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On the last Monday in November 2004 I found out that I would be traveling to Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet Republic, on Friday of that same week.  This was my first trip to a 'stan' country and, overall, it is probably the safest one to visit.  During my first week, the weather was in the mid-50s.  At the end of the second week we were blanketed with some snow (I am told that snow in December is unusual).  The last couple of days on my first trip got as low as -1° F, a good time to be leaving for the Holidays.  The next week was back into the upper 40s.

The few people that I had a chance to meet seemed very happy and quite friendly.  English is now mandatory in the schools and anyone who had taken lessons was eager to practice speaking with me.  Don't misunderstand me, however, it is still difficult to find someone outside of the hotel industry who can understand English.  Russian is the dominant second language and Kyrgyz is the native language.  Of course, we had plenty of translators on the job site, including English-Russian, Russian-Kyrgyz, English-Turkisk and Turkish-Russian.

Kyrgyzstan is well known for the mountain ranges.  As a matter of fact the tourism trade, for now, is centered around mountain climbing and trekking.  I hope that I get a chance to see something outside of the capital city.

UPDATE - I returned to Kyrgyzstan in Jun05.  Pictures from that trip, in the summer, are at the bottom of this page.  I was there for two weeks and we had several days over 100º F.

This massive structure makes reference to the mountains of Kyrgyzstan and welcomes visitors to Bishkek	Statues like this can be found all over Bishkek	Several parks like this cross the main road as you drive through Bishkek
Another large sculpture. I think this is Manas, the mythical man who united the Kyrgyz Republic	The significance here is that Santa Claus is so prevalent in a country that is 70% Muslim	Hello Olga (pronounced 'Olya') !!!
Most of the heavy equipment looked as old as this piece. Vintage Soviet era	Work proceeded no matter what the weather	Peter and Olga
Oksana, the photo ham!	Elena, she holds the office together	A happy worker on site
Tymel, our Turkish electrician	Sunrise from Echo-1

Trip 2, Summer time!

A modern Hotel/Country Club we found on a drive in the mountains.	General scenery.	A roadside restaurant and lodge on the way to the mountains.	Randy and Bill while we were taking advantage of our only day off, at the roadside lodge.	A Yurt, the traditional home of the nomadic peoples who make up Kyrgyzstan.	A monument to freedom from the Soviet Union. in the general shape of a Yurt.
Cute, yes, but he was a persistent beggar!	The eternal flame in the Freedom monument.	This view is toward the University in Bishkek.	Part of the concrete crew.	On site, hard at work.	A refreshing local favorite.
A sunset from outside our hotel.	The Asia Mountain Inn. Our home.

Copyright © 2002 by Provenzano Collesano.
Revised: Wednesday November 28, 2007.

• This is a work in progress.