Kyrgyzstan Silk Road Photographs

Kyrgyzstan is part of Central Asia. It was once an important part of the great Silk Road trade route from China to the Mediterranean. The Tian Shan mountains, which surround the old caravan route and dominate the country, are home to snow leopards, lynx and sheep. Issy-Kul Lake in the NE is the second largest lake in the world (after Lake Titicaca). Under Soviet domination until 1991, it now has 5.7 million people.

The word “Kyrgyz” is thought to be from the Turkish word for “forty” – there were 40 clans united by the Kyrgyz hero Manas. The Kyrguz flag has 40 rays on a large sun, representing the central tunduk or crown of a yurt.

Kyrgyzstan has an ancient heritage, beginning with Scythian (Iranian nomads) from 9 -1^st century BC. There are so many Scythian grave sites that only a few have been fully excavated. At different times since then the land of the Kyrgyz people has been dominated by Mongols, Manchu Chinese, Uzbek Khans and the Russian Empire.

When I travelled there in 2010, I visited Torugat Pass, Tashrabat, Kochkorcha Village, Barskoon Gorge, Tamga Village, Lake Issy-Kul, Cholpon Ata, Balasagun, Ala- Archa Gorge, and Bishkek. Here are some of my favourite photographs from that visit.