Postcards from Turkestan
I’ll let the photos do the talking for a bit because the architecture is pure art.
These photos are of the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, which is the main attraction of Turkestan, a town ~2hrs northwest of Shymkent. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its authentic and outstanding example of Islamic religious architecture. I loved the shades of blue and the intricacy of the tile work - it was beautiful in the morning sunlight.
A quick overview:
Khoja Ahmed Yasawi was a distinguished Sufi leader during the 12th century. Sufism is a mystic religious practice of Islam. He had a significant influence in spreading Islam in Central Asia and consequently is regarded as a spiritual teacher. He isalso well-regarded as a poet. When he was 63 he dug himself an underground cellar to live out the rest of his life.
The mausoleum was built by Amir Timur, a ruthless conquerer of Central Asia during the 13th century, after he had a prophetic dream where Yasawi predicted a successful military campaign. As a result, Timur visited the grave of Yasawi and ordered the construction of the mausoleum.
A bit more on Timur, also known as Tamerlane. He was a Turkic conquerer who founded the Timurid empire in the 14th century. He was a powerful ruler descended from a Mongol tribe and who saw himself as Genghis Khan’s heir (Genghis Khan lived during the 13th century). Depending where you go, you’ll hear different versions of who he was. In Central Asia he is seen as a great warlord and leader, but outside of that region he can be viewed as a mass murderer who was ruthless in his campaign to create an empire.
Here are some more photos from my day trip to Turkestan, although I didn’t see much given that it was so hot. Turkestan is one of the more recognized tourist destinations in Kazakhstan because of the mausoleum and has been named the spiritual capital of the Turkic world, also because of the mausoleum. You can click on each photo for more info.
Postcards from Shymkent
I briefly visited Shymkent, also spelled Chimkent or Chymkent, which is in southern Kazakhstan and in the middle of the country. During my visit, I also took a day trip to Turkestan, one of Kazakhstan’s historic cities and a spiritual center of the region.
Shymkent used to be a minor stop on the Silk Road, was taken over by Russia in 1864, and then rebuilt again during Soviet times. Now it is one of the main cities of southern Kazakhstan. It feels more like what I imagined Central Asia to be - a mix of the old and the news in terms of buildings, architecture, and culture - and contrasts sharply with what I left behind in Almaty.
Honestly in hindsight I don’t know if I wouldn’t made the trip to Shymkent again. I ended up leaving Shymkent a day early because I didn’t feel a strong connection to the city and because my intuition was encouraging me to head back east to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where I could resume hiking and be back in my beloved outdoors. However this experience was a lesson in a couple of things: in remembering that with this time off I have the gift of flexibility and can make spontaneous decisions and in reminding myself to trust my gut and follow my instincts - something that I wanted to focus on during my time abroad.
Charyn Canyon National Park
Our second day with Steppe Spirit (check out Day 1 here) was spent in Charyn Canyon. Charyn Canyon is actually a canyon system consisting of several canyons that were carved by the Charyn River. It’s often compared to the Grand Canyon in the US (what canyon isn’t?) and while Charyn is smaller, it still has its own unique beauty.
We visited three canyons: Black Canyon, Moon Canyon, and the Valley of the Castles. Below are some photos with a bit more information about my trip there and each of the canyons.
We headed back to Almaty in the afternoon, and I promptly conked out in the bus. It wasn’t until we were about an hour from the city that I woke up - our minibus was encountering some mechanical issues and had the telltale stutter of a car breaking down.
We all got out of the car to lend a hand and push the bus to get it moving. Hurrah! We got it going once more before it broke down for real and we had to wait for a replacement vehicle. All’s well that ends well - we arrived safely in Almaty and well before the sun went down.
It was an amazing trip with Steppe Spirit, and I formed friendships with many of the other travelers in the group. It was wonderful to see these natural wonders of Kazakhstan accompanied by some of the most enthusiastic, fun, and caring group of people I’ve met so far.
Kaindy & Kolsai Lakes
I had heard so much about Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes while researching what to do in Almaty and after seeing stunning photos, I knew I wanted to make a trip out there! The problem was that it’s not easy to get there on your own - your options are to rent a car or take a bus to the nearest town and hitchhike the rest of the way there. While hitchhiking is on my bucket list (don’t panic, parents!) I wasn’t quite ready to try that out, so I booked a tour with Steppe Spirit, a local tour company that does day and overnight trips from Almaty and who came recommended by my hostel. Most of our group were international travelers with some Kazakh locals visiting out of town.
