanted. And we screamed again. And from the wind, and the atmosphere, and from the buffaloes – sorry, yaks – if someone had told us that we would ever ride them, I would have laughed a lot, but for that later.
And then the road to Tajikistan…
Maybe this is the time to tell about the mythical national Kyrgyz hero Manas. The legendary figure from the epic that unites Kyrgyzstan. The airport is named after him, and the brightest pearl in Kyrgyz literature is the poem “Manas” – and the winner of the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest poem in the world. Legend has it that no one knows where his grave is because the Chinese are looking for him. This legend also says that the moment China finds his bones, Kyrgyzstan will fall apart and China will conquer its lands. That is why the Chinese are looking for his grave, and the Kyrgyz keep a deep secret where exactly his remains are. That’s what Abu told me…
And then … then we will meet you in Tajikistan!
Comments are closed.