The two day tour would cover Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes on the first day and visit Charyn Canyon on the second. While it’s billed as a two day one night tour, it actually includes an additional night of driving at the beginning of the trip. Our mini bus departed late in the evening, around 9:30pm, from Almaty and made its way to Saty, the closest town to these attractions and about a 5-6 hours drive.
The “girls’ dormitory” for the solo female travelers at our guesthouse in Saty.
Breakfast of champions
We arrived at our guesthouses in Saty early in the morning and got to get a couple hours of shut-eye before our tour began.
Our guesthouse was clean and comfortable and is run by a local family who lived in an attached building. There were multiple bedrooms so that each couple could have their own privacy, a dining room where we had breakfast and dinner, and a bathroom that thankfully had hot water - it got cold at night since Saty is at a higher elevation than Almaty.
Each morning we were served a traditional Kazakh breakfast included baursak, (fried dough), homemade bread accompanied by margarine and homemade butter (clearly the winner, rich, fatty, and straight from the family’s cows) and delicious fruit jams, a small cucumber and tomato salad, and porridge.
An antique - our bus from the USSR era but still capable of making a road trip. We only took this bus during our drive to Kaindy Lake.
Kaindy Lake
We filled up on breakfast after a five hour nap, then departed for Kaindy Lake. However since the road to the lake is quite bumpy and sometimes flooded by the rivers, we changed vehicles and ended up with a mini bus from the Soviet era. Not a 4WD but still capable of getting us to our destination!
Kaindy Lake was formed in 1911 as a result of earthquake. The lake previously was a valley of pine trees situated below a glacial river, but after the earthquake, the river flooded the valley to create Kaindy Lake and submerge the trees in the valley. This is how Kaindy Lake got famous for its “underwater trees”. While the trees look magical, seemingly growing underwater, they are quite dead and have been for over one hundred years. They’ve been rotting in the lake but the process has been slow since the glacial water is cold and slows the rate of decay.
“Kaindy” means birch tree in Kazakh, but the trees in the lake are actually pine trees rather than birch trees. The lake is called Kaindy Lake because the lake used to be located behind a forest of birch trees so the locals used the birch trees as a way to direct people to the lake.
After our visit to Kaindy Lake we stopped by Saty for lunch, which consisted of plov (a rice pilaf), a cabbage and carrot salad, and of course, lots of bread.
A blurry photo of our Kazakh lunch.
Kolsai Lakes
After lunch we headed to Kolsai (Kolsay) Lakes, which are located in the Tian Shan mountain range. There are three lakes known as Lower, Middle, and Upper or Kolsai 1, 2, 3 (very creative, I know!). Kolsai 1 is the most popular as it is easily accessible by car and a scenic spot to picnic or take a leisurely walk. Kolsai 2 is around 2500m in altitude and a 8km hike from the first lake. The last lake, Kolsai 3, is 4km away from Kolsai 2 and only 6km away from the Kyrgyzstan border!
A small group of us decided to try to make the 16km round trip hike to Kolsai 2 as we had heard that this lake was supposedly more beautiful than Kolsai 1. We were in a bit of a time crunch having only been allotted four hours of free time, so we hiked at a fast pace. It seemed like the trail and its multiple uphills were never-ending, especially since we were in a time crunch, but we ended up making it to Kolsai 2 and back well within the time limit. This hike definitely made me grateful for being athletic and for having healthy and strong legs!
I was quite hungry after a long day of hiking and was happy to see some manti (Kazakh dumplings) for dinner! They were filled with lamb and potatoes and accompanied by bread, cookies and a cabbage and carrot salad.
I ended my day with a refreshing hot shower - it was so good to feel clean! We spent the evening around a bonfire where twinkle lights hung above our heads, creating a magical ending to our day. We danced and sang the night away, playing games you’d find at summer camp, like Ninja and Musical Chairs, and swapping stories as we watched the
Postcards from Almaty: First impressions
Almaty is my first stop in Kazakhstan and has been an easy transition into Central Asia. It’s been comforting to spend time in a city that feels familiar as it closely resembles a Western European city. However most people don’t speak English; Russian and Kazakh are the primary languages here and Google Translate has been my best friend.
I’ve spent my week here hiking in the Tien Shan mountains, hopping from bougie cafe to bougie cafe to catch up on personal admin, and trying to “do nothing” in order to not burn out after traveling non-stop for two months. Sending you some postcards from my time here so far - as always, please click on each postcard for more info!